Wei Yumeng instinctively raised her hand to block the strong light, her heart pounding like a drum. It was over; she was discovered.
"Young Madam, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Wei Yumeng blinked, surprised that this person hadn't seen the man beside her.
When she turned her head, the man was nowhere to be seen. Where had he gone?
Seeing Wei Yumeng's pale face, the servant had an idea.
"Young Madam, could you possibly... be sleepwalking?"
Wei Yumeng gave a stiff smile. "No, I just heard the window downstairs rattling. You must not have closed it properly last night."
As she spoke, she turned to close the window that had been pushed open again and glanced down. She guessed the man had already fled. His agile movements suggested he was skilled in martial arts.
She was also fortunate that she hadn't entertained any further thoughts of trying to see his true face. With his speed, if he had truly appeared, it would only have brought harm to herself.
The servant did indeed see that the window was open.
"Then, Young Madam, it would be better to turn on the lights from now on. If you fall, Young Master will blame us."
"Alright."
Wei Yumeng didn't want to say any more to the servant and quickly hurried upstairs.
Once back in the room, she leaned against the door, patting her chest. Her heart was pounding as if it would leap out.
She shakily climbed onto the bed, and her hand accidentally touched Zhan Mohan's arm, only to discover it was ice cold.
Why was he lying on the bed, fine, yet his arm was cold?
"Wei Yumeng, what are you being so neurotic about in the middle of the night?"
The man's cold voice suddenly sounded beside her ear, startling Wei Yumeng.
She got up to turn on the light but was stopped by the man grabbing her wrist.
"I don't like bright lights."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I woke you up."
The man snorted. "You know you've woken someone up in the middle of the night."
"I was going to close the window."
"Does closing a window take that long?" the man asked sarcastically.
Wei Yumeng asked him seriously, "Then does Mr. Zhan expect me to fly?"
"Wei Yumeng, are you taking advantage of the injustice you suffered today to speak to me like this?"
"My grievances are nothing compared to Mr. Zhan's interests; they are truly insignificant."
It was better if he didn't mention it. The moment it was brought up, she recalled how Li Huan had treated her today and how Zhan Mohan had stood by and done nothing to help.
He only intervened reluctantly when she could no longer cope and was about to break down, and ultimately, he was the one who benefited.
"It seems you don't understand your own status if I don't teach you a lesson."
Before Wei Yumeng could fully grasp the meaning of his words, the man's strong body pressed down on her. Startled, she instinctively began to resist, but the man deftly pinned her wrists above her head.
With red eyes and a stiff neck, she shouted, "Zhan Mohan, let go of me!"
What kind of rotten luck had she encountered today? She had just been taken advantage of by that man, and she thought Zhan Mohan had a hidden ailment, so at least he wouldn't do anything to her.
Who knew he was just like that other man. Indeed, all men in the world were the same.
"Aren't you quite defiant? Why aren't you scolding anymore..." His icy fingertips traced her flushed cheeks, his words laced with mockery. "Or are you just a paper tiger, scattering at the slightest gust of wind?"
Wei Yumeng, pinned down by him, lost all her fight. Even though Zhan Mohan was paralyzed from the waist down, she was no match for him.
Her voice finally became helpless.
"Can you let me go? You're pressing down like this, and I can barely breathe."
Seeing her yield, Zhan Mohan's grim expression eased slightly, but he had no intention of letting her off the hook. This woman needed to be taught a lesson. If she didn't learn her lesson, who knew how she would talk back to him next time.
He raised his eyebrows with a wicked smile. "Is this how you ask for favors?"
Wei Yumeng was truly struggling to breathe under his weight, especially with him so close, his hot breath on her face. Her body temperature rose involuntarily.
She had no choice but to soften her tone.
"Mr. Zhan, please, let me go."
The man's brows finally relaxed. "That sounds more like asking for a favor."
He got up from her, and only then did Wei Yumeng finally breathe a sigh of relief. She had been talking for so long, her throat was so dry it felt like it was on fire.
"Do you want some water?"
"Yes," he said, not being polite at all.
Wei Yumeng got up to turn on the light and went downstairs to get two bottles of mineral water. As she handed one to Zhan Mohan, she noticed a mole on the back of his hand. It seemed that downstairs, she had also touched the mysterious man's hand and felt a mole or a scar.
She couldn't be sure if the position was the same, nor could she guarantee that the moles or scars on their hands were identical.
If they were the same, could it be... that the mysterious man was Zhan Mohan?
Zhan Mohan unscrewed the cap and took a sip of water, noticing Wei Yumeng's distracted state.
"What, are you thinking about some other man again?"
Wei Yumeng snapped back to reality, instinctively wanting to probe Zhan Mohan.
"Mr. Zhan, may I ask if anyone else in your Zhan family has this mole on your hand?"
"Why are you asking this?"
"No reason, I was just suddenly curious. Don't moles usually appear on the body or face?"
Wei Yumeng tried her best to appear calm, afraid he would see through her.
Zhan Mohan leaned in slightly, placing his hands on either side of her, as if enclosing her entirely. His eyes held hers captive, and Wei Yumeng felt as if she were looking into an endless abyss, unfathomable.
After a moment, he spoke with a chilling tone.
"You're not trying to distract me and cover for some wild man outside, are you?"
"No, I don't have anyone outside. It's just you. I swear..."
All along, it had been that mysterious man bothering her, like a persistent ghost, eroding her life every moment.
But in her heart, she had never thought of betraying Zhan Mohan.
Hearing her explanation, Zhan Mohan's mood inexplicably improved, even he didn't know why. The corners of his lips curled subtly.
Wei Yumeng saw him seemingly smile and felt as if she had seen a ghost.
"Zhan Mohan, you can actually smile..."
This ice that wouldn't melt in a thousand years could actually smile.
However, it seemed to confirm the rumors outside that he was indeed eccentric. He had just thrown a tantrum, and now he had suddenly turned sunny. Who could handle that?
Upon hearing her words, Zhan Mohan's smile immediately vanished, and he glared at Wei Yumeng with feigned ferocity.
"I'm a human being, why wouldn't I smile? Wei Yumeng, in your heart, am I some kind of freak?"
He had just smiled once, and this woman acted as if she had discovered something extraordinary.
Wei Yumeng wanted to say yes, but she didn't dare. When this man got angry, she was the one who suffered.
She shrunk her neck, waved her hand, and spoke against her will.
"No."
"You don't have to pretend with me. I know exactly what you're thinking."
Wei Yumeng pouted and muttered softly.
"Since you know, why are you still asking me?"
Zhan Mohan rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I knew you were dishonest. I warn you, unless I decide to let you go, I can capture you even if you escape to the ends of the earth."
Wei Yumeng lowered her eyes, responding with extreme reluctance.
"Yes, your Zhan family is so powerful, and I'm just an ordinary person."
The key was that she hadn't found out her mother's whereabouts yet, so where could she run?
The two fell silent, as if both were holding a grudge. They didn't speak another word for the rest of the night.
In another room, Wen Yulan was questioning a servant.
"You said you thought you saw a man?"
"I didn't see him very clearly because it was too dark, but I always felt that Young Madam's behavior was strange. When I went down, I heard her talking. She couldn't possibly be talking to a ghost, could she?"
"How is the investigation I asked you to conduct progressing?"
"I've made some headway. This is a photo of Young Madam at the hotel that day. However, the surveillance only captured a small part of a man's back, not very clear. It looks a bit like..."
The servant hesitated to say the rest. She was only guessing, especially since the eldest young master's legs were not...
Wen Yulan took the photo and looked at it, feeling puzzled.
"How could there be such a coincidence in this world?"
If the man's back in the photo was Zhan Mohan, wouldn't that prove his legs weren't paralyzed and he had been deceiving everyone for so long?
"There's one more thing. I found out that the second young master also entered and exited this hotel on the same day. This back view might not be the eldest young master's."
Wen Yulan was furious upon hearing this.
"Nonsense!"
Wei Yumeng was already Zhan Mohan's wife. What would it mean if she was still involved with Yichen?
But no matter whose child it was, it couldn't be kept.