"Are you unwilling to save your old flame?"
The mysterious man's voice, though calm, carried a warning.
Wei Yumeng finally realized that her words had angered him again.
For the sake of Xin Ran, she would refrain from clashing with this man for now. However, she had never given up on discovering his true identity.
Sooner or later, she vowed, she would uncover his true face and see who he truly was.
"I didn't mean that. Then, shall we meet tonight? I can show you my sincerity first, but you must promise to rescue Xin Ran."
"Heh... so eager. You're not thinking of plotting against me, are you?"
This time, Wei Yumeng showed no panic.
"You think too highly of me. How could I possibly have the ability to scheme against you?"
The mysterious man burst into hearty laughter.
"If you really had that ability, you would have already dealt with Zhan Mohan and wouldn't have come to me."
"Then, let's leave it at that. Where shall we meet tonight?" She didn't want to be in her room; if Zhan Mohan discovered her, she feared it would cost her her life.
"The balcony. There's a balcony in the backyard. Do you know about it?"
Wei Yumeng genuinely didn't. She had been in the Zhan family's residence for some time and thought she had explored every nook and cranny, only to find there were still omissions.
She became increasingly convinced that even if this mysterious man wasn't part of the Zhan family, he must have stayed there before, otherwise, how could he be so familiar with it?
"Alright, I know."
"See you tonight." The mysterious man's voice seemed to hum with excitement.
But for Wei Yumeng, this was merely the beginning of her disaster.
Zhan Mohan was still at the company, preparing to return when Fang Xun pushed the door open and entered.
"Mr. Zhan, I have something to tell you."
"What is it?"
Fang Xun seemed anxious, sweat beading on his forehead.
"It's about the matter you asked me to investigate regarding Madam last time."
"How did it go?"
Fang Xun pouted, "The situation... isn't very good."
"What do you mean?" Zhan Mohan furrowed his brow, his previously placid face instantly turning serious.
"I investigated the incident where Madam drove into Young Master and you. It's the same result... and Wei Jin also had an alibi at the time."
"You mean... she was lying?"
Zhan Mohan's voice deepened, his gaze sharpening.
Fang Xun dared not say more, only reporting the actual results of his investigation to Zhan Mohan. However, he himself felt that Wei Yumeng didn't seem like a cruel person.
"Or... should I investigate again?"
Zhan Mohan raised his hand, "No need. Even if you investigate multiple times, the result will be the same. If she truly did it, no matter how you investigate, it will lead to the same conclusion."
He had almost believed her words back then, only to realize that the woman had been deceiving him from beginning to end.
Fang Xun handed the evidence he had found to Zhan Mohan.
"This is Wei Jin's alibi. She was at a party with her girlfriends at the time. I also questioned those people, and they all precisely stated the time. There shouldn't be any issues."
"I understand. Prepare the car, we're going back."
"Yes."
Zhan Mohan returned to the old residence but did not find Wei Yumeng. A servant approached.
"Young Master."
"Where is Wei Yumeng?"
"Young Madam is in the kitchen. She said she wanted to cook for you personally today."
Zhan Mohan scoffed dismissively, "Too much effort for no reason."
Perhaps she felt guilty, hence her eagerness to cook and appease him.
Fang Xun received a phone call and returned.
"Mr. Zhan, there's news about the Golden Harbor project. The person in charge is asking if you can video call now."
Zhan Mohan glanced towards the kitchen and indeed saw the petite figure busy at work.
"Let's go."
An hour later, Wei Yumeng emerged with a platter of dishes. A servant stepped forward to help her.
"Thank you, no need. May I ask if Mr. Zhan has returned?"
"He's already gone upstairs with Fang Xun."
"Oh, then could you ask him to come down for dinner?"
Conveniently, Wen Yulan and Zhan Yichen were not home today.
Normally, the servant would have paid no heed to Wei Yumeng. However, seeing the Young Master's attitude towards her lately, she figured perhaps the couple might be developing feelings for each other. If they were to have a child for the Zhan family, her future in the household would depend on Wei Yumeng.
"I'll go and call him for you right away."
Wei Yumeng arranged the dishes on the table. She felt a sense of accomplishment looking at her creations. She hadn't cooked in a long time, the last time being with Gu Shuyi in their small apartment, before she fell ill.
Since marrying Zhan Mohan, she hadn't had the leisure to do such things daily, at most just boiling some noodles.
She thought about how Zhan Mohan had at least helped Gu Shuyi find a good doctor, and how he had also helped her on previous occasions. More importantly, she needed to ask that person for help tonight. Although she had already devised an escape plan in her mind, she wasn't sure if it would succeed.
If all else failed, this meal could serve as a foundation to discuss Xin Ran's matter with Zhan Mohan later, potentially earning her some favor. Asking Zhan Mohan now was out of the question; he had argued with her about this very matter the other day, and bringing it up again would only enrage him further.
The servant invited Zhan Mohan down, and he was surprisingly cooperative; she hadn't expected him to come.
She stepped forward and took the wheelchair from the servant.
"I'll do it."
The servant also helped them move some excess chairs from the dining table elsewhere, making space for Zhan Mohan.
After they were seated, Wei Yumeng first served him the braised fish she had prepared.
"I'm not sure about your preferred taste, so please try this first. If it's not good, I'll improve it next time."
Zhan Mohan didn't even touch his chopsticks. His deep, dark eyes fixed intently on her.
"What's your objective? Just say it."
Wei Yumeng paused for a moment, then smiled relaxedly.
"I just felt that after marrying you for so long, I've never properly cooked a meal for you."
Zhan Mohan pondered for a moment, then finally picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of fish, and put it in his mouth, eating deliberately.
"If Xin Ran weren't still inside, I might have truly believed you were planning to run away again."
As Wei Yumeng was about to scoop some soup, her fingers trembled upon hearing his words, and her expression instantly turned stiff.
"Even if Xin Ran is released now, I wouldn't dare to run away even if you gave me ten times the courage. Besides, my mother is still in your hands, isn't she?"
To this day, he hadn't allowed her to visit Gu Shuyi in the hospital, wasn't that his punishment for her and Xin Ran's escape?
Zhan Mohan continued to eat, not saying another word. It was a seemingly harmonious scene, yet the atmosphere felt suffocatingly tense.
Despite the food tasting quite good, Wei Yumeng ate as if chewing on wax, eventually losing all appetite.
She put down her chopsticks, "Mr. Zhan, please enjoy your meal."
"Wei Yumeng, you want me to release Xin Ran, but you don't need to do things like this to curry favor with me. It's completely useless."
The more she did things that were out of character for her to help that man, the more displeased he felt.
Clearly, this woman was full of thorns, even he couldn't escape her sharp tongue. Yet, for a man named Xin Ran, she became meek and submissive.
Wei Yumeng couldn't even muster a fake smile anymore.
"No matter what you think, at least today, for this meal, I wasn't thinking of asking you to release Xin Ran."
"Then what do you want?"
Zhan Mohan didn't believe that she would go to such lengths to make this meal without any other ulterior motive.
"I don't want anything, I just made you a meal. Believe it or not."
Wei Yumeng was also annoyed. She stood up, pushed her chair away, and went straight upstairs.
Zhan Mohan stared at the table full of dishes, his gaze profound, but he had no inclination to eat any further.
If she had genuinely made this meal for him, he would have been overjoyed. Unfortunately, she had other intentions.
Wei Yumeng didn't come out of the room again. By eleven o'clock, she had dried her hair and lay in bed. Perhaps she was tired from the day, and her body hadn't fully recovered after the miscarriage.
She was always prone to sleepiness and fell asleep shortly after, not even realizing when Zhan Mohan returned to the room.
In the middle of the night, Wei Yumeng's phone vibrated. She groggily picked up her phone and saw the familiar number. She immediately hung up.
She sat up, propping herself against the bed. Glancing at Zhan Mohan, who was still fast asleep beside her, she tiptoed out of the room and saw a message from him.
[Come to the balcony.]