Mu Cheng felt like she must have forgotten to check the almanac today—nothing had gone right for her all day.
The gentle and calm look in Gu Yunche’s eyes from earlier had vanished, replaced once again by coldness and distance. Even the smile on his lips carried mockery and self-ridicule.
He looked like a noble young master who had just been fooled by a seasoned little swindler from the jianghu.
But she really had deceived him.
Yet she couldn’t help it!
Mu Cheng never wanted to transmigrate into the body of the useless and despised Mu Guiying either!
Seeing the momentary distraction in Mu Cheng’s eyes, Gu Yunche pulled over a chair and sat beside her bed.
“Mu Cheng, tell me—other than lying to me about being illiterate, pretending to jump off a building, and faking fainting, what else have you lied about?”
His tone suddenly turned colder.
“And the note for Qi Heng—did you really not write it?”
Gu Yunche casually adjusted his shirt cuffs. When he raised his eyes, they were filled with icy indifference.
“If you truly wanted to find someone to marry, I can help you with that. There’s no need for all this pointless scheming.”
Under Gu Yunche’s cold and oppressive aura, Mu Cheng could feel his old prejudice toward her returning once again.
She sighed softly.
“I didn’t write that note. I did fake the jump and fainting, but I did it for self-defense and retaliation. What was I supposed to do? Just endure it after people practically came to my doorstep to bully me?”
After hearing her admit to pretending, the coldness on Gu Yunche’s face deepened further.
“So Liu E didn’t treat you that badly after all? She even let you study and learn to read?”
“No!”
Mu Cheng’s tone gradually sharpened under his icy questioning.
“I only know those few words because the village chief taught me!”
Then she looked straight at him.
“In the end, you just don’t trust me! If this had happened to Bai Lin, you would’ve believed her and protected her without hesitation, wouldn’t you?”
Gu Yunche felt Mu Cheng was being completely unreasonable. She refused to admit her own faults and instead dragged others into the matter.
“Yes. Bai Lin’s character is worthy of my trust. As for you…”
Gu Yunche stood up.
“I still remember everything you did back in Ancient City Village. Every single thing.”
He swept a cold glance at her.
“With the kind of person you are, how am I supposed to trust you?”
Mu Cheng was thoroughly enraged.
The guilt she’d felt earlier for deceiving him disappeared completely. Instead, she sneered mockingly.
“Bai Lin has good character? Zhang Qingqing is obviously straightforward and simple-minded. Do you really think she could come up with all these tricks on her own to harm me? Bai Lin was clearly the strategist behind the scenes, feeding Zhang Qingqing ideas while that idiot rushed around doing the dirty work. Only a naïve fool like you still thinks Bai Lin is a good person!”
Naïve fool?
Gu Yunche paused briefly before his sharp brows lifted in anger.
“Stop falsely accusing good people. Without evidence, I’ll trust what I see with my own eyes more.”
After straightening his clothes, he pulled open the door.
Before leaving, he said coldly, “Until Bai Lin recovers enough to leave the hospital, you’d better behave yourself. Otherwise, there’s no need for you to continue traveling with us.”
Mu Cheng trembled with fury after he left. She slammed her fists against the bed several times.
“Gu Yunche, you’re such an idiot! You deserve to be played by Bai Lin.”
Lowering her gaze to the military cot, her eyes suddenly reddened.
“You’re not an idiot… you’re just protecting the person you like.”
Gu Yunche had appeared before her like a savior, helping her deal with Qi Heng. She had truly been grateful—even momentarily moved.
But none of that was enough for him to genuinely pity or truly care for her.
The moment even the slightest flaw appeared in her morality or character, she instantly became the unforgivable villain again—the contrast to Bai Lin.
Mu Cheng wiped away her tears bitterly.
What exactly had she been hoping for?
Some things could be changed.
But the prejudice and opinions people held toward her were not among them.
Downstairs, Gu Yunche looked up at the still-lit window of Mu Cheng’s room, his thoughts in complete turmoil.
He laughed bitterly.
“How did I end up trying to force someone to change the way they think? Have I gone crazy?”
Gu Yunche walked to the bus stop to wait for a ride.
When the bus arrived, he suddenly realized he couldn’t return to the Zhang family’s house for the night, so he turned back toward the guesthouse to rent another room.
Only to be told there were no vacancies left.
Gu Yunche suddenly felt as though misfortune always arrived in pairs when the guesthouse attendant approached him.
“Commander Gu, the hospital just called. A girl named Bai Lin is looking for you.”
Bai Lin?
Gu Yunche remembered that before leaving the hospital earlier, he had only briefly told her, “Mu Cheng’s in danger. I’m going to check on her,” before rushing out.
He nodded. “I understand. I’ll head to the hospital now.”
As Gu Yunche walked out of the guesthouse, he instinctively looked toward Mu Cheng’s window again.
The light had gone out.
He laughed at himself mockingly.
Did he seriously expect Mu Cheng to reflect on her own behavior?
She had never thought she was wrong. By now, she was probably already fast asleep.
The late-night bus arrived slowly. Under the streetlamp beside the station, Gu Yunche’s shadow stretched long across the ground.
His mood was terrible, yet he couldn’t explain exactly why he felt so unhappy.
At the hospital, Bai Lin was still awake, sitting there waiting for him.
“Brother Yunche, is Sister Mu Cheng alright?”
Gu Yunche’s brows furrowed slightly.
“You stayed awake just because you were worried about her?”
Bai Lin nodded, guilt filling her eyes.
“Yes. I was afraid… afraid that because I didn’t arrange a place for her to stay and left her alone at the guesthouse, something might happen to her. If that happened, I’d feel guilty.”
Gu Yunche pressed his lips together before pulling over a chair and sitting down.
His expression looked weary and exhausted as he spoke slowly.
“She’s fine. Go to sleep. I’ll sit here for a while before leaving.”
Bai Lin obediently lay down, but seeing Gu Yunche’s gloomy expression made her heart tighten.
Still, she desperately wanted to know what had happened in the end.
Zhang Qingqing had clearly made her move—so why was Mu Cheng still alright?
Softly, Bai Lin asked, “Brother Yunche, what exactly happened? Can you tell me?”
Gu Yunche glanced toward the pitch-black night outside the window. His brows furrowed faintly, and his dark eyes suddenly deepened.
“Zhang Qingqing tried to frame Mu Cheng. She wanted Mu Cheng to end up with Qi Heng… so she could take Mu Cheng’s residency registration quota for herself. Fortunately, neither she nor Qi Heng succeeded.”
Then he added, “Qi Heng and Zhang Qingqing have already gone to the police station to explain the situation. Qi Heng will receive disciplinary punishment, and Zhang Qingqing won’t escape a demerit from school either.”
A chill spread through Bai Lin’s heart.
Thankfully, she hadn’t directly participated in this matter.
Otherwise, she would have been ruined too.
Her eyes shimmered with tears as she blamed herself guiltily.
“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t accidentally mentioned Mu Cheng’s background, Qingqing wouldn’t have used it against her.”
Gu Yunche suddenly recalled Mu Cheng accusing Bai Lin earlier.
Carefully, he studied Bai Lin.
She was crying again, looking soft, weak, guilty, and heartbroken.
Lowering his eyes, Gu Yunche comforted her softly.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
Bai Lin cried for a while longer, repeatedly insisting that she would treat Mu Cheng better in the future, apologize to her, and make up for everything.
Only after a pause did she finally ask,
“Brother Yunche… how did you discover that Zhang Qingqing was trying to harm Mu Cheng?”