Chapter 2: Inherited

Yun Zhixue did not refute her, because she wanted to do many, many immoral things.

She slowly rubbed the back of Meng Zhenyue’s neck, feeling the slight tension of the muscles beneath her skin, and couldn’t help voicing her displeasure.

“You wore a new perfume yesterday just to see that woman.”

“Mhm.”

Not just investigating, she had followed, tracked, and watched.

“Who taught you this?”

Yun Zhixue didn’t answer.

“Your mother? She wouldn’t do something like this.”

Yun Zhixue curled her lips into a smile.

Meng Zhenyue began to realize she didn’t actually understand this child very well.

She couldn’t tell whether Yun Zhixue’s expression held disdain or smug arrogance, she simply couldn’t figure her out.

The two of them remained stuck in the car.

If Meng Zhenyue didn’t want to get out, Yun Zhixue wouldn’t dare use force.

Meng Zhenyue’s fingers rested on the steering wheel, lightly tapping the leather.

The noise of the industrial city irritated her.

The milky scent on Yun Zhixue mixed with her own perfume, creating a dizzying, restless sensation.

Yun Zhixue leaned closer, wanting to kiss her lips, to completely cover and mark her with her own scent.

Meng Zhenyue didn’t get angry.

She only tilted her head slightly.

Her lips could only touch the corner of her lips, the touch softer than she had imagined, carrying the sweet rose scent of her usual lipstick.

Yun Zhixue liked it, but was becoming increasingly unsatisfied. Yun Zhixue reached out to turn her face back.

The next second, Meng Zhenyue raised her hand and pressed it against her shoulder. The force wasn’t strong, but it was undeniable.

“Enough,” she said.

The damp air after the heavy rain rushed in all at once.

Meng Zhenyue’s breathing grew a little uneven. Her fingers trembled slightly, her shirt stretched taut from the movement, outlining the beautiful curve of her waistline, where the finger marks from their earlier passionate struggles still remained.

At that moment, her phone rang.

An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen.

Yun Zhixue’s gaze shifted to it even before she did.

The caller’s voice was no less pleasant than Meng Zhenyue’s, undoubtedly another beautiful woman.

The woman invited her to dinner.

Meng Zhenyue smiled as she agreed, praising her in her naturally gentle voice.

“Alright, thank you, Teacher Bo. I read the proposal yesterday, it’s very good. You’re excellent.”

Yun Zhixue listened quietly, jealousy sprouting again inside her, close to igniting.

Meng Zhenyue glanced at her and said into the phone, “Okay, Teacher Bo. See you tonight.”

Teacher.

Teacher.

Those two words sounded especially pleasant when spoken by her softly moving red lips.

It felt like a title Yun Zhixue would never truly possess.

Meng Zhenyue hung up and leaned back slightly, then turned her head to look at Yun Zhixue.

“Don’t go,” Yun Zhixue said. “Stay with me.”

They had just been physically intimate yesterday, and now she was already lusting after her, wanting her appealing body. Yun Zhixue hated this unsatisfied state.

Meng Zhenyue replied coolly, “Yun Zhixue, mind your limits. Even your mother never demanded this of me.”

She glanced toward the dozen bodyguards outside the car, shut the door, and used the previously “broken” navigation to plot the shortest route.

They arrived at the destination in half an hour.

Bo Muqing brought an assistant with her.

The young assistant flushed the moment she saw Meng Zhenyue and greeted her shyly.

Meng Zhenyue smiled and returned the greeting.

“This is my kid. She’s still in college.”

The child she referred to looked well-behaved.

A black dress, a porcelain-pale face, a slender neck almost too delicate beneath the petal-shaped collar.

Her long legs were straight, and on closer inspection, her outfit echoed Meng Zhenyue’s white shirt, with matching embroidery.

Bo Muqing handed the menu to Yun Zhixue.

“Why don’t you order?”

Bo Muqing truly was beautiful and attentive.

The restaurant was playing Meng Zhenyue’s breakthrough song, Forever.

The melody was soft, tinged with youthful melancholy.

Everyone present liked the song, except Yun Zhixue.

Yun Zhixue ordered according to Meng Zhenyue’s tastes, then showed her the list.

Meng Zhenyue passed it to Bo Muqing.

The assistant asked, “Teacher Meng, you were only around twenty when you sang this, right?”

“Actually, eighteen,” Meng Zhenyue replied.

Her ID listed her as two years older than her real age.

She once had an older sister whose household registration was completed first; after the sister was given away, the family couldn’t be bothered to redo the paperwork, so Meng Zhenyue inherited that identity.

Meng Zhenyue spoke with ease as she discussed work, her charm undeniable.

Across the table, both listeners kept their eyes on her.

She placed a portion of shrimp onto Yun Zhixue’s plate.

Yun Zhixue’s heart skipped a beat.

“I really like it, Teacher Bo,” Meng Zhenyue said.

“You put a lot of thought into this.”

She and Bo Muqing were highly aligned in their ideas.

They spoke deeply about music and dance.

Bo Muqing even wanted to write a song for her and passed over a half-finished draft.

Meng Zhenyue’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Everyone liked Meng Zhenyue.

No one didn’t.

Yun Zhixue slowly wiped her lips.

Afterwards, she straightened Meng Zhenyue’s napkin, the fabric rubbing against it and knocking over a juice glass, causing Meng Zhenyue’s knee to slip. Yun Zhixue leaned over to wipe it, sitting very close, as if nestled in Meng Zhenyue’s arms.

The assistant got up and handed over wet wipes. Meng Zhenyue lightly stepped on Yun Zhixue’s shoe under the table, but wore a professional smile, “It’s alright.”

Bo Muqing smiled faintly and handed her the contract.

“She still needs to consider it carefully; she might not have much time. We need to go home,” Yun Zhixue said.

“We can cover the travel expenses,” Bo Muqing smiled.

“Don’t mind her, she’s just been going through…” Meng Zhenyue watched Yun Zhixue wipe her fingers, which ticked her terribly. She tightened her grip on the rim of the cup, then lowered her hand and unbuttoned her cuffs. “…Adolescence, so she’s clingy.”

Afterward, the contract still wasn’t signed.

Meng Zhenyue felt apologetic and insisted on paying, but Bo Muqing had already settled the bill and even suggested changing the performance venue to the capital.

Meng Zhenyue smiled in response.

Her lips felt restless, she wanted a cigarette.

“Alright,” she said.

“We’ll be in touch next time. I’ll head out first, I’ve got something to take care of.”

Bo Muqing glanced at her “child.”

Just moments ago she’d looked obedient and mild, but now her gaze had darkened.

Years ago, Bo Muqing had once seen Yun Jing.

Back then, Meng Zhenyue had been deeply in love with Yun Jing.

The two of them had leaned close together, and Yun Jing had spared no expense for her.

At that time…

Yun Zhixue didn’t seem to be an adult yet.

Nie Yu clutched her pen, knuckles white.

After a long struggle, she finally gathered the courage to chase after them for an autograph.

Inside the meeting room, facing her idol Meng Zhenyue, she hadn’t dared disrupt the professional atmosphere.

But when she rushed out the door, the scene before her made her pupils shrink.

She involuntarily took a step back.

At the end of the corridor, Yun Zhixue stood close behind Meng Zhenyue, shielding her from a stain on the wall.

The distance between them was extremely close, their voices low.

“Are you done causing trouble?” Meng Zhenyue asked quietly, her tone helpless rather than scolding.

“What exactly do you want?”

“She touched you here. When she handed me the menu,” Yun Zhixue’s thumb slammed into the back of her hand until the skin flushed slightly, “and she looked here too.” Her fingers slid towards Meng Zhenyue’s collarbone, which rose and fell with her breath.

“And you…weren’t you looking down too?” Meng Zhenyue countered, “…are you going to unbutton my shirt right now?”

“Yes, I wanted to.”

“…?”

“Such a possessive attitude, I won’t bring you next time.”

Yun Zhixue pursed her lips.

When the elevator chimed open and staff stepped inside, Meng Zhenyue quickly composed herself.

She took Yun Zhixue by the wrist and walked in, her demeanor once again calm and dignified.

While driving, Meng Zhenyue asked again, “How did you find me?”

She had kept a low profile, plain makeup, cheap transportation, old neighbuorhoods.

“Telepathy,” Yun Zhixue replied.

Nonsense.

“Yun Zhixue,” Meng Zhenyue called her name slowly.

“Answer me.”

The authority of a mother pressed down on her.

Yun Zhixue’s breathing tightened, her tone softening.

“Don’t be so fierce.”

Suddenly, the answer seemed less important.

Meng Zhenyue glanced at the silver phone resting on the console, a gift from Yun Zhixue, bought with money she’d earned selling handmade goods at a school charity fair.

Meng Zhenyue had been genuinely surprised when she received it and had immediately switched from her brand-new phone.

She hooked her finger around Yun Zhixue’s cheek, then suddenly gave her a wicked smile, “Baby, if I used this phone to order a room with your mom on the rooftop, would you know?”

Yun Zhixue stared at her, her expression crumbling.

She tapped Yun Zhixue lightly on the forehead. “Behave yourself.”

They didn’t make it to the airport.

Meng Zhenyue refused red-eye flights.

Yun Zhixue booked a five-star royal hotel, lavish and gilded.

It felt mismatched with her temperament.

Meng Zhenyue pulled the wooden hairpin from the back of her head, loosened her hair, and took off her shirt and tossed it to Yun Zhixue, revealing her stunning figure in only her black tank top underneath.

Yun Zhixue carefully straightened and folded what she held, draping it neatly over her arm, obedient, composed, just like a well-behaved daughter following behind her mother.

They entered the room.

The door closed.

Several bodyguards remained outside.

One of them placed a black briefcase on the table.

Meng Zhenyue held a cigarette between her fingers.

She had quit smoking for a long time, to protect her voice, and to safeguard Yun Zhixue’s health.

Yet these past few days, she kept wanting to relapse.

Frowning in annoyance, she was about to break the cigarette, out of sight, out of mind. Behind her, Yun Zhixue took out a lighter and lit it for her.The flame illuminated half of Meng Zhenyue’s face.

Steam rose, and Yun Zhixue gazed at her red lips holding the cigarette butt.

“Alright,” she said.

“Go do your homework. Tomorrow morning, you’re going back to school.”

“What about you?” Yun Zhixue asked, staring at her.

“I don’t belong to you,” Meng Zhenyue replied. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“But my mom is dead,” Yun Zhixue said calmly. “And I inherited you.”

Meng Zhenyue, who already had no moral compass, was still shattered by these words. She said, “I shouldn’t have taught you those things in the first place. Are you having a baby fetish? Recognizing your mother as your wife?”

Before, this child was so well-behaved, a bit dull and clueless, with little knowledge of s*x. She wanted to date but knew nothing. Even the most basic masturbation was done by her crying and saying she didn’t know how.

Meng Zhenyue held her in her arms and taught her step by step. She didn’t know where things went wrong.

Yun Zhixue put away her lighter and walked towards her handbag. Meng Zhenyue lazily pondered her relationship with her, how it had deteriorated from feeding her milk to having to start breastfeeding. Did it start before her mother, or after her mother?

The smoke drifted a bit far. She got up and went outside to smoke, catching a glimpse of a corner of a suitcase out of the corner of her eye.

Yun Zhixue’s fingertips gently traced the thin silver chain inside the box, the metal gleaming coldly under the light.

Meng Zhenyue exhaled white smoke, still unaware of the danger. She wanted to go over and look, but the smoke bothered her, so she stopped and looked from a distance, asking, “What is that?”

Yun Zhixue lowered her head and carefully held the chain to her side, explaining, “It’s a chain which I’ll use to bind you.”

Meng Zhenyue froze. “Are you crazy? You brat,” she scolded, “Don’t come any closer, kneel down!”

“Okay, I’ll obey, I’ll do anything for you…”

Yun Zhixue obeyed her every word, kneeling beside Meng Zhenyue, her eyes unusually dark as she looked up at her. “But, Mommy, you can’t leave me.”

She couldn’t understand it.

She had nurtured her carefully, raising a once-withered weed into a delicate rose, her former stepdaughter.

How had it all… gone so wrong?