Chapter 14

Meng Shengsheng waited with the others until the ambulance arrived, then, with the hem of her clothes stained with blood, she sprinted to school just in time, avoiding being late.

Her three roommates had saved her seats and quietly asked, "What happened? Why is there blood on your clothes?"

"Could it be that strange man who hit you?" one murmured.

Meng Shengsheng replied, "Don’t worry, it’s not my blood. Someone fainted on the way, and I stayed to help wait for the ambulance."

Only then did Luo Shu finally relax; as long as nothing serious had happened, that was good.

After an entire afternoon of classes, even though Meng Shengsheng was at the peak of her energy, she felt somewhat weary.

When class ended, Tong Shengrong didn’t hurry off but called to her, “Meng Shengsheng, come here for a moment.”

She told her three roommates not to wait for her and hurried to follow Tong Shengrong.

“Have you read the pharmaceutical compendium compiled by the venerable Hua Deyong?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Can you recite it?”

“…I can remember most of it.”

Tong Shengrong randomly quizzed her on several passages. “Yanjiecao…”

Before he could continue, Meng Shengsheng instinctively finished his sentence: “Yanjiecao, also known as Ophiopogon root, is described in ‘Herbal Insights’ as ‘Mai Men Dong, with effects to clear the heart and moisten the lungs.’ When processing, it needs to be crushed to extract the core…”

She went on to list several traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions that included Yanjiecao—not just those from Hua’s compendium, but from any medical texts she had read and memorized. Tong Shengrong did not interrupt; he listened all the way until she finished.

“Have you had prior experience? Any family in this field? Did you apprentice under a teacher?”

Meng Shengsheng spoke honestly, “None of that. I’m an orphan. I only formally came into contact with this profession after being admitted to our school this year. During the summer vacation, I bought a few related books to study.”

This level of knowledge was not typical for someone only two months into the field. Many students who had studied for five years, or even after graduation, could not recall a single passage from that compendium.

Tong Shengrong took out a yellowed book from his bag—an old edition of the Huangdi Neijing.

Meng Shengsheng took it and glanced through. The book was filled with notes—she guessed it was used by a teacher during their studies, with annotations maturing from youthful to experienced. Such an artifact was truly precious.

“Can you memorize it?”

She accepted the book solemnly. “I’ve read the original edition. Give me a month, and I can commit it to memory.”

She had indeed read the original, but it lacked such extensive marginalia. The notes were the fruits of a learned scholar’s reflections, extremely valuable.

Meng Shengsheng took the book and went to the cafeteria, where her three roommates had already served her a meal.

“Shengsheng, over here.”

As she sat down to eat dinner, she listened to the others discuss which clubs to join.

“A senior recommended a club with lots of handsome boys on campus—outdoor photography. I heard the campus heartthrob is in that club… They even have events during every long holiday. Sounds so much fun…”

“I want to join! I want to join!” Zhang Yu said. “I have to go home during summer break to help with the harvest, so I can’t participate in outdoor photography events, but I like reading novels. When clubs recruit, I’ll see if there’s one related to that.”

Outdoor photography was something a poor girl like her couldn’t afford. Just the equipment alone cost a fortune; even if she wanted to join, she couldn’t.

“I think our school’s clubs have membership fees, but they’re not expensive—just a few dozen yuan… A senior I know said many clubs have social events. Clubs with more boys pair up with clubs with more girls to rent mountain villas for a few days, and several couples form…”

“Hehe, that’s quite an advantage, nice, nice.”

Seeing all three glance at her, Meng Shengsheng swallowed her food and said, “I’ve been busy lately and probably won’t join any club recruitment.”

Only Luo Shu had seen Meng Shengsheng’s boyfriend. She chuckled, “Shengsheng already has a boyfriend, so it doesn’t matter if she joins or not… But Shengsheng, does your boyfriend have any single friends? Introduce them to us. Isn’t it said that a handsome guy’s friends are handsome too? I want a bad-boy type of handsome boyfriend… I’d even live in a mansion and drive a luxury car for that…”

“Come on, you want it all, eating and taking everything!” Meng Shengsheng thought to herself that the friends her boyfriend had in the entertainment industry probably weren’t suitable for innocent college girls like them anyway, so better not.

Luckily, it was all just idle talk; no one pressed her for the handsome guys’ contact information.

While Meng Shengsheng was seriously studying the Huangdi Neijing, Wang Chuanze returned home on the day of his twin younger siblings’ birthday—not to his stepmother’s house but to his grandparents’.

Wang Zhenxing looked Wang Chuanze over. “You’ve lost weight. Are you facing some difficulties?”

Wang Chuanze smiled faintly. “No. Where are Grandpa and Grandma?”

“They went to buy groceries. Your siblings said they’d be back for lunch soon.”

Wang Chuanze entered silently and sat on the sofa.

His demeanor clearly showed something was wrong.

Wang Zhenxing frowned. “What is it? Is it work-related?”

The family didn’t know he had signed with an entertainment company; they still thought he would work in a field related to his university major.

Wang Chuanze shook his head and began, “Ximan texted me a few days ago, asking me to come home for the twins’ birthday. I wanted to buy them gifts. When I went to the bank to replace my card, I suddenly found another bank card under my name that I didn’t know about.”

Wang Zhenxing listened quietly without interrupting.

“I checked, and found that money was deposited into this unknown card every month… The sender was Ximan.”

Before middle school, Wang Zhenxing and Jin Meihua worried the children would not get along with their stepmother, and since Ximan was also taking care of the twins, the grandparents took the children in. It wasn’t until Wang Chuanze entered middle school, the grandparents aged, and the twins grew older that the children were brought back home.

“I also recalled that after I returned from my grandparents’ house once, I had a fight with my dad. Right after the argument, Dad left, and Ximan gave me a card, saying it was pocket money from Dad and to not be angry.”

How could a child, especially one just having quarreled with a parent, want such money? Anyone with eyes and reason could see that this woman deliberately gave him the card at that moment.

Not only did Wang Zhenxing’s brows furrow, but his entire face darkened.

“No one ever told me about that card again… I checked my usual card and found it was filled with red envelopes from my uncles, aunts, grandparents… Only now do I realize that all these years, I haven’t spent a single cent from my father…”

At this, Wang Chuanze chuckled lightly, “Knowing that card was unused, she still deposited money every month…”

Who was she trying to disgust? Meaning the money just sits there to gather dust but never to be used by him.

“She never said, and neither did anyone else know… Every time Dad scolded me, he said he raised me all these years… Next time we argue, I can say, ‘I grew up because you and my grandparents and uncles raised me, right?’”

After that, Wang Chuanze changed the subject. “My grandmother was hospitalized a few days ago. I wanted to bring Mom’s old photos to her, so I went back for a visit…” He smiled faintly, “Next time I come back, I’ll probably have to sleep in the guest room.”

At that moment, there was a sudden thud at the door. Wang Chuanze hurried over; the groceries in the plastic bag fell to the ground—tomatoes and potatoes scattered everywhere—and Jin Meihua clutched her chest and collapsed.

Wang Chuanze frowned and quickly rushed inside to place an emergency heart medicine tablet under Jin Meihua’s tongue.

He had come carefully when his grandmother wasn’t home, yet they still overheard.

Wang Zhenxing and Wang Chuanze helped her onto the sofa. Wang Zhenxing said, “Why at your age do you still have such a temper?”

Jin Meihua closed her eyes. “Bring Ye Feng and Ye Lin here and tell them to get lost… Tell that woman to stay far away!”

Wang Chuanze supported her and soothed her chest. “Grandma, don’t be angry. I haven’t suffered any loss. Even without her, you all care for me. The pocket money you give me every year is enough for me.”

Hearing this, Wang Zhenxing’s heart tightened again. Since Wang Chuanze lost his mother at a young age, they naturally gave him a bit more care. Every time he came, they gave him hundreds or thousands in pocket money. But could that compare to what his father gave?

Jin Meihua’s breathing grew even more rapid at these words.

Wang Chuanze thought: I really didn’t mean it this time; I was just trying to comfort her. But now, no matter what I say, it seems wrong.

Wang Zhenxing called Wang Yongchang with a very harsh tone, demanding he come back.

Wang Yongchang was finishing a filming project and was called home by Ximan to celebrate the twins’ birthdays. Their home was near here, so he arrived quickly.

Upon entering and seeing Wang Chuanze, he frowned. “Why are you here?”

Wang Zhenxing, furious, threw a cup from the table. “Is there room for him at your place? If he doesn’t come here, he has no home!”

Wang Yongchang was stunned by the thrown cup. “Dad, what are you doing?”

He wanted to ask why Wang Chuanze hadn’t gone home and why he was so angry.

Wang Zhenxing closed his eyes. His son was wholly devoted to his career, had been married twice, and both marriages were a mess.

Afraid to upset Jin Meihua further, Wang Zhenxing said, “Come with me to the study.”

Wang Chuanze stayed by the sofa attending to Jin Meihua.

Wang Zhenxing recounted the grievances the child endured—how he discovered the matter, went home, and found even his room was gone…

Wang Yongchang moved from confusion to silence.

Jin Meihua pushed open the door, shouting, “Divorce! You divorce that woman for me!”

Her grandson could not be so mistreated.

Wang Yongchang helped Jin Meihua to sit down. “She is Ye Feng and Ye Lin’s mother.”

Moreover, after so many years, if the woman truly had such deep scheming, he wouldn’t have divorced her. He was in a special situation; although not as popular as a star, if he divorced now, it would affect his new film.

Jin Meihua immediately cursed, “Then you’re not little Ze’s father! After all these years, have you ever cared for the child? He grew up like this, you earn so much money, have you ever given him a penny? All of it went to that woman!”

The two elders scolded Wang Yongchang for a long time, but he still refused to divorce.

When the elders stopped, Wang Yongchang looked at Wang Chuanze. After all these years, he finally realized that while he wasn’t paying attention, the child had quietly grown up.

“What do you want, then?”

Wang Chuanze crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe with downcast eyes. “I only want all my mother’s jewelry back.”