Chapter 47: An Abrupt End

Just as Peng Nan was trying hard to arouse Meng Zexiao's desire, Meng Zexiao's phone rang again. Peng Nan could tell that the ringtone was set differently from his usual ones.

Just as she reached out to silence the damn phone, Meng Zexiao miraculously woke up. He grabbed the phone before she could, answering the call while staring at the naked Peng Nan.

He only muttered a few acknowledgments into the receiver before hanging up.

Tossing the phone aside, Meng Zexiao threw Peng Nan's clothes at her and commanded in a cold voice, "Put them on!"

For a woman to be stripped down like this, with his lower body still tenting, only for him to turn hostile on the spot—it was the ultimate humiliation.

With his back to her, Meng Zexiao walked toward the bathroom and said frostily, "I don't want to see you when I come out. You should understand what I mean!"

Watching him stagger into the bathroom, Peng Nan felt a mix of shame and rage. She cursed viciously in her heart: *Kong Lingxin, just you wait! Zexiao will definitely be my man!*

Standing under the cold shower, Meng Zexiao let the water pour over him for over ten minutes until his consciousness gradually returned.

What had just happened with Peng Nan was a complete blank in his memory; he only recalled the image of her stark naked.

At the very moment he looked at Peng Nan, Kong Lingxin's face had flashed through his mind. He kept telling himself he could never wrong Kong Lingxin again.

Damn it! What kind of spell has this woman Kong Lingxin cast on me, making me suddenly fall so hopelessly deep? Meng Zexiao fell into deep thought.

He remembered that he had indeed been intimate with Peng Nan twice in the past. For some reason, whenever he was starved and desperate, Peng Nan would appear, and she was always so proactive, which led him to—

When he finally emerged from the bathroom, Peng Nan had obediently left as told.

Feeling as though his entire body were falling apart, Meng Zexiao collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep.

The next morning, Kong Lingxin woke up and touched the undisturbed blanket beside her. Her heart felt hollow—he really had stayed out all night.

Thinking of the past year—all three hundred and sixty-five days—during which her sister had probably spent some two hundred nights enduring such lonely vigils, the empty space in Kong Lingxin's heart was gradually filled with hatred.

The roses on the windowsill were still blooming brilliantly, and as the morning breeze blew past, Kong Lingxin caught faint wafts of their fragrance.

Dragging her exhausted body out of bed, she washed up and went downstairs.

Seeing her descend, Housekeeper Qi hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Second Young Mistress, you're up a bit early today. Breakfast will be ready soon. Please have a seat on the sofa and rest for a moment."

Kong Lingxin rubbed her temples and replied, "It's fine. I don't have much appetite today anyway. By the way, what's for breakfast?"

Housekeeper Qi said, "Fried eggs, toast, and black tea."

Western breakfast again. Kong Lingxin felt as though she was about to throw up from eating it so often. Right now, she acutely yearned for the millet porridge her mother used to make, paired with homemade pickled vegetables—

Kong Lingxin said, "My stomach feels a bit upset today. Housekeeper Qi, can I switch to porridge instead? And bring some side dishes to go with it."

Housekeeper Qi was momentarily stunned. In the past, the Second Young Mistress always ate Western breakfasts and rarely touched porridge. Why the sudden change—?

Sensing Housekeeper Qi's surprise, Kong Lingxin added, "I used to accommodate your Second Young Master's palate, but actually, I'm still used to Chinese-style breakfasts. If it's too much trouble, Housekeeper Qi, never mind."

Housekeeper Qi quickly replied, "How could it be any trouble? I'll have the kitchen prepare it right away. The Second Young Master studied abroad for many years and got used to Western ways of eating. Well then, from now on, I'll have the kitchen prepare two different sets of breakfast."

"Thank you, Housekeeper Qi."

"Second Young Mistress, you mustn't be so polite. It makes us embarrassed; this is just our duty."

Kong Lingxin smiled, sat on the sofa, turned on the television, and habitually switched to the entertainment channel.

Though she knew the chances of seeing Gu Yiming on entertainment news again were practically zero, a shred of hope still lingered in her heart.

Just as breakfast was served at the dining table, the security guard at the front gate came to report that the family doctor, Peng Nan, had arrived.

Housekeeper Qi glanced at Kong Lingxin, who remained expressionless, and immediately said to the guard, "Didn't the Second Young Mistress give instructions before? No one is allowed in without prior notice. Hurry up and send her away."

Looking troubled, the guard replied, "But Dr. Peng said she is here to—she is here to—"

Noticing his hesitation, Housekeeper Qi knew there must be more to the story.

Kong Lingxin glanced at the guard and said, "Speak your mind!"

After a brief hesitation, the guard said, "Dr. Peng said she came to pick up a change of clothes for the Second Young Master."

Startled, Housekeeper Qi immediately signaled all the maids in the living room to withdraw.

Not daring to breathe loudly, the guard stood aside to await the Second Young Mistress's verdict.

All the staff in the villa had long been accustomed to the former Second Young Mistress's submissive nature. Even when the Second Young Master brought other women home to spend the night, they knew the Second Young Mistress wouldn't stir up any trouble. The worst case scenario was simply not seeing her for a few days, during which Housekeeper Qi would send meals directly to her bedroom.

However, the current Second Young Mistress was no longer the person she used to be, and the Second Young Master had also changed for her. Yesterday, everyone had witnessed the scene of him returning beaming with joy, holding nine hundred and ninety-nine roses.

With an expressionless face, Kong Lingxin told the guard, "Let her in!"

The guard immediately left to relay the instructions. Housekeeper Qi walked up to Kong Lingxin and said, "Second Young Mistress, please don't lower yourself to her level. No matter what, she's just a family doctor. She only thinks she's someone special because she was personally appointed by Madam Meng. She really thinks of herself as the Second Young Master's friend!"

Kong Lingxin looked at Housekeeper Qi and asked, "Aren't they?"

Housekeeper Qi's jaw dropped, momentarily at a loss for how to reply. On the day the Second Young Mistress suffered a miscarriage, Housekeeper Qi had accompanied her to the hospital the entire time. While still conscious, the Second Young Mistress had cried out, "Meng Zexiao! Peng Nan! You two killed my child!"

However, at Madam Meng's insistence, Housekeeper Qi never mentioned these words to Mr. and Mrs. Kong, who arrived at the hospital later.

The story Mr. and Mrs. Kong heard was the version provided by Peng Nan—that she was so eager to emulate Soong Ching-ling that she wore high heels even at home, and kept doing so while pregnant, which caused her to trip on the stairs and lose the baby.

To this day, the outside world still believed Peng Nan's version of the reason behind Kong Lingxin's miscarriage.

Although Housekeeper Qi felt this was utterly unfair to Kong Lingxin, how could a multi-billion-dollar tycoon family like the Mengs tolerate scandalous rumors?

Dressed in a tight-fitting minidress that accentuated her voluptuous curves, and clicking her ten-centimeter high heels, Peng Nan walked into the living room with an alluring, sultry sway.

She looked at the expressionless Kong Lingxin sitting inside and said, "The guard must have told you already. I'm here to pick up a change of clothes for the Second Young Master. After tossing and turning all night, I'm both tired and sleepy—"

Peng Nan's ambiguous tone was laden with insinuation, yet Kong Lingxin failed to show the reaction she had hoped to see.

Kong Lingxin turned to Housekeeper Qi and said, "Housekeeper Qi, ask Dr. Peng for the room number of the hotel where the Young Master is currently staying, and send someone to deliver the clothes. As for Dr. Peng keeping the Second Young Master company for the entire night, our Meng family certainly won't mistreat you. I hear that top-tier escorts charge about one hundred thousand for a single night. We will add an extra one hundred thousand to Dr. Peng's salary this month!"

"You!!" Peng Nan turned pale with rage, her legs growing weak!

After being driven away by Meng Zexiao the previous night, she had been deeply resentful and originally intended to come here to provoke Kong Lingxin, only to be branded by Kong Lingxin as a streetwalker!

Trembling with fury, Peng Nan stammered incoherently, "You—you just wait!"

With that, she turned on her heel to leave. Kong Lingxin stood up and called out, "Dr. Peng, remember to give the hotel room number to Housekeeper Qi, otherwise that one hundred thousand won't be transferred on time!"

Without another glance, Kong Lingxin walked straight into the dining room to have her breakfast, as if nothing had happened at all.