Mu Cheng felt she must have forgotten to check the almanac today, as everything seemed to go wrong.
Gu Yunche's previously gentle and calm eyes had once again turned cold and distant, the smile at the corners of his lips now filled with sarcasm and self-mockery.
He looked like a noble young master who had been fooled by a seasoned female swindler from the streets.
But she had indeed deceived him, though she had no other choice!
Mu Cheng never wanted to transmigrate into the utterly useless and despised Mu Guiying either!
Noticing Mu Cheng's momentary daze, Gu Yunche pulled over a chair and sat by her bedside.
"Mu Cheng, tell me, besides pretending to be illiterate, faking a suicide jump, and feigning fainting, what else have you done?"
His tone suddenly turned several degrees colder. "Was that note to Qi Heng really written by you?"
Gu Yunche casually adjusted his shirt cuffs, his eyes icy when he looked up. "If you really want to marry someone, I'll help you. There's no need for all these antics!"
Under Gu Yunche's stern presence, Mu Cheng felt his previous prejudices surging back.
She sighed. "I didn't write that note. The jumping and fainting were acts, but I did it to fight back and protect myself. I can't just stand by when someone attacks me, can I?"
After she admitted to pretending to jump and faint, the coldness on Gu Yunche's face intensified.
He asked again, "So Liu E wasn't too bad to you after all? She even let you study and read?"
"Not at all! I learned those few characters from the village Party branch secretary."
Growing increasingly defensive under Gu Yunche's cold tone, Mu Cheng retorted, "Ultimately, you just don't trust me! If this were Bai Lin, you'd definitely believe and protect her, wouldn't you?"
Gu Yunche found Mu Cheng utterly unreasonable—unwilling to admit her own faults while dragging others into it.
"That's right, Bai Lin's character deserves my trust. As for you…"
Gu Yunche stood up. "I remember clearly everything you did in Gucheng Village. That means I haven't forgotten any of it!"
He cast a cold glance at Mu Cheng. "How could I trust someone like you?"
Mu Cheng was completely enraged.
All guilt from deceiving Gu Yunche vanished, replaced by cold sneers and sarcasm.
"Bai Lin has good character? Zhang Qingqing is clearly straightforward—do you think she could come up with so many tricks to harm me? It's Bai Lin, that incompetent strategist, giving Zhang Qingqing ideas behind the scenes while Zhang charges ahead like a fool. Only a naive fool like you would still think Bai Lin is a good person!"
What did "naive fool" mean?
Coming to his senses, Gu Yunche raised his sharp eyebrows angrily and stood up. "Stop slandering good people. Without evidence, I trust what I've seen with my own eyes."
He straightened his clothes and pulled the door open to leave.
Before going, he said coldly, "Until Bai Lin is discharged and can leave, you'd better behave. Otherwise, there's no need for you to come with us."
Trembling with anger, Mu Cheng punched the bed several times. "Gu Yunche, you're a big fool! Serves you right for being played by Bai Lin!"
Her eyes reddened as she glanced at the camp bed. "You're not a fool—you're just protecting the person you like!"
She was grateful that Gu Yunche had appeared like a divine savior, helping her teach Qi Heng a lesson.
But none of it was enough to make Gu Yunche treat her with genuine compassion!
Whenever the slightest "flaw" in her character or morals appeared, she once again became the unforgivable one, the foil to Bai Lin.
Mu Cheng wiped away her tears in grievance.
What was she even hoping for?
Some things she could change, but some people's views and prejudices—she couldn't change them!
Downstairs, Gu Yunche saw that the light in Mu Cheng's room was still on, and he felt restless.
He smiled bitterly. "How could I force someone to change their way of thinking? Am I crazy?"
Gu Yunche walked to the bus stop to wait for the bus.
When the bus arrived, he remembered he couldn't go back to the Zhang family to stay the night, so he turned back to the guesthouse to book a room, only to be told there were no rooms left.
Gu Yunche felt the unlucky sting of "when it rains, it pours," just as a staff member from the guesthouse approached.
"Regiment Commander Gu, the hospital just called. A young woman named Bai Lin is looking for you."
Bai Lin was looking for him?
Gu Yunche recalled that before leaving the hospital, he had simply said to Bai Lin, "Mu Cheng is in danger, I'm going to check on her," and left.
He nodded. "I understand. I'll go to the hospital now."
As Gu Yunche left the guesthouse, he instinctively looked up at the window of Mu Cheng's room—the light was off.
He laughed at himself mockingly. Could he really expect Mu Cheng to reflect on her behavior?
She never thought she was in the wrong. By now, she was probably already fast asleep.
The late-night bus arrived belatedly. The streetlight beside the bus stop stretched Gu Yunche's shadow long, but his mood was low, though he couldn't say why he was unhappy.
When he arrived 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 because you were worried about her?"
Bai Lin nodded, her eyes filled with guilt.
"Yes, I was afraid… I was afraid that because I didn't arrange accommodation for her, something might have happened to her staying alone at the guesthouse. If that happened, I would feel guilty."
Gu Yunche pursed his lips, walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down.
He looked weary and exhausted, speaking slowly, "She's fine. You should sleep. I'll sit here for a while before leaving."
Bai Lin obediently lay down. Seeing Gu Yunche's despondent expression, her heart tightened, but she was too eager to know the final outcome.
Zhang Qingqing had clearly taken action, so why was Mu Cheng unharmed?
Bai Lin asked softly, "Brother Yunche, what exactly happened? Can you tell me?"
Gu Yunche glanced at the pitch-black night outside, his brows slightly furrowed, his dark eyes suddenly turning somber.
"Zhang Qingqing framed Mu Cheng, trying to get her together with Qi Heng… in order to take Mu Cheng's residency quota. Fortunately, neither she nor Qi Heng succeeded."
Gu Yunche added, "Qi Heng and Zhang Qingqing have gone to the police station to explain the situation. Qi Heng will face disciplinary action, and Zhang Qingqing won't escape a demerit from the school either."
Bai Lin felt a chill in her heart. Thankfully, she hadn't been directly involved in this matter. Otherwise, she would have been finished too!
Tears welled up in her eyes as she guiltily blamed herself, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't unintentionally revealed Sister Mu Cheng's background, Qingqing wouldn't have used it to harm her."
Gu Yunche recalled Mu Cheng's accusations against Bai Lin, and doubts lingered in his mind.
He studied Bai Lin carefully. She was crying again, looking soft, weak, and full of remorse.
Gu Yunche lowered his gaze. "This has nothing to do with you. Go to sleep."
Bai Lin cried for a while, earnestly vowing to treat Mu Cheng well in the future, to apologize to her, and to make amends.
After a moment, she asked, "Brother Yun Che, how did you discover that Zhang Qingqing was trying to harm Mu Cheng?"