"Heh, Meng Jingwei, you're really timid. Don't you even have the courage to see me now?" Xiao Meiyan sneered mockingly.
"Whatever you say," Meng Jingwei didn't argue.
"You..."
Xiao Meiyan was rendered speechless by Meng Jingwei's words. After a moment of silence, she said, "I'll send you a video. Think about whether you want to meet me after you watch it."
With that, she hung up the phone.
Meng Jingwei's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Holding her phone, she looked at the name Xiao Meiyan displayed on the call log and fell into deep thought. What did she want to do? After the last incident, Xiao Meiyan had hated her to the bone. If she was contacting her now, it definitely wouldn't be for anything good. Meng Jingwei suspected it had something to do with Qing Muye's actions against the Xiao Group.
*Ding—*
A WeChat message notification chimed. Meng Jingwei opened her phone. Xiao Meiyan had sent her a WeChat video. The video showed a scene in a hotel suite, depicting Xiao Cheng and a woman in a 'passionate' embrace, entangled and intimate, the scene incredibly sensual. But upon closer inspection, the person was... herself?
Meng Jingwei's heart skipped a beat, and her breathing momentarily hitched. She sat up straighter, examining the video carefully. She then realized that the person wasn't her, but... Li Yun'er! Although the woman in the video also had short, black hair reaching her neck, the hotel room and the intense intimacy between the two were enough to prove it wasn't her. Li Yun'er in the video appeared to be sober and even particularly proactive with Xiao Cheng.
Meng Jingwei's mind went blank. Was Li Yun'er crazy to get involved with Xiao Cheng? Had she started pestering Xiao Cheng after being hurt by Qing Muye, or was it because she looked exactly like her that she was willing to be used by Xiao Cheng to threaten her?
No! Meng Jingwei shook her head. She knew that Li Yun'er had always cared about her reputation. While releasing this video could prove it was 'Meng Jingwei,' it would also affect Li Yun'er. Such a move, hurting others while also harming oneself… perhaps she was capable of it!
Meng Jingwei raised a hand to rub her temples, placed the phone on the table, and leaned back on the sofa, gazing at the ceiling. She felt utterly exhausted. She used to envy twin sisters, thinking their sisterhood was beautiful and that they could share each other's joys and sorrows. Why were things so different between her and Li Yun'er?
After a period of quiet contemplation, her phone rang again. It was Xiao Meiyan's call. Without hesitation, Meng Jingwei picked up the phone, swiped the answer button with her thumb, and held the phone to her ear. "What do you want me to do?" she asked directly, cutting to the chase, deeming any sort of politeness a waste of emotion.
"Heh, I like it when you're this direct." Xiao Meiyan let out a cold laugh. "I don't want to tell you over the phone. Meet me at Phil's Cafe in half an hour. I'll be waiting." With that, she hung up again.
Meng Jingwei clutched her phone, a headache throbbing in her temples. After sitting in the living room alone for a while, she finally couldn't resist calling Li Yun'er.
*Ring, ring, ring—*
After a few rings, the other party finally answered. Before Meng Jingwei could speak, she heard Li Yun'er's clear, bell-like laughter, "How rare, why are you calling me?" Clearly, Li Yun'er hadn't expected Meng Jingwei to call her.
"Li Yun'er, I don't care what your relationship with Xiao Cheng is, but I warn you, don't be so reckless just because you have a face that looks exactly like mine." Intentionally wearing a wig and impersonating her was clearly a collaboration with Xiao Cheng to record a video as leverage.
"What? Oh dear, I don't understand," Li Yun'er feigned ignorance on the phone and then asked, "Jingwei, the Lunar New Year is approaching. Mom and Dad hope you'll come home to celebrate with us. Okay?" she asked sarcastically.
"I don't want to waste words with you. I'll only warn you one last time: don't impersonate me and act shamelessly in bed with Xiao Cheng! You might be shameless, but I still have my reputation!" Meng Jingwei was truly worried. She had already signed a contract with Huayu Media and officially entered the modeling industry. If she became famous in the future and endorsed products, and Xiao Cheng released the video, it would be a massive joke. Not only for her, but even the Qing family would likely suffer.
Thinking of this, Meng Jingwei felt even more that she was not suited to be with Qing Muye. Li Yun'er's existence would be the most troublesome problem, a ticking time bomb. Who knew what Li Yun'er would do when she lost her mind!
"Jingwei, please don't say that. You're my sister, and speaking like this will hurt me. Also, don't call me shameless. After all, when I was engaged to Brother Muye, you were with him that very day. In comparison, you're no better!" Li Yun'er hadn't known these things before; she only found out later after getting together with Xiao Cheng. Heaven knew how shocked and despairing Li Yun'er had felt when she learned of these events. Perhaps because so much had been taken from her, she particularly hated Meng Jingwei. She wanted revenge on Qing Muye and to destroy everything Meng Jingwei had!
Meng Jingwei: "..."
Meng Jingwei was also innocent regarding what happened back then. But since it had already happened, and she had chosen to be with Qing Muye, she naturally wouldn't blame him anymore. She simply said, "Fate is destined, no one to blame."
"Sigh, yes, it's fate, isn't it?" Li Yun'er's voice on the phone was calm, so calm that it was impossible to discern her emotions. No, to be precise, there was a hint of sadness, a tone of loss, spoken slowly, conveying her helplessness.
"If Mom and Dad had just strangled you in your cradle when they abandoned you, perhaps there wouldn't be so many problems today. I wouldn't have lost my qualification to be a mother. Meng Jingwei, you and Qing Muye ruined everything for me. Bit by bit, I will make you both pay the price!" The latter part of her sentence was uttered almost through gritted teeth, her voice trembling. The suppressed anger and resentment could no longer be hidden.
"Ruining us is ruining yourself." Meng Jingwei knew Li Yun'er held grudges, but she hadn't expected her to resort to such extreme measures.
"Hahahahaha..." On the other end of the phone, Li Yun'er threw her head back and laughed, her laughter eerie and cold, sending shivers down one's spine. "I've already become like this, what do you think I have to cherish? Huh? It was because of Qing Muye that Xiao Meiyan had someone kidnap and humiliate me. If you had been the one engaged to Qing Muye back then, then you would have been the one humiliated!" She then abruptly raised her voice, screaming hysterically, "It should have been you, it should have been you, Meng Jingwei!"