Zheng Yu attempted suicide three times that afternoon. The first attempt involved ramming into a wall, resulting in a painful forehead injury. The second involved trying to hang himself, but the beam was too high and the doorframe too low, leaving him unable to reach it. The final attempt was a jump from a table, which caused him to fall and scrape his hand.
That night, Wu’s wife glared at Ruan Ning, enraged that her son had been ruined. She berated him for his suicide attempts, while Ruan Ning rolled her eyes in frustration.
Ruan Ning realized that Zheng Yu had never successfully committed suicide not because of plot armor, but due to his lack of courage. He was only trying to intimidate Wu’s wife.
Determined to take action, Ruan Ning decided that if escape was not possible, she would find a way to help Zheng Yu commit suicide. Completing this task would yield a significant reward, which she could use to help Meng Chi escape before leaving this world.
After the third watch, Wu’s wife started snoring, and Ruan Ning gave Zheng Yu a meaningful look to untie the ropes. However, Zheng Yu felt that being tied up made her appear more pitiable and whispered, “Don’t make mother unhappy; just bear with it a little longer.”
“Good brother, my hands and feet hurt so much, please,” Ruan Ning said, suppressing her goosebumps and attempting to act coquettishly.
Zheng Yu couldn’t resist this and quickly began to untie her.
Ruan Ning peeked through the carriage curtain and saw two burly male servants sitting on the driver’s seat, with two more on donkeys behind. They were clearly Wu’s trusted subordinates. With their abilities, escaping would be difficult, especially since they were one weak and one foolish.
As Zheng Yu struggled to untie the tightly knotted hemp rope, he began to sweat, but the knot remained unmoved.
“Good brother, you’re so good to me,” she encouraged, “I heard you were going to commit suicide for me. I’m so touched.”
Zheng Yu smiled and replied, “It’s all to scare my mother. She loves me the most and won’t let me die. She’ll be scared into listening to me sooner or later.”
“Yes, I know, but if it’s always this mild, your mother might not take it seriously,” Ruan Ning said tenderly. “It’s best to make a big scene, make her think you’re really going to die, then she’ll be scared.”
Zheng Yu scratched his head: “I’m afraid of pain.”
Ruan Ning sighed. This conversation was going nowhere.
She continued to coax him patiently: “If we choose the right method, it won’t hurt. It’s dark and the road is bad. Let’s pretend to jump off and scare your mother.”
She observed that the road was narrow, with slopes on both sides. If they were lucky, they might even succeed in suicide.
Zheng Yu hesitated, mumbling, “Will it hurt?”
“I’ll go with you. I’ll jump first and catch you below. If you land on me, it won’t hurt,” Ruan Ning said, secretly cursing while speaking affectionately. “I’m not afraid of pain for you.”
“Okay, then,” Zheng Yu finally nodded.
The rope was too difficult to untie. He lowered his head to try biting it open but accidentally bit Ruan Ning’s skin. She hissed, suddenly thinking of Meng Chi. When he was around, no one could harm her, not even his beloved Meng Yao.
Meng Chi, oh Meng Chi, I wonder how you’re doing now. Have you cleared your name?
Author’s note: The finale will be released tomorrow, stay tuned~
Chapter 77: Stepbrother
Meng Chi hadn’t slept either.
He leaned on a bamboo chair beside Meng Yao’s bed, watching the sleeping girl, heart filled with regret.
Meng Yao had broken the bones in her fingers. Although she might recover somewhat in a year or two, she would never be able to handle heavy objects or do delicate work again.
He had sworn to protect his sister and never let her suffer, but he had failed.
“Brother, don’t go, brother!” Meng Yao suddenly called out in her sleep. Meng Chi quickly stood up to check, but she had only spoken in a dream.
He picked up her hand, cradling it like a precious treasure, tears welling in his eyes. They were each other’s only family, and he was supposed to care for her, but now he was lost.
As for Yuan Ning, news of his arrest had likely reached Lin Zhou. The Zheng family would surely make things difficult for her. He had sent a message to warn the Zheng family to prevent any trouble. But after so many days, had she already married Zheng Yu? Did she really prefer that useless man to him?
Zheng Yu’s ear was pulled so long that it hurt and made him cry out.
At that moment, a horsefly bit the mule pulling the cart. The startled mule kicked and jumped, causing the male servant to lose his grip. The cart rushed down the roadside slope.
Wu’s wife was thrown to the side and fell, while Zheng Yu screamed and was thrown from the cart, hitting his head on a large stone.
Ruan Ning’s feet were tied, but she was the safest among the three. Suddenly, a familiar female voice rang in her ear: “Host, after scanning and judgment, Zheng Yu is dead.”
Ruan Ning’s excitement surged: “Really dead? Isn’t this success rate too high? Incredible luck!”
She exclaimed, “So simple? Ah, great! No, too coincidental. Ah, poor Zheng Yu! My mission is complete, right? Quickly save him and then save Meng Chi!”
“Host, your mission is not yet complete…”
Shocked, Ruan Ning replied, “Impossible, Zheng Yu’s dead; this must count as completing the mission! He died because of me!”
“Host, listen,” the voice sounded somewhat helpless, “Zheng Yu’s death was triggered by you, but he’s not a yandere; he’s just a melodramatic mama’s boy.”
Ruan Ning: …
So after all this trouble, she hadn’t even targeted the right person? This is too much!
“There are two yanderes in this story,” the standard female voice sighed, “One is Meng Chi, the other is Meng Yao. Host, would you like to reconsider which one to target?”
Ruan Ning: …
Meng Chi, that perverted confinement maniac? Meng Yao, that perverted brother-complex? She was a romance writer, not a bondage writer. Why give her such a difficult task!
“Do you want to save Zheng Yu?” the voice asked again.
“Save… I guess,” Ruan Ning was teary-eyed. She had earned a pitiful reward, and now she still had to save someone. What terrible luck!
“He can be saved completely intact, but it will use up all your rewards. Or you can just save his life, which will require subsequent treatment and cost much less. Which do you choose?”
Ruan Ning chose the second option.
The reward number on the transparent panel quickly decreased. The mule cart finally stopped, and Wu’s wife jumped down crying and hugged Zheng Yu. Zheng Yu hummed, saying: “Mother, I’m hurt.”
“Good son, don’t hurt anymore, mother will take you to see a doctor,” Wu’s wife said gently, then turned and cursed Ruan Ning, “You wretched girl, you caused this! I’ll beat you to death!”
Ruan Ning was too depressed to respond.
As dawn approached, they finally arrived at the next town.
Wu’s wife sent Zheng Yu to the medicine hall. When the doctor said he needed rest and couldn’t move, she hesitated, torn between her son’s well-being and the importance of the silver notes.
Ruan Ning, anxious about Meng Chi’s fate, said, “I wonder how my brother is doing. What if he’s convicted? What if the authorities find the silver notes? Then we can forget about everything.”
Determined, Wu’s wife decided to prioritize the money, believing her son would survive.
Leaving Zheng Yu in the clinic, Wu’s wife and Ruan Ning continued to the capital. By noon the next day, they arrived, and Ruan Ning pointed towards the Meng family, saying, “The silver notes are hidden in the courtyard where I used to live.”
