The Fourteenth Chapter

Everyone's gone, Dong Yue asked with some worry, "Is Dad really going to be okay?"

This kind of plot, where a wife swaps cars with her husband to deceive others and escape, used to only be seen in movies. Now that it was happening in her own home, it was truly unsettling.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Liu Mumu replied with certainty.

"Then what about Mom?"

"She just drove out for a spin, what could happen?"

"But didn't Mom say she was going to help Dad confuse the bad guys? What if Mom gets targeted?"

Thinking of Jiang Li's declaration of willingness to sacrifice for love just now, and her dad's moved expression before he unhesitatingly agreed, Liu Mumu genuinely felt that being Dad's wife was indeed a demanding job.

"That bad guy isn't tracking him by surveillance."

"Huh?"

"So..." Liu Mumu went to the kitchen to get her fruit platter. After coming out, she continued, "It doesn't really matter if they swap cars or not."

Dong Yue's mouth fell open in surprise, "Then why didn't you tell Dad just now?"

Liu Mumu popped a strawberry into Dong Yue's mouth. Dong Yue's eyes curved. Sweet!

"Oh, I saw he was enjoying his deduction, so I just went along with it a bit."

Dong Yue felt a little sympathetic towards her parents, then continued happily eating fruit and watching TV with her older sister.

As for Dong Qi, since one of his legs was immobile, he had been forgotten by the whole family in his room.

It wasn't until evening that Jiang Li finally returned, driving Dong Zhenghao's car. Perhaps due to the intense stress of the past few hours, her steps were a little unsteady as she entered the house.

The two girls in the house were sitting together on the sofa watching a variety show, laughing heartily.

An unnamable anger surged. Jiang Li forgot to maintain a safe distance from Liu Mumu and walked into the living room, scolding, "Your dad is in so much danger right now, and you're still in the mood to watch TV?"

From the moment she entered the house, Dong Yue's expression had become subdued. Hearing her scolding, she simply remained silent.

"Why wouldn't we be in the mood? Actually, Aunt Jiang, you don't need to be so nervous. If Dad is gone one day, won't you become a rich single woman? You could buy seven villas and rotate them, keeping a boyfriend in each one. Wouldn't that make you happier?"

Jiang Li's lips curved upwards then quickly straightened. "Alright, stop with the nonsense. Your dad will call you later, remember to answer."

Then she lightly went upstairs, presumably to her room to sleep, as dreams could provide anything.

"Mom's mood seems to have improved?" Dong Yue said softly.

Liu Mumu hummed, "You have to understand, marriage is the grave of love. Your husband is the pit in the grave who steals your sleep, and you're the one who can't kick him out. Do you think it's more comfortable to sleep alone in a pit, or to squeeze in with someone else?"

Dong Yue thought for a moment. "Alone."

"Wrong." Liu Mumu shook her finger. "The important thing isn't whether it's one person or two, but that when you're unhappy, you can kick him out of your pit anytime. That's the difference between a husband and a boyfriend."

Dong Yue began to understand.

The difference was one could sleep for free, while the other had to be responsible. No wonder her mother was so happy just hearing about it.

It was past ten o'clock at night when Dong Zhenghao's call came in. Liu Mumu only picked up after a few rings.

"Why did it take you so long to answer?" Dong Zhenghao sounded displeased.

"Eating a late-night snack, watching TV, playing games. Pick any reason you like."

After all, none of the reasons would be missing her, her father who had to leave home because of his own foolish actions.

"..." Dong Zhenghao stopped trying to get a rise out of her. He said with some excitement, "The marks on my body are starting to fade, and I'm not bleeding anymore. It turns out this method really works!"

After the high-speed rail left Qing City, the strange marks on his body began to recede at a visible rate. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have dared to believe it.

This time, he truly believed there were unscientific things in this world, and that his daughter, the fortune teller he consulted daily by flipping coins, was not a fraud.

"Oh," Liu Mumu's reaction was very flat.

"When can I come home?" Dong Zhenghao asked expectantly.

"Home? You gave someone your birthdate and time, which is like giving them the key to your house. You think just going out and hiding for a couple of days will solve it?" Liu Mumu couldn't help but laugh at his naivety.

Using special methods to harm someone usually required a few elements: birthdate and time was the most common, or blood, hair, nails, etc.

Coincidentally, just a few days ago, Dong Zhenghao had openly given his birthdate and time to someone. It was hard for her not to be suspicious.

"Birthdate and time?" Dong Zhenghao was startled, then reacted, "Is Zhan Hongye that bastard trying to harm me?"

"I don't know about that. He wasn't the only one there that day." Liu Mumu also felt a bit troubled. Dong Zhenghao had been gone too long, and it was affecting her too. She hadn't encountered this kind of situation before, and her grandfather hadn't told her how to handle it.

Although her first thought was to call the police, this probably wasn't within the police uncle's jurisdiction.

"Am I just going to be drifting around outside forever?" Dong Zhenghao felt very wronged.

"If you can find a way to get his birthdate and time, perhaps..."

"You can help me get revenge?"

Liu Mumu said exasperatedly, "Don't dream. At most, I can calculate when he'll have bad luck, and when you can come home."

"I'll try to find out, but since he used this method to harm people, he'll definitely be on guard." After hesitating, Dong Zhenghao asked again, "He also knows your birthdate and time, won't it be bad for you?"

Recalling that day, he regretted it so much his intestines turned green.

"No, my fate is too strong. If he dares to use my birthdate to harm me, the only outcome is that he'll be killed by me," Liu Mumu yawned. "Alright, I'm done talking, bye-bye."

Then she quickly hung up and went for her beauty sleep.

The next morning, Liu Mumu saw the message Zhan Ni had sent her late last night on her phone.

Zhan Ni: I have to go to the hospital for a physical check-up tomorrow morning. I'm a little scared going alone, can you come with me?

Liu Mumu: Okay, which hospital are you going to? How about we meet at the hospital entrance at nine?

After waiting for five minutes, Zhan Ni finally replied.

Zhan Ni: Renyuan Private Hospital. See you then.

At nine o'clock, the sunlight outside was already a bit harsh. Liu Mumu, wearing a baseball cap, stood by the fountain at the entrance of Renyuan Private Hospital waiting for Zhan Ni.

It wasn't until nine twenty that she finally arrived.

After getting out of the taxi, Zhan Ni hurried towards her: "I'm so sorry, it took me a long time to get a taxi."

"It's okay," Liu Mumu said indifferently.

The two walked into the hospital. Zhan Ni led her straight to the vice president's office on the seventh floor. The vice president called a young female doctor who then took Zhan Ni for her physical examination.

The first item was a blood draw. Zhan Ni was probably a bit faint at the sight of blood, and she held onto Liu Mumu's hem, refusing to let go. Liu Mumu had no choice but to stand by.

Seeing the nurse holding more than a dozen blood collection tubes, Liu Mumu couldn't help but ask, "How many tests are you doing? Why so many blood collection tubes?"

The nurse glanced at her with half-closed eyelids but said nothing.

Zhan Ni explained to her in a low voice: "Dad asked me to check as thoroughly as possible, that's why so much blood needs to be drawn."

While that was said, Liu Mumu noticed that the nurse almost filled each blood collection tube before switching to a new one.

She had been to the hospital a limited number of times, but she didn't recall needing to draw so much blood during previous blood tests.

Liu Mumu and Zhan Ni didn't have much in common. After a period of silence, she spoke first: "Why did you suddenly decide to get a physical check-up?"

Zhan Ni smiled: "Dad is worried about me, concerned that my mom's illness might be hereditary, so he asked me to get a comprehensive check-up."

Before Dong Zhenghao had his accident, Liu Mumu hadn't taken Aunt Zhang's situation to heart, only feeling a bit of pity.

However, now, she couldn't help but have other thoughts.

"Uncle Zhan is truly thoughtful."

"Yes, he's very good to me. He's afraid my stepmother will bully me when he's not around, so he even bought me an apartment near my school."

Due to family issues, Zhan Ni's college entrance exam scores weren't as good as Liu Mumu's. However, in order to reunite with her father, she also ended up applying to a university in Qing City, not far from Liu Mumu's school.

"Ah, that's really great," Liu Mumu said dryly.

"Did Uncle Dong not give you anything?"

"No."

Zhan Ni looked at her with a hint of sympathy.

"By the way, I've always wanted to ask, how long after Aunt Zhang got sick did you tell Uncle Zhan?"

"Why do you ask?" Zhan Ni recalled Zhan Huitian's words and Liu Mumu's promise to help her investigate, which ultimately yielded nothing. She was reluctant to continue this topic.

Liu Mumu saw her reluctance and softened her tone: "I just feel it's a bit of a pity. If you had told Uncle Zhan from the beginning, perhaps you could have gone to a hospital in Jing City for a check-up while the symptoms were mild."

Zhan Ni seemed displeased with Liu Mumu's statement. She said: "My mother had a comprehensive physical examination not long before she got sick. There were no problems at the time, so we didn't take it seriously.

Besides, my dad was always very busy, and I didn't want to bother him then. My mom was fine when she went for her hospital check-up, but a month later, her condition suddenly worsened. Who knew it would turn out like this."

A month after the hospital check-up?

Liu Mumu mused. Aunt Zhang already had symptoms before going to the hospital. Conservatively estimating, even if she delayed going to the hospital for a month, the total interval from the onset of the illness to Zhan Ni calling Zhan Hongye would be two months.

She was a little curious. During those two months, did Zhan Hongye stay honestly in Qing City, or was he somewhere else?

After all, some illnesses might not be illnesses at all. If someone wanted to make a person suddenly fall ill, it's unlikely they could manipulate things from several provinces away.