Copycat - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

◎The Grief of the Rabbit◎

The maid holding the white fungus soup froze in place. Combining this with the idle gossip she usually heard from the other maids, she vaguely understood what Miss Zhou meant. “I’m willing. Of course, I am.”

“I don’t want to leave here. As long as you can give me money to treat my parents, I’m willing to do anything for you!”

The corners of Zhou Ziyan’s lips curved upward slightly. She beckoned Ren Li to come over and gently stroked the girl’s soft hair. “Thank you for trusting me. I won’t mistreat you.”

Zhou Ziyan took out a bank card from a storage cabinet. “There’s five hundred thousand yuan in here. It’s my savings from over the years. Take it to treat your parents.”

“This…” Ren Li tried to refuse. “This is too much, Miss. I don’t need this much.”

“Just take it,” Zhou Ziyan said, putting the card in the girl’s hand. “Find the best doctor for the surgery. If the hospital fees aren’t enough, I’ll talk to CEO Wen and have her keep you for a few more months.”

Ren Li was stunned for a moment, her expression a little shocked, but she quickly clenched the bank card and nodded. “I understand, Miss Zhou.”

Wen Jiao only stayed at the Haiming Estate for three days this time before returning to A City by helicopter, looking radiant. Zhou Ziyan smiled and cut the dessert prepared in the kitchen. Red jam flowed out of the bread. She cut the pastry into small pieces and fed it to Wen Jiao. “What good news has made you so happy?”

A rare smile appeared in Wen Jiao’s eyes. She turned the computer screen toward Zhou Ziyan so she could see it more clearly. Zhou Ziyan scanned the official news report from top to bottom. When she finally saw a line of text, her expression became solemn for a moment.

(The Cheng Group officially declares bankruptcy. Cheng Junfeng, the heir to the Cheng Group, has been imprisoned for alleged gambling and drug trafficking. Stockholders have sold off large amounts of corporate stock overnight. What is the future of A City’s development?)

Wen Jiao picked up her teacup, took a sip of clear tea, and watched Zhou Ziyan’s expression with interest. She saw Zhou Ziyan force a smile. “I didn’t expect that the foundation of the Cheng family for so many years would be destroyed so easily. Cheng Junfeng really did the wrong thing.”

The grief of the rabbit dying, the fox lamenting its fate. Zhou Ziyan couldn’t describe her feelings at that moment. The collapse of the Cheng family signified the collapse of her last support. She couldn’t help but look at Wen Jiao again. The new elite businesswoman with a noble demeanor was leisurely sipping new tea, smiling as she watched the downfall of their former powerful families.

“Wen Jiao, if it weren’t for you…” Zhou Ziyan showed a somewhat fawning smile. “I really don’t know how I would have survived on my own.”

Wen Jiao smiled. She squeezed the back of Zhou Ziyan’s neck, pulled her into her arms, and said with a suffocating gentleness, “As long as you’re by my side, you’ll still be the same third young lady Zhou you used to be.”

The Siren’s song was intoxicating.

“I can give you all the wealth the Zhou family could, and the power the Cheng family gave you, you can get it all by my side.”

Wen Jiao smiled and patted Zhou Ziyan’s face, reaching up to wipe her dazed eyes. “All you have to do is be my mistress, and you’ll have everything you once had again. Do you understand?”

“Be a good girl.”

“Mm,” Zhou Ziyan mumbled in response. She buried her head in the warm embrace, but she felt as if her entire body had fallen into an ice cave. But she just trembled and closed her eyes, obediently allowing the woman to lightly choke her neck.

Living in this seaside villa, Zhou Ziyan’s life was still a three-point line: she had breakfast with Wen Jiao in the morning, worked out in the villa’s gym to maintain her figure in the afternoon, and went to bed with Wen Jiao at night.

The staff in the villa were replaced every month, but the only difference was that a familiar face had appeared in the seaside villa. After their lovemaking at night, Zhou Ziyan insisted on dragging a tired Wen Jiao downstairs for a late-night snack.

A maid’s crying from a room reached their dining area. Wen Jiao listened and found out that the maid’s family was sick and she hadn’t saved up enough for the medical expenses.

“How pitiful,” Zhou Ziyan said, hugging Wen Jiao’s arm. “Darling, let’s help her.”

Wen Jiao nodded and said to the girl, “How much money do you need? I’ll have the housekeeper…”

Unexpectedly, the girl was particularly stubborn and firmly refused Wen Jiao’s help.

“You’re so young and you have ambition,” Wen Jiao said, a little surprised. Zhou Ziyan said, “How about we keep her? Let her work here to pay off her debt. At her age, it’s not only hard to find a job outside, but also hard to get a high salary.”

“But your illness,” Wen Jiao frowned slightly. Zhou Ziyan sighed, “Just have her do some odd jobs outside. We can help in any small way we can. Let’s consider it a good deed to accumulate some merit for the deceased Zhou Shan-sheng.”

The news of Zhou Shan-sheng’s death had already been reported back. The police told them that Zhou Shan-sheng’s remains were abandoned on a deserted hillside, his flesh devoured by wild dogs, and not a single complete bone could be found on his body. The founder of what was once A City’s leading enterprise had died so silently. Even though he had so many descendants, no one had even erected a tombstone for him.

At the mention of the Zhou family, Zhou Ziyan’s mood was visibly low. Although the Zhou family didn’t treat her well, it was still the place that had raised her for twenty years. Thinking of this, her tears suddenly fell. Wen Jiao put down her chopsticks and sighed, reaching up to wipe her tears. “Why are you crying?”

Wen Jiao looked down at the young maid. “As Miss Zhou said, you can stay at the villa. Later, the housekeeper will prepare a new contract for you. You can get an advance on your salary to treat your family. It can be considered a good deed to accumulate some merit for the deceased Zhou family.”

“Thank you, CEO Wen! Thank you, Miss Zhou!” The maid cried and laughed at the same time, looking very comical. Even Zhou Ziyan, who was in a state of grief, was amused by her. Wen Jiao couldn’t help but curl her lips as well. “You’re a child who knows how to make people laugh. Don’t go outside to do odd jobs. The villa is so big, there are plenty of places that need cleaning.”

“Thank you, CEO Wen! Thank you, CEO Wen!”

A small group of the staff in the seaside villa were permanent, including the housekeeper and the chef. Now, there was one more person among them: the young Ren Li.

The next morning, Ren Li followed the housekeeper outside to meet with a lawyer to sign the contract. Seeing her smiling, the housekeeper couldn’t help but say sourly, “You’re so lucky. CEO Wen actually kept a temporary worker like you. I wish I could pretend to be pitiful too. Maybe then I could get my current salary by working for ten fewer years.”

“I was only able to stay because CEO Wen and Miss Zhou are so kind,” Ren Li said. She had a doll-like face with naturally upturned lips, and even without an expression, she looked pleasant. “Sister Li, your work ability is strong. We all see it. I’ve always wanted to learn from you. I hope you can teach me more in the future.”

Ren Li took out a new, unopened phone from her pocket, and the female housekeeper’s eyes lit up. “You’re quite sensible.”

Ren Li smiled sweetly. “I overheard a little something while doing odd jobs before. I hope you don’t mind this small token of my appreciation, Sister.”

Late at night.

“Miss Zhou, it’s time for your medicine,” the female housekeeper said, taking out three pills as usual and pouring Zhou Ziyan a cup of warm water. Zhou Ziyan held the three pills in her palm and swallowed them with the warm water. The female housekeeper completed her daily task and said with a relaxed tone, “I won’t bother you anymore. You can call me if you need anything.”

“Mm,” Zhou Ziyan said with a faint nod. “Have the small kitchen make a bowl of white fungus soup and bring it up.”

“Okay, Miss Zhou.”

The housekeeper closed the door. Zhou Ziyan waited for a while, until the sound of footsteps on the stairs gradually disappeared. She spit out the red pill she had been holding under her tongue. She rinsed her mouth with warm water to wash away the bitter taste left on her tongue and crushed the pill in the paint box.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

A knock came from outside the door. “Miss Zhou, your white fungus soup is ready.”

Zhou Ziyan recognized Ren Li’s voice. “Come in.”

Ren Li, in a new set of clothes, brought the white fungus soup to the table, turned around, and closed the door. She cautiously checked several times to make sure the door was closed tightly. After she was sure, she walked to Zhou Ziyan’s side and whispered, “Miss, the test results are out.”

Ren Li handed the drug test results to Zhou Ziyan. “It’s a good thing we went to a private institution. When the test results came out, the person who did the test grabbed me and insisted on knowing where I got these powders from. He even wanted to call the police to arrest me, saying I was selling controlled substances.”

“I gave him one hundred thousand yuan, and he didn’t call the police.”

Zhou Ziyan had studied chemistry in high school and knew a little about the chemical composition of drugs. She opened the drug composition test report and was more and more shocked the further she read. By the end, her hands were trembling.

“Miss,” Ren Li whispered. “Miss, what’s wrong? Are you having an episode? Should I go downstairs and call someone?”

Zhou Ziyan reached out and smoothed her chest, which was heaving from her heavy breathing. “No, I’m fine.”

“I haven’t taken the medicine the housekeeper gave me for the past two weeks, and my condition has already improved a little. It’s rare for Wen Jiao not to be here tonight. Please stay with me for a while longer.”

“…Miss,” Ren Li said. She could tell that Zhou Ziyan’s emotions were not right, but she didn’t understand why she was so sad. Tears silently slid down the woman’s fair, flawless cheeks, flowing into a silent lake. Her eyes were so sad, like a bird with broken wings looking up at a sky it could no longer fly in.

“I wish CEO Wen were here,” Ren Li couldn’t help but think. “CEO Wen and Miss Zhou are both so smart. If the person with Miss Zhou right now were CEO Wen, she would definitely be able to understand Miss Zhou’s emotions.”

Later that night, the seaside villa was silent. In the huge bedroom, a woman’s steady breathing could be heard. Ren Li turned off the lights in the bedroom and used a damp tissue to wipe away the tear stains on the woman’s face. In the silence, she carefully covered her with a blanket.

Ren Li slowly realized that she seemed to have witnessed the most vulnerable side of the other owner of this villa. Unfortunately, she didn’t know her past, so she couldn’t offer her any comfort. The only thing she could do was—

Ren Li’s gaze went to the bedroom where the housekeeper was.