The words on the phone were like thunder, lingering in Su Wanwan's ears for a long time. She leaned against the wall outside the ward, trying hard to calm her rapid breathing.
Was mother's car accident not an accident? Is the murderer in the Lu family?
These words pierced her heart like needles. The painful memories of losing my mother at the age of ten came flooding back. That rainy night, the hospital call, my father's broken cries...
"Wanwan?" " Lu Tingchen's voice came from the ward, "Are you outside?"
Su Wanwan hurriedly wiped away the tears that had trickled down her face without her noticing, took a deep breath, forced a smile and pushed the door open: "Here I am." I just received a call. It was my elder sister asking me what I wanted to eat tonight.
She lied. This was the first time she had concealed the truth from Lu Tingchen. That anonymous call was so terrifying that she didn't dare to tell him easily until the truth was found out, especially since he was still in the recovery period.
Lu Tingchen keenly sensed her abnormality: "Your eyes are red. Has something happened?" "
"It's okay," Su Wanwan forced a smile. "Maybe I didn't sleep well last night."
Lu Tingchen stared at her as if he had seen through her lie, but he didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he gently held her hand and said, "Don't overwork yourself." When I get better, everything will be fine.
This sentence made Su Wanwan feel even more guilty. She lowered her head to avoid his gaze, her heart filled with a mixture of emotions.
In the following days, Su Wanwan pretended to be concentrating on taking care of Lu Tingchen, but secretly began to investigate the truth behind her mother's car accident. She got in touch with the traffic police station that had handled the accident back then, only to find that the relevant files had been "lost". She tried to find the witnesses from that time, but most of them could no longer be reached or said they couldn't remember.
The only valuable information comes from an old traffic police officer who has already retired. At Su Wanwan's repeated pleadings, he vaguely recalled, "There were indeed some suspicious points about that accident." Logically speaking, the brakes of your mother's car shouldn't have suddenly failed completely... But at that time, the higher-up authorities demanded that the case be closed as soon as possible, and we didn't delve deeper into it.
"Up there?" " Su Wanwan seized the key word, "Which one above?"
The old traffic police officer hesitated for a moment and lowered his voice, saying, "I heard it involves a certain large family. We can't investigate it in detail." Little girl, so many years have passed. I advise you not to dwell on it anymore. Just live a good life."
These words, instead, made Su Wanwan even more convinced that her mother's car accident was by no means an accident. And "a certain large family" is very likely to refer to the Lu family.
One rainy night, Su Wanwan was alone in the hotel suite, sorting out her thoughts. Suddenly, she received a call from Lin Wanru: "Wanwan, can we meet?" I have something important to tell you.
The two made an appointment at the hotel cafe. Lin Wanru looked worried, tightly grasping an old file folder in her hand.
"Auntie, what's wrong with you?" Su Wanwan asked with concern.
Lin Wanru took a deep breath and pushed the file bag in front of her, saying, "Take a look at this first."
Su Wanwan opened the file bag, which was filled with a stack of old photos and documents. The topmost photo left her stunned - it was a group photo of her mother and Lin Wanru, the two of them affectionately hugging each other's shoulders and smiling brightly.
"Do you know my mother?" Su Wanwan looked up in shock.
Lin Wanru nodded, her eyes brimming with tears: "It's not just about knowing." Qingya and I are the best of friends. We studied together in college for four years and are as close as sisters.
Su Wanwan's mother is named Li Qingya. Hearing this name come out of Lin Wanru's mouth, she felt a moment of confusion.
"That car accident..." Lin Wanru's voice choked up. "It might not be an accident." I suspect... It was aimed at me. Qingya was just unfortunately implicated.
Su Wanwan's heart sank sharply: "What do you mean?" "
Lin Wanru trembled as she took a sip of water and spoke slowly, "Back then, I discovered some secrets of the Lu family that I couldn't tell anyone and decided to leave with Tingchen." Qingya promised to help me prepare the relevant documents. But our matter might have been discovered..."
Pointing at an old newspaper in the file folder, she said, "The day before the car accident, Qingya told me that someone was following her and she felt something was wrong." I asked her to cancel the plan, but she insisted on helping me. The result was that the next day...
Su Wanwan flipped through the newspaper, which reported the car accident and marked it as an "accidental incident".
"Why didn't you say it at that time?" " Su Wanwan's voice trembled.
Lin Wanru closed her eyes in pain: "I dare not." The other party warned me that if I dared to say one more word, it would be Tingchen's turn next. I could only pretend to know nothing and continue to play the perfect Mrs. Lu until I fell ill with depression and was forced to "leave".
This truth was hard for Su Wanwan to accept. Could it be that her mother's death was actually related to the Lu family? And Lin Wanru has remained silent for so many years in order to protect Lu Tingchen?
What is the "secret that cannot be told" you mentioned? Su Wanwan pressed further.
Lin Wanru shook her head: "I can't say." The more you know, the more dangerous you are. I'm telling you all this just in the hope that you'll be mentally prepared. The Lu family is not as simple as it seems on the surface. There is a lot of darkness hidden deep inside.
She held Su Wanwan's hand tightly and said, "The most important thing is to protect yourself and Tingchen." He is now your closest person, but the rest of the Lu family... "Don't trust easily." "
After seeing Lin Wanru off, Su Wanwan sat alone in the coffee shop for a long time. Her heart was in turmoil: Should she tell Lu Tingchen? Does he know these things? If you know, why hide it?
Back in the suite, Su Wanwan found that Lu Tingchen had already fallen asleep. She lay gently beside him, looking at his quiet sleeping face, her heart filled with contradiction and pain.
This man was her beloved husband, but his family might be related to her mother's death. This marriage was shrouded in an even greater conspiracy from the very beginning.
The next day, Lu Tingchen's condition improved significantly. The doctor said that he could be discharged from the hospital after a few more days of observation. When Su Wanwan was taking a walk with him in the hospital garden, she tentatively asked, "Tingchen, how much do you know about my mother?"
Lu Tingchen was somewhat surprised: "I only heard my father-in-law mention that he is a very gentle and kind person." Why do you suddenly ask this?"
His expression was natural, not as if he was hiding anything. Su Wanwan felt a little relieved and shook her head, saying, "I just suddenly missed her." If she were still here, she should like you, right?
Lu Tingchen smiled and said, "I'll try my best to make her like it."
Looking into his sincere eyes, Su Wanwan decided to keep the secret for the time being. She couldn't easily doubt her husband before finding out the truth.
However, the tree desires to be still but the wind won't cease. In the afternoon, Su Wanwan received a package, which contained an old photo album and a letter. The photo album is full of pictures of her mother, many of which she has never seen before. There was no signature on the letter, only one sentence: "I want to know the truth. See you at the old house study at eight o 'clock tonight."
Su Wanwan's heart was beating faster. Old house? The Lu Family's Old residence?
After much hesitation, she finally decided to keep the appointment. For her mother's sake, she must bravely face the truth.
That night, under the pretext of "going back to the Su family to get something", she went alone to the old residence of the Lu family. The old man recently went to a sanatorium for convalescence. Only a few servants remained in the old house, making it look particularly desolate.
At exactly eight o 'clock, Su Wanwan pushed open the door of the study. There was no light on inside. Only the moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a figure with its back to her.
"Here you come." The man turned around and revealed his face - it turned out to be the old steward of the Lu family, Mr. Zhou.
"Uncle Zhou?" " Su Wanwan was surprised. "Did you ask me to come?" "
Zhou Bo nodded, his expression solemn: "Young Madam, please forgive me for inviting you to meet in this way." But there are some things that must be made known to you.
He opened the drawer of his desk and took out a yellowed document: "This is a copy of the investigation into the car accident back then. I secretly kept it."
Su Wanwan eagerly took the document and read it carefully under the moonlight. The more she looked, the deeper her heart sank - the report clearly mentioned that the braking system had been deliberately damaged, but the conclusion was still set as an "accident".
"Why..." " Her voice trembled.
Zhou Bo sighed, "Because someone put pressure on me." At that time, the old man, who was also the grandfather of Young Master Tingchen, ordered the news to be sealed off and the truth to be covered up.
Su Wanwan was as if struck by lightning: "Why?" "Why did the Lu family harm my mother?" "
Zhou Bo shook his head: "It's not that the Lu family is trying to harm your mother, but..." The specific reasons are very complicated. But it is certain that the car accident was aimed at Lady Wanru, and Lady Qingya just unfortunately became a scapegoer.
This statement is in line with Lin Wanru's account. Su Wanwan forced herself to calm down: "Uncle Zhou, why are you telling me this now?" "
The old butler's eyes were complicated: "Because I saw your true feelings for Young Master Tingchen, I couldn't bear to see you being kept in the dark." And..."
He paused for a moment and lowered his voice, saying, "And I feel that something is amiss with the old house recently. It seems that someone is secretly investigating something." I'm worried that the tragedy of that year will repeat itself.
Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside the study. Zhou Bo's expression changed. He quickly stuffed the documents back into the drawer and signaled Su Wanwan to hide behind the curtain.
The study door was pushed open and a figure darted in. By the moonlight, Su Wanwan was shocked to recognize the person - it turned out to be Lu Tingchen's aunt, Lu Meilin!
Lu Meilin walked straight to the desk, skillfully opened a hidden drawer and took out a document to read. A moment later, she seemed satisfied, put the documents back where they were and left quietly.
When the footsteps faded away, Zhou Bo finally let out a sigh of relief. "Miss Meilin has been sneaking into the study a lot recently. I have no idea what she's looking for."
Su Wanwan stepped out from behind the curtain, her mind filled with doubts. Why is Lu Meilin acting so furtively? What is she looking for? Is it related to the death of the mother?
After saying goodbye to Uncle Zhou, Su Wanwan returned to the hospital with a heavy heart. Just as I reached the door of the ward, I heard Lu Tingchen's stern voice coming from inside: "I told you not to check anymore!" "Why not listen?" "
Su Wanwan's heart tightened as she pushed the door open and entered: "What's wrong?" "
In the ward, Lu Tingchen was fuming over the phone. When he saw Su Wanwan come in, he quickly hung up the phone, looking very pale.
Where did you go? He asked, with a rare impatience in his tone, "Not even answering the phone."
It was only then that Su Wanwan remembered that her phone had been muted: "I went back to the Su family to get something." What happened?
Lu Tingchen took a deep breath and seemed to calm down a little: "It's nothing. It's just a bit of trouble for the company."
But Su Wanwan could sense that it was by no means as simple as a company matter. She noticed a file folder on the bedside table, revealing a corner of a photo - it was none other than her mother's!
What's this? She reached out to take it, but Lu Tingchen put it away first.
"Wanwan, listen to me," he held her shoulder, his eyes serious. "Let bygones be bygones." "We are fine now and will be fine in the future. That's enough."
Su Wanwan's heart sank to the bottom. He did know something, but was deliberately hiding it.
What if I can't get it through? She looked straight into his eyes. "What if I have to know the truth?"
Lu Tingchen's expression turned painful: "Knowing the truth will only bring harm." Believe me, some secrets are better buried forever.
At this moment, Su Wanwan understood two things: First, Lu Tingchen did indeed know the truth about her mother's car accident; Secondly, for some reason, he chose to hide it.
She felt a chill run down her spine and withdrew her hand, saying, "I need some peace and quiet."
"Wanwan..." " Lu Tingchen tried to hold her back, but she dodged him.
Su Wanwan turned and walked out of the ward, tears welling up in her eyes. She had originally believed that their love could overcome everything, but now it seemed that there was always an invisible wall between them.
Walking along the hospital corridor, she wandered aimlessly and before she knew it, she had arrived at the obstetric outpatient area. A couple happily embraced each other, stroking their bulging bellies and discussing the child's name.
This scene pierced Su Wanwan's heart. She suddenly realized that her period this month was nearly two weeks late. As she had been busy taking care of Lu Tingchen and dealing with various matters recently, she didn't notice this anomaly at all.
An astonishing possibility emerged in my mind: She might be pregnant.
This discovery made her both surprised and frightened. To her surprise, she might have a child with Lu Tingchen. What she fears is that this child will always be linked to the Lu family, and deep within the Lu family lies a darkness she is unaware of.
Just as she was in a daze, her phone received a new message from that anonymous number: "Do you want to know what Lu Tingchen has been hiding?" See you at Jiangcheng Wharf at eight o 'clock tomorrow evening. Wear a jade bracelet as a token."
Su Wanwan held the mobile phone tightly, her heart struggling fiercely. Go or not go?
She stroked her lower abdomen as if she could sense the new life that might be brewing there.
Finally, she replied with three words: "I'll go."
No matter how cruel the truth is, for the sake of her child, she must know everything.
The night was deep. Su Wanwan stood by the hospital window, gazing at the myriad lights in the distance, feeling an unprecedented sense of loneliness.
Inside the ward, Lu Tingchen stared at the document in his hand about Li Qingya's car accident, his eyes brimming with pain and struggle.
"Sorry, Wanwan," he muttered softly, "There are some truths that I'd rather you never knew."
The clock on the wall was ticking, as if counting down the arrival of some moment.
At eight o 'clock tomorrow evening at Jiangcheng Wharf, perhaps all the truths will be revealed.
And this marriage that began with a substitute marriage is now facing its greatest test.