Copycat - Chapter 42
Chapter 42
◎Town Gossip◎
(A prominent entrepreneur and CEO of Wen’s Group was involved in a car accident early yesterday morning and remains in a coma. The perpetrator has been criminally detained. What will happen to Wen’s Group?)
“Xiao Zhou.” The woman untied her apron, placed the steaming hot food on the wooden table, and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her finger. “Are you looking at the A City news again?”
Zhou Ziyan closed the newspaper, looking a little down. She said in a muffled voice, “Yeah.”
Li Qing silently poured a small bowl of soup and placed it by her hand. “You have a bad stomach, and since it’s early autumn, it’s a season when you can easily catch a cold. Drink some hot soup to warm up.”
In the small wooden house that was less than thirty square meters, it was especially damp on rainy days. Zhou Ziyan’s old illness had not yet healed, and she would often cough. Li Qing had specifically bought some cough medicine from the city this time.
She handed the medicine to Zhou Ziyan. “Someone in my family is a doctor in the city. I told her about your situation, and she specifically prescribed this cough medicine for you.”
Zhou Ziyan took the medicine and thanked her in a low voice. Li Qing sighed and looked at her a little helplessly. “You’re still the same, always so polite with me.”
Zhou Ziyan lowered her eyelashes, looking a little absent-minded. “I’m sorry, I haven’t been in a good state recently. I’ll adjust as soon as possible and get used to this life.”
The autumn rain was bone-chilling, and the moisture seeped into the wood, corroding the entire house. Li Qing shook her head and held her hand. “I told you, I can wait for you. I can wait for you to get better.”
Ever since she brought up the idea of living together, Li Qing had felt that Zhou Yan had been avoiding the topic. She had thought that she just wasn’t ready yet. After asking, she found out that she had severe trauma from an emergency. Although she had gotten better, it was still difficult for her to have prolonged contact with anyone.
Zhou Ziyan looked at the person in front of her, not knowing what to say. Li Qing was undoubtedly sincere, and she knew that she should focus on her new life, but her mood was still unconsciously affected by Wen Jiao.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Li Qing saw the person in front of her put down her chopsticks.
Zhou Ziyan took a deep breath. “Li Qing, I need to leave here for a while.”
After the heavy rain, A City finally had a long-awaited clear day. However, a hazy and misty fog seemed to have seeped into everyone’s hearts and had not yet dissipated. A long police line was set up in front of the hospital, keeping the noisy and chaotic crowd outside.
“What is the patient’s current condition? Has she woken up yet?”
“Some people on the internet are saying that this car accident was a deliberate plot. Can you let us in to interview the patient?”
“Has the CEO of Wen’s Group left a will?”
The reporters pushed forward with their microphones, afraid of missing the front-page news. The chief surgeon was a serious-looking woman. “This is a hospital. The patient needs a quiet environment. Please leave as soon as possible.”
“Why are you afraid to answer us? Is the CEO of Wen’s Group never going to wake up again?”
A reporter, who was short, slipped under the police line, and her microphone almost hit the chief surgeon’s mouth.
The chief surgeon’s face turned cold. “I’m sorry, no comment.”
The security guards who were dispatched to the hospital quickly grabbed the person who had slipped through the net. Zhou Ziyan stood on the periphery of the crowd of reporters, listening to the conversations clearly. Her fair fingertips clenched the front of her clothes tightly, and faint bite marks were left on her lower lip. She didn’t turn around until the crowd dispersed.
In the hospital room, the sun shone through the window onto the woman’s quiet profile as she worked. She was wearing a slightly oversized blue and white striped hospital gown, and her black hair was draped over her shoulders. Her gaze was focused on the laptop in front of her.
Someone gently knocked on the hospital room door. “CEO Wen.”
“Come in,” Wen Jiao said, her gaze momentarily leaving her work. The person who came in was a temporary secretary from the headquarters, a capable-looking young woman with short hair.
“The Mu Group is insisting that we give them two points.”
“Is there any news about her?”
The two of them spoke at the same time.
The secretary was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, CEO Wen. The group has used all of its connections abroad, but we still haven’t found any trace of Miss Zhou.”
“I see,” Wen Jiao said, looking at the busy street below the tall building. “You can go back now.”
The secretary pursed her lips. “What about the Mu Group?”
“Give them two points.”
The secretary was a little surprised, but she didn’t say anything more. She had walked halfway out the door but then turned back.
She lowered her voice a lot. “CEO Wen.”
Wen Jiao looked at her. The secretary mustered up her courage and met her gaze. “Please recover as soon as possible. Wen’s Group really needs you. Both the employees of the company and Miss Zhou, who is far away in another country, are hoping that you can come back soon.”
“…I see.”
The secretary breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally said what was on her mind. She turned around with a satisfied look, but Wen Jiao called out to her. “Wait a moment.”
The secretary quickly turned back. “CEO Wen, is there anything else you need me to do?”
“Don’t just focus on foreign countries. Go and investigate the small towns in the south of the country, and also…” Wen Jiao frowned. “Call Alice and tell her I want to terminate the agreement early.”
Due to the inconvenient transportation in Liwan Town, Zhou Ziyan had to take an overnight bus to get back home. As soon as she entered the door, Li Qing came to greet her.
“You’re back.” Li Qing’s face was filled with joy, but she quickly became worried. The woman in front of her looked travel-worn. Her clothes were soaked in sweat, and her expression was also very sad. “What’s wrong? Did the results of your check-up not go well?”
Zhou Ziyan shook her head. “No.”
Zhou Ziyan had used a check-up as an excuse to take Li Qing’s relative’s car to A City. She couldn’t let go of Wen Jiao, so she kept finding various reasons to convince herself that she had to witness the aftermath of Wen Jiao’s car accident with her own eyes.
“Is the situation good, then?” Li Qing took the heavy bag from her shoulder.
Zhou Ziyan was silent for a moment and then gave a calm smile. “It’s very good.”
The private hospital was airtight, and trying to force her way in would only expose her whereabouts. She had no choice but to find Mu Siyu to ask about Wen Jiao’s situation.
Only then did she learn that Wen Jiao had woken up on the day of the car accident and had deliberately released news that she was still in a coma to manipulate the stock market.
“That’s good, that’s good,” Li Qing said, breathing a sigh of relief. She repeatedly touched the parts of her clothes that were damp with cold sweat, calming her heart that had been suspended by a few words.
Zhou Ziyan looked at the beads of sweat on her forehead.
After a long while, she took out a handkerchief and gently wiped them away.
Li Qing’s eyes widened, and she looked up in disbelief. “Xiao Zhou?”
Zhou Ziyan smiled at her. “Ah Qing, thank you.”
For the past six months, no matter what happened, Li Qing had always been by her side. She always put her first and was always there for her, no matter what.
After everything she had been through, she was finally able to make up her mind to accept this simple and ordinary relationship.
“It will take some time for me to recover from my illness, but if you and your family don’t mind, we can put our wedding on the agenda as soon as possible.”
Li Qing had a very happy week.
“Oh, Teacher Li, why do you look so happy? Is there some good news in your family? Tell us quickly,” an old woman who was taking her child home said with a smile.
Li Qing smiled and nodded. “Xiao Zhou and I from the next town are getting married at the end of next month.”
“You two are both girls, aren’t you?” The old woman looked confused. “How can two girls get married?”
The corners of Li Qing’s lips stiffened for a moment, and she quickly changed the subject. “The children have been a little naughty in class recently, and their mid-term exam results are not very good. Parents still need to tutor them well after class…”
Same-s3x marriage had long been legalized, but in the closed-off rural villages, people still followed the traditional views of the older generation. The words of the old woman in the village poured a bucket of cold water on Li Qing, who had been blinded by happiness. She couldn’t help but think about it. If she married Zhou Yan, she would…
Early the next morning, Li Qing carried her bag to work as usual. Before she even got to the classroom, she heard a commotion in the principal’s office. A few parents of mischievous children were nagging the principal, and she walked closer out of curiosity.
“Principal Wang, our child was already engaged to Ah Niu from the next village a long time ago. We can’t let a lesbian teacher corrupt our child.”
“That’s right, that’s right. A woman marrying a woman, what kind of thing is that? How can the school hire a teacher like that?”
“Our child will absolutely not attend a lesbian’s class.”
The principal wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “Please, parents, don’t be so agitated.”
There were few people in the village, and it was a society of acquaintances. The news spread quickly. As soon as a family had good news, the whole village would know about it the next day. Li Qing was distracted throughout her class that day. All she could think about was the gossip she had heard outside the principal’s office during the day.
As soon as she got home, Li Qing collapsed onto the bed. Zhou Ziyan held the freshly boiled hot water on the small wooden table and crushed the newly picked tea leaves. She saw the tired look on her face. “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
Li Qing shook her head. “No, it’s about work.”
Zhou Ziyan poured the boiling water into the teacup. The green tea leaves turned the clear white water into a transparent green. “Have a cup of tea to relax.”
Li Qing didn’t say anything. Zhou Ziyan brought the tea to her hand. “The weather has been damp recently. You just came back from outside, so you need to keep warm.”
The gossip from outside was already bothering Li Qing. The village had not paid the teachers for almost half a year because of financial difficulties. When Li Qing saw the expensive tea set, the anger that had been suppressed in her heart was instantly ignited.
She swatted away Zhou Ziyan’s hand. “Making tea, all you know how to do is make tea. You don’t even make any money, and all you do is buy these expensive things all day long.”
The white porcelain cup shattered on the ground, making a terrifying sound as it broke into pieces. Zhou Ziyan was stunned in place. Li Qing was frozen for a moment. She remembered her illness and quickly got up from the bed, hugging her from behind. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”
“The people in the town found out that we were getting married. That gossiping old woman went to the principal’s office and demanded that I be fired. The town hasn’t paid us for half a year. Although this job doesn’t pay much, at least it’s a stable job, so I won’t starve to death. I only did that because I was anxious…”