Lu Meishu committed suicide!
Why did she take her own life?
Because Zhang Zhijun had a mistress outside, and the illegitimate daughter was already a teenager. Lu Meishu could not bear such a huge blow and chose to end everything.
Zhang Zhijun actually had an illegitimate daughter?
His reputation has always been so good. Other men might cheat, but not Zhang Zhijun!
In the mouths of the gossiping crowd, the “other men” definitely included President Peng.
Fortunately, Mrs Peng was tough enough. Over the years, although President Peng was constantly rumoured to be involved with his female secretaries, at least he had never produced an illegitimate children.
President Peng himself was immersed in work and had no idea he ranked so highly on the “potential cheaters list”. Mrs Peng, who was in Shanghai, heard the news and felt a heavy weight on her heart.
Peng Guoqing also learned from Tai Wu that Zhang Nan’s aunt had killed herself.
Thinking of how his own mother had lived for years under the constant cloud of his father’s suspected infidelity, Peng Guoqing became especially obedient. He patted his chest and promised Mrs Peng, “If Dad ever dares to betray you, we’ll take his money and run. The world is huge. There’s no need to stay tangled up with him!”
The heaviness in Mrs Peng’s heart instantly vanished. She smiled and taught her son, “Once a man cheats, he has a second heart. A man with a second heart won’t treat his wife with much kindness, and he’ll only be half-hearted toward his children too. Do you really think he’d still give us mother and son his money?”
That made sense.
Peng Guoqing still hadn’t figured out exactly what was going on with Zhang Zhijun.
But he now fully understood the kind of life Xie Qian had been living these past few years.
Peng Guoqing suddenly grabbed his mother’s arm and solemnly advised her in return, “Then forget it. We don’t want the money. Let Dad spend it all. The way he works himself to death, he might drop dead in a few years anyway. Then I’ll come back and fight for the inheritance!”
If they could fight for it, they would. If not, so be it.
Remembering he still had a 10% stake in Jiaxin, Peng Guoqing felt that he and his mother would never starve.
The worst that could happen was that his mother could no longer swipe her card freely for bags and jewellery. She would fall from wealthy tai-tai to a divorced woman with a little money. Just thinking about it made Peng Guoqing’s heart ache. He could live frugally, but his mother should never have to pinch pennies!
Peng Guoqing felt depressed.
Mrs Peng encouraged him. “It’s fine. Mum believes in you. Men are optional. As long as I have you, I’ll definitely stay strong!”
Lu Meishu’s suicide weighed heavily on Mrs Peng.
She sympathised with what Lu Meishu had gone through, but she could not understand her actions.
There are millions of men in the world. If I’m happy, I can change them every day.
Was one cheating scumbag really worth sacrificing her own life for?
Even if she didn’t think of herself, she should at least have thought of her own son!
Zhang Hua and Peng Guoqing were the same age, at that crucial transition from adolescence to adulthood. He was far too young to handle such upheaval calmly. How could Lu Meishu bear to abandon him?
This was flesh that had fallen from her own body. If she didn’t cherish it, could she really expect the cheating scumbag to take proper care of him?
It was simply foolish.
Peng Guoqing’s expression turned resolute. “I’m heading to the company right now. Even if I can’t earn as much as Dad, I’ll do my best to make sure you always have money to spend!”
Money could be earned.
As long as his mother was alive, Peng Guoqing wasn’t afraid of hard work.
He gave himself a shot of adrenaline and went back to work at Jiaxin.
Her son might be a bit silly, but he was very filial.
Mrs Peng made a call to a friend in Beijing. “The woman who could drive Zhang Zhijun’s wife to her death. Just what kind of background does Zhang Zhijun’s mistress have?”
The friend didn’t know much.
Everyone only knew that Lu Meishu had killed herself. The woman on the outside hadn’t shown her face yet.
Other home-wreckers wanted money and status. The one Zhang Zhijun found actually wanted a life!
Mrs Peng refused to remain ignorant of the enemy. “Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and dig. Do you all really want to see this murderous bitch squeeze into our circle? Would you be able to sleep at night?”
The friend was incredulous. “It can’t be that bad, surely? Now that Lu Meishu is dead, as long as the Zhang family has any sense of shame, they would never let the outsider become the official wife!”
Mrs Peng gave a cold laugh. “The Zhang family certainly won’t agree. But Zhang Zhijun is over forty. If he’s in the throes of a mid-life brain fever, who knows? He might go to war with the entire world for that woman.”
That’s true too.
A sane man wouldn’t drive his wife to death for a woman on the side.
The friend promised Mrs Peng she would look into it.
After hanging up, Mrs Peng’s expression grew grave. She muttered to herself, “What a troublesome time this is.”
Peng Guoqing couldn’t reach Xie Qian, and Mrs Peng couldn’t get hold of Zou Weijun either.
Logically, the Xie family’s affairs had nothing to do with the Zhangs, yet Mrs Peng felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
…
The only people who truly knew the inside story, apart from the Zhang family themselves, were Xie Yuping and Hou Zhixiu.
When Hou Zhixiu learned of Lu Meishu’s death, it felt as though a huge stone was pressing on her heart.
“That day she came to our house… I should have tried harder to talk her out of it.”
A human life!
No matter what Zhang Zhijun had done, it had nothing to do with Lu Meishu deserving to die. The cheating husband was living just fine, yet the betrayed wife took her own life. What kind of logic was that?
Xie Yuping comforted his wife. “When someone has made up their mind to die, a few simple words from you wouldn’t have stopped her. The person who should bear responsibility for her death is not you. It’s Zhang Zhijun.”
When he first heard that Lu Meishu had died, Xie Yuping was not particularly shocked. He was terrified.
Because Zou Weijun had very nearly gone down the exact same path.
Zou Weijun had been discovered in time and saved.
If no one had found her, Zou Weijun would have…
The world is vast, and women who attempt suicide over marriage and love are not limited to Lu Meishu and Zou Weijun. Yet by cruel coincidence, both women’s marriages had been destroyed by the same third party.
Zou Weijun had been saved. Lu Meishu had not been so lucky.
Was it really just bad luck?
Or had someone not wanted Lu Meishu to live?
After careful consideration, Xie Yuping finally called Zou Weijun.
The psychiatrist had said Zou Weijun’s depression was long cured.
If Xie Yuping assessed it himself, Zou Weijun’s mental state was indeed good. She had held up even through Xie Qian’s terrible accident.
So… it should be all right to bring up the past now, right?
He got through. First he asked about Xie Qian. Zou Weijun’s tone was light and cheerful. “The doctor was right. Qian is getting better every day. He still can’t speak much, but his thinking is clear.”
Xie Qian simply refused to say much to the doctors.
Whenever Jiang Youjia visited the hospital, however, Xie Qian had plenty to say.
Zou Weijun didn’t know what they talked about. She only knew that after Jiang Youjia left, Xie Qian’s mood would always improve.
These past couple of days, Jiang Youjia had been coming to the hospital with her laptop, squatting in the corridor typing away, apparently working.
Xie Yuping listened patiently.
People are greedy by nature.
At first everyone had only hoped Xie Qian would survive.
Now hearing that his mind was clearing day by day, Xie Yuping was overjoyed.
He hadn’t been brain-damaged. The next step was simply recovering from his physical injuries!
When Zou Weijun finished updating him on Xie Qian, Xie Yuping changed tack. “This might be an inappropriate question, but I still want to know. Back then, why did you… When you made that extreme choice, had you received some direct, overwhelming stimulus right before?”
