Three months, ninety days.
During this time, Meng Jingwei was like a wounded deer, hiding in a corner to lick her wounds whenever she felt sad and hurt.
She used time as the best medicine to heal her wounded heart.
She thought she could let go.
But seeing the man standing before her at this moment, she still couldn't stop her heart from aching.
And this pain was also borne by Qing Muye.
However, he wouldn't show it in front of her.
"Oh, Young Master Qing, excuse me, I bumped into you."
Meng Jingwei stepped back, maintaining a calm yet polite smile on her fair cheek.
Her tone carried a hint of distance, which made Qing Muye's heart constrict painfully.
Although they had broken up, Meng Jingwei hadn't seen Qing Muye. However, in this age of information, it was hard for her not to know his news.
From the news she got from people around her and online, Meng Jingwei knew that Qing Muye had been throwing himself into work lately, starting to attack the C country market, investing heavily, acquiring companies, and was extremely busy.
Qing Muye's gaze was fixed on Meng Jingwei, as if trying to discern some emotion from her face. But after a long while, he saw nothing.
Because Meng Jingwei appeared too calm, her eyes like a still ancient well, allowing him to see no abnormality.
"You..."
As the word escaped his lips, Qing Muye suddenly realized he didn't know what to say.
"Since Young Master Qing is alright, I'll be going now."
Meng Jingwei smiled brightly, walked around him, and left with grace.
But the moment she passed behind Qing Muye, the smile on Meng Jingwei's face vanished.
She quickened her pace, almost running away.
When Qing Muye turned around, the young woman had already quickly run out of the hospital lobby.
Her hurried back seemed to speak of her embarrassment and awkwardness.
"Alas, why must you do this."
Tang Si, who had been around the corner, walked out and patted Qing Muye on the shoulder from behind.
Qing Muye didn't say anything and turned to leave.
The reason he was there was because when Meng Jingwei called Tang Si, Qing Muye happened to be there, so they came together.
After three months, under the cultivation of Huayu Media, Meng Jingwei had become increasingly excellent. Qing Muye often saw Meng Jingwei's fashion shows on Lancheng Television.
After leaving the hospital, Qing Muye drove aimlessly by himself.
Then he saw a familiar figure by the roadside...
Old Chen Tou!
Seeing him, Qing Muye's memory was instantly pulled back to the night three months ago.
It was also the night he was preparing to get his marriage certificate with Meng Jingwei, only for her parents and Old Chen Tou to rush to Lancheng to stop them. Outside the private room at Yipinju, Old Chen Tou had a chat with Qing Muye.
He said, "Since you know Jingwei's identity, you should know that she will eventually leave Lancheng. However, if you want to get married, I will take her away immediately."
Old Chen Tou said this, looked at Qing Muye, and without giving him a chance to speak, continued, "You know about Gu poison, right? A colorless, odorless, and deadly thing."
Upon hearing the words 'colorless and odorless,' Qing Muye, who was always calm and composed, instantly felt a chill run down his spine.
In the underground palace, he had personally witnessed Meng Jingwei's reaction, and even later found the jars in the secret room for testing, but found nothing.
So, those things were indeed Gu poison!
Qing Muye nodded. "Mmm."
"So, do you know how to break the Gu? Do you know where the Hidden Clan is? Also, why did Li Yun'er seem to be killed by him, yet no evidence can be found?"
These three fatal questions stumped Qing Muye.
The last time he was in such an awkward situation was probably ten years ago.
Li Yun'er's death was publicly announced as suicide, but in reality, even the forensic doctors couldn't find the cause.
"According to the rules of the Hidden Clan, the young master must inherit the position of clan leader at the age of 24. Jingwei just celebrated her 22nd birthday, which means she will have to leave Lancheng in a year and a half at the latest."
At this point, Old Chen Tou sighed. "There are many people watching Jingwei, and being with her makes you too conspicuous, which will only harm her. But if you leave her now and become strong enough to 'interfere' with the Hidden Clan within a year and a half, the two of you... might still have a chance."
Qing Muye vaguely deduced some information from Old Chen Tou's words indirectly.
That is...
The affairs of the Hidden Clan were too complicated. Even after Meng Jingwei returned to the Hidden Clan, she would encounter many dangers and would need the help of other forces.
Otherwise, she could be in mortal danger.
Old Chen Tou telling them to break up was undoubtedly telling him to "openly repair a plank road while secretly crossing the sea," doing his best to pave the way for Meng Jingwei's future. If everything went smoothly, they could still be together.
If something went wrong, it would be like drawing water with a bamboo basket, all for nothing.
Even worse...
As a participant, he might also face... a threat to his life.
"Child, I'm telling you this because I trust you, but I must also remind you that some muddy waters may hide bottomless swamps. Knowing when to retreat is the best way to protect yourself. After all, with your outstanding talent, what kind of girl can't you find?"
After saying this, Old Chen Tou returned directly to the private room.
Qing Muye also followed him back.
After that night, Qing Muye and Meng Jingwei returned to Ye Se Apartment. Meng Jingwei went to bed early, while Qing Muye went to the hotel to find Old Chen Tou after she fell asleep.
Upon seeing Old Chen Tou, his first sentence was, "I can agree to your terms, but you must tell me... where the Hidden Clan is."
From the "Secret History of the Hidden Clan," Qing Muye knew about the Hidden Clan, but the entire book never mentioned its location.
After reading "Secret History of the Hidden Clan," he sent Song Jun to investigate the Hidden Clan, but the information he obtained was very limited.
Old Chen Tou saw Qing Muye standing outside the door and didn't speak, just opened the door to let him in.
After closing the door, Old Chen Tou lit his pipe again. "You can't even find the Hidden Clan, so I..."
"Instead of wasting time, wouldn't it be faster to shorten unnecessary time and the consumption of manpower and material resources if Master Shen directly told me the general location?"
Qing Muye's expression was solemn. "It's not difficult to find the Hidden Clan if you want to investigate thoroughly. But searching in a big way will only attract unnecessary commotion, which is no different from announcing it to the world, isn't it?"
"That makes sense," Old Chen Tou nodded.
"One more question, why haven't you told A'wei her identity yet?"
Qing Muye was quite puzzled by this.
Old Chen Tou sat on the sofa and sighed deeply. "Because..."
...
Beep beep beep—
Suddenly, the honking of a car across the road pulled Qing Muye back from his memories.
He looked at the oncoming car and abruptly swerved the steering wheel to avoid it, narrowly escaping danger.
The man, still shaken, let out a long sigh and glanced in the rearview mirror. In the mirror, Old Chen Tou's figure was so small it was blurry.
He didn't stop the car and drove straight away.
Since he had made up his mind to silently help Meng Jingwei, he had to distance himself from them to avoid being suspected in the end.