Wei Yumeng never expected that telling the truth to the old man would bring trouble so quickly. She knew exactly why Wen Yulan had done this, and all she could do now was to stall for time, hoping Lin Jing would come to her rescue soon.
"Since you know I'm carrying Zhan Mohan's child, how dare you do this? I warn you, if Zhan Mohan finds out, he will never let you go."
Wen Yulan merely sneered. She had thought of all these issues long ago. If she were truly afraid, they wouldn't have met this way today.
Seeing her nonchalant expression, Wei Yumeng's heart sank.
Meanwhile, Zhan Mohan's car drove all the way to the mall, where Mu Linjing was already waiting anxiously.
"Get in!"
Zhan Mohan rolled down the window and called her into the car.
"How long has she been missing? Is her phone still with her?"
"Yes, her phone has been with her the whole time, but I don't know if it's been discovered."
Zhan Mohan frowned and nodded, signaling Fang Xun to investigate.
After the previous incident, Zhan Mohan had installed a tracking system on Wei Yumeng's phone. He could locate her position via her phone number on his computer. Although it wasn't pinpoint accurate, as long as the phone had a signal, they could see her general route.
Fortunately, Wei Yumeng's phone had remained with her. The signal became weak when they reached the outskirts, but their previous movements were enough for them to deduce her precise location.
Once the direction was confirmed, Zhan Mohan switched places with Fang Xun and drove himself, speeding towards the outskirts. The car bounced several times on the uneven road, and Mu Linjing had to hold tightly onto the overhead handle to avoid being thrown out. It was also fortunate that Zhan Mohan was a good driver; otherwise, this speed would have unnecessarily complicated the rescue.
Behind them, a large group of bodyguards summoned by Zhan Mohan followed in several cars. Upon arriving at the location where the signal disappeared, they got out of the vehicles.
Fang Xun had already studied the map of the area on the way.
"Mr. Zhan, there are no residential buildings around here. It's all old demolition buildings and a few unfinished projects."
Zhan Mohan observed the surroundings and pondered for a moment. "You all split into four teams and conduct a thorough search. Fang Xun, you'll follow me. Let's follow these tire tracks. I suspect the car that kidnapped Yumeng is this one."
As for Mu Linjing, Zhan Mohan left her in the car to ensure her safety.
Following the tire tracks on the ground, Zhan Mohan successfully found the unfinished building where Wei Yumeng was located. The van parked conspicuously downstairs caught Zhan Mohan's eye.
He made a silencing gesture to Fang Xun and signaled him to go upstairs with his eyes.
Wei Yumeng was on the top floor. By now, Wen Yulan had lost her patience and could no longer waste time with her.
"Don't worry, this medicine will only abort the child in your belly. As for whether you can have children in the future, I can't guarantee that."
She held the medicine in her hand and approached Wei Yumeng step by step. However, bound to the chair, Wei Yumeng could only clench her lips shut and could do nothing else.
Perhaps due to maternal instinct, no matter how hard Wen Yulan tried, she couldn't pry open Wei Yumeng's mouth, let alone force the medicine down.
Her face turned red with anger. In a fit of pique, she slapped Wei Yumeng across the face.
She glanced at the bodyguards behind her. "You two come here and force the medicine down for me."
Wen Yulan was enraged and determined to abort the child.
The strength of the two men was far greater than a woman's. One of them held Wei Yumeng's jaw firmly, easily forcing her mouth open.
Only then did Wei Yumeng feel true despair, and tears streamed from her eyes.
Zhan Mohan, I should have told you sooner that this is your child!
Regret surged through her heart. In a daze, she thought she saw Zhan Mohan's profile flash before her eyes.
Immediately after, a liquid with a taste like bile was poured into her mouth. She struggled to suppress her instinctual swallowing, her brain plunged into extreme tension and oxygen deprivation.
At some point, the force on her cheeks suddenly disappeared. She lowered her head, and the medicine in her mouth spilled onto the ground.
She didn't have time to think and spat out the remaining medicine. At the same time, the restraints on her hands and feet were loosened.
A familiar arm supported her shoulder, and the face that came into view was indeed Zhan Mohan's.
"Are you alright?"
For a moment, Wei Yumeng forgot everything else. Tears of relief streamed down her cheeks. It was rare to see her cry so helplessly. Zhan Mohan pulled her into his embrace, patting her back silently. Only when her emotions had calmed down a bit did she look up from his arms.
"Thank you."
Zhan Mohan's heart ached. He helped her up and sat her down on a chair. "Wait for me here."
His voice was incredibly gentle, as if he were afraid that even a slight increase in volume would scare the already distressed person in his arms.
Wen Yulan and the others had already been subdued by Fang Xun and the bodyguards. Zhan Mohan recalled what he had seen when he came upstairs, and his already simmering anger erupted once more.
"Fang Xun, send these people to where they belong. Kidnapping Mrs. Zhan, I want to see them rot in prison."
Upon hearing this, the two thugs immediately pointed at Wen Yulan and shouted, "It was her! She ordered us to do this! Why aren't you sending her in? She's the mastermind."
Hearing this, Zhan Mohan sneered. He pointed to the bag thrown on the ground, and Fang Xun, understanding, brought over the three million cash. "Mr. Zhan, this is three million in cash."
"Three million?" He looked at Wen Yulan indifferently and held the money up to her face. "Three million to buy the child in her belly? You're a better businesswoman than I am."
With their scheme exposed, Wen Yulan's heart pounded. However, she was still Zhan Mohan's elder. She didn't believe Zhan Mohan would send her to prison. Now, she stuck out her chin defiantly. "So what, Zhan Mohan, don't forget, the child in this woman's belly is a bastard! She's given you such a cuckold's hat, and if you don't want to take it off, shouldn't you let me take it off for you?"
Although she knew this was a lie, Wen Yulan gambled, assuming Zhan Mohan didn't know yet.
"You don't care about your reputation, but do all the members of the Zhan family have to be disgraced with you? Wei Yumeng has done something wrong to the Zhan family. I'm only doing this to protect the Zhan family's reputation. Do you want to be the one raising this child in the future, making outsiders laugh at our family?"
If one didn't consider other factors, her words were quite plausible. Zhan Mohan glanced back at Wei Yumeng, who was clutching her stomach and still shaken, and sighed deeply in his heart.
"I warn you, don't try to harm her again. What happens to the child in her belly is our business; it's not your place to interfere."
Wen Yulan became a little frantic, wishing she could point her finger in Zhan Mohan's face. "Zhan Mohan, I am your elder. You need to watch your tone when you speak to me!"
Zhan Mohan scoffed. "Elder? The things you've done are not something any elder can do. Don't think I don't know why you did this. Let me tell you now, this matter is not going to be swept under the rug so easily. I will not let it go!"
Zhan Mohan knew very well that this child was Xin Ran's. Wen Yulan would be happy to see a spectacle. For her to suddenly kidnap Wei Yumeng and do something like this, she must have heard some other news. And who had passed this news to her ears was also inseparable from this incident. He wouldn't let any of them go.
Hearing that he would continue to investigate, Wen Yulan was greatly alarmed and stopped speaking.
Seeing that he had no intention of bringing the culprit to justice and instead wanted them to rot in prison, the two thugs quickly began to beg for mercy.
"Mr. Zhan, we two only cared about money and never harmed anyone. We were ordered to do this. Please spare us?"
If they hadn't been restrained by the bodyguards, both of them would have knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Zhan Mohan.
Zhan Mohan heard this and looked at them with cold eyes. "Cared about money?"
He glanced at Fang Xun, who immediately brought over the three million cash and followed behind him.
"Lighter."
In front of the two thugs, he took out a lighter and ignited the bag of cash. The bright yellow flame instantly engulfed the small mountain of cash on the ground.
"Ah!"
Watching the piles of cash turn to ashes before their eyes, the two thugs let out heart-wrenching roars.
Zhan Mohan, however, turned away indifferently, picked up Wei Yumeng, and carried her away without a second glance at anyone else. Wei Yumeng looked up at his clenched jaw, and her eyes couldn't help but redden again.
After carrying her back to the car, Mu Linjing rushed to embrace her. "Yumeng, are you okay? Are you injured? Is the baby alright?"
Seeing her anxious look, Wei Yumeng smiled weakly to comfort her. "Fortunately, you came in time."
"I'll take you to the hospital for a thorough check-up first."
Leaning in Mu Linjing's arms, Wei Yumeng did not refuse Zhan Mohan this time.
Unlike the anxiety on the way, Wei Yumeng now sat in the back seat. Zhan Mohan felt much more at ease. He drove on the same bumpy roads, but with extreme smoothness, so much so that Wei Yumeng, who had been mentally tense, relaxed and dozed off in the back seat.
When they arrived at the hospital, she was already asleep on Mu Linjing's shoulder. Zhan Mohan got out of the car and gently picked her up, waking her only before taking her to the examination room.
"Go on, get a thorough check-up."
Wei Yumeng looked at his gentle expression and was momentarily lost in thought. She nodded vigorously.
The doctor emerged from the examination room more than half an hour later. Even with a mask on, Zhan Mohan felt his expression was not entirely natural.
"How is she? Are there any problems with her body?"
The doctor sighed and shook his head. "Her condition is not good. Because she has just been through a scare, her mental state and physical condition are very poor. Whether this child can be born safely is still uncertain. For the time being, she needs to rest in bed. How to treat her later will depend on observation over a period of time and her own recovery."
Hearing this, Zhan Mohan's face also darkened. After a long period of contemplation, he asked, "Does she know?"
The doctor nodded. "We have a responsibility to inform the patient of her true condition."
After taking a deep breath, Zhan Mohan nodded and immediately had Fang Xun complete the hospitalization procedures for Wei Yumeng. When she was taken to the ward, Wei Yumeng's mood was very low. She leaned against the headboard, covering her abdomen, and refused to say a word.
No matter how Mu Linjing tried to cheer her up or comfort her, she didn't smile.
Finally, the calm Zhan Mohan walked in and patted Mu Linjing's shoulder. "Go buy some of the food she likes."
Mu Linjing then picked up her bag. "Then Yumeng, I'll wait for you with your favorite food. Don't worry too much; you'll get better."
After she left, Zhan Mohan sat by the window. The two of them were silent for a while, and finally, Wei Yumeng spoke first. "Thank you for saving me today."
If not for Zhan Mohan, the child in her belly would have been lost. Even knowing that this child wasn't his, he was still willing to be so selfless. Wei Yumeng was beginning to understand him less and less.
Zhan Mohan paused for two seconds without responding. He saved her simply because he cared about her and didn't want her to be harmed in any way.
A silence fell between them, as if neither knew what to say. After a long while, Zhan Mohan finally spoke. "You've gone through something so significant. Shouldn't you tell Xin Ran and have him come?"
His voice was cold, or rather, stiff. To actively ask his wife to go to another man, he couldn't help but give a wry smile.
Hearing this, Wei Yumeng was stunned for a moment, then shook her head. "No need to tell him. He's very busy lately and doesn't have time to come."
"Very busy? No time?" Zhan Mohan sneered and grabbed Wei Yumeng's wrist. "You're quite considerate of him, aren't you? You're reluctant to bother him even when something like this happens?"
Wei Yumeng allowed him to pull her, remaining silent. She had just found an excuse; after all, this child had nothing to do with Xin Ran, and there was no need to trouble him to travel for her sake and then pretend.
As for why she was desperately trying to keep this child, even though her relationship with Zhan Mohan had reached freezing point, the reason was simple: it was her child with Zhan Mohan, an unbreakable link between them. All of this was their business and had nothing to do with anyone else.
However, Zhan Mohan clearly didn't understand it this way.
In Zhan Mohan's eyes, she was carrying Xin Ran's child, and her every move was to protect Xin Ran, as if she had no feelings for him. No matter what he did, in Wei Yumeng's heart, it couldn't compare to Xin Ran.
Seeing Wei Yumeng remain silent, he became enraged, almost losing the last shred of his rationality.
"Wei Yumeng, speak up. In your heart, is Xin Ran really that good?"
Seeing him shouting hoarsely, Wei Yumeng felt wronged. "You ask me how Xin Ran compares to you in my heart. Then I want to ask you, in your heart, how do I compare to Jiang Siyu? I'm not as capable as her, not as competent in business. I only drag you down and can't help you. So she's excellent everywhere, and you always choose her, right?"
Her series of questions made Zhan Mohan regain some rationality. Especially her agitation when Jiang Siyu was mentioned made Zhan Mohan realize that her caring so much about Jiang Siyu might be because of him.
"When did I ever say you were inferior to her? When did I ever choose her between you two?"
When asked about this, Wei Yumeng repeatedly gave a cold laugh. "Think about it yourself. Every time we are together, if she calls you, you will choose her. I don't believe you can't see her intentions, nor do I believe you don't understand the pattern. You know it clearly, so when you make a choice, your attitude already shows it."
Both of them were well aware that Jiang Siyu was doing this intentionally. In Wei Yumeng's eyes, Zhan Mohan's failure to stop her, and instead letting it escalate, was simply indulgence towards Jiang Siyu.
Since they had reached this point, there was no need to hide anything. Wei Yumeng was also unwilling to continue this pointless tug-of-war.
Upon hearing her words, Zhan Mohan explained, "I've already warned her."
"Is that enough?" Wei Yumeng stared intently into his eyes. "She interfered in my marriage, pestered you endlessly, provoked me in every way, and you just gave her a warning and it's over? Zhan Mohan, if verbal warnings were useful, there wouldn't be so many bad people in the world."
For Jiang Siyu, Zhan Mohan's warning was simply a slap on the wrist.
Zhan Mohan admitted that he also felt the warning had no restraining effect on Jiang Siyu. Wei Yumeng's words left him speechless for a moment.
At this moment, Wei Yumeng, overwhelmed by her grievances, didn't want to hold back any longer.
She broke free from Zhan Mohan's grasp, stubbornly looked at him with her neck stiffened. "That night, you stayed out all night. That alone gave her the courage to provoke me. Don't you understand? Everything she does stems from your indulgence!"
When the deepest layers of the problem are dissected, the truth is often the most hurtful.
Regarding that night, Wei Yumeng had always been bothered. Sometimes, Jiang Siyu's arrogance even made her doubt who the actual Mrs. Zhan was.
But now she didn't have to doubt. She was getting further and further away from the identity of Mrs. Zhan, while Jiang Siyu was within easy reach.
And all of this was due to Zhan Mohan's tacit approval.
Hearing her words, Zhan Mohan fell silent for a long time, as if processing the information he had received and trying to make sense of it.
It was only then that he realized Wei Yumeng's lingering resentment was about that night he stayed out.
After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice, "If I say that night I just stayed at her place and nothing happened between us, would you believe me?"
Wei Yumeng didn't speak, but her eyes clearly showed disbelief.
"I have photos. Jiang Siyu sent them to me. She deliberately made me aware of it."
Zhan Mohan couldn't help but give a wry smile. "At this point, would I still lie to you? Since you know her intentions, you should understand that she sent you the photos precisely to create this situation between us."
Yes, their relationship had become this cold. Zhan Mohan could have chosen not to explain. But since he did, there was no need for him to lie.
This explanation was something Wei Yumeng had longed for. Although it was late, it had not been absent.
Just as their emotions began to calm down, there was a knock on the ward door.
Xin Ran rushed in, looking anxious.