Her Rose – Chapter 77

Just two days after the banquet, the filming of 《Return》 reached another crucial point.

Gu Qingsheng, having suffered enough in the outside world, inevitably began to miss the days she had once been so weary of.

She quietly returned to the city where she had lived with her former lover. She found a spot in the coffee shop across from her home and silently watched her own front door.

She probably didn’t want to go back; she knew she couldn’t.

It was just that her frail body and spirit, on the verge of collapse, needed to find a familiar corner to soothe her soul, which felt as if it were about to leave her body.

She had been in the bizarre, dazzling world for too long. The splendors were so beautiful yet fleeting, making it increasingly difficult for her to be sure if she had ever truly lived in this world.

If everything was just a dream, then seeking release wouldn’t be a mistake, would it?

Her lingering will to live had driven her here. If nothing had changed, perhaps she could muster a sliver of courage to go on.

But what Gu Qingsheng saw in the end was her former lover and his pregnant wife.

Her shattered soul seemed to have no room left for anger or sorrow, only enough to force a bitter smile onto her lips.

From beginning to end, the naive, willful one living in a dream had only ever been her.

Everyone else was moving forward, but she had lost the ability to do so.

The actress playing the wife was brought to the studio entrance two hours before the scene began, in a luxurious RV. Several tall, sturdy security guards and an assistant carrying a large suitcase surrounded the Omega, who looked particularly petite compared to them.

Director Yan frowned in displeasure. He really disliked these useless displays from celebrities. There was security in front of the studio, and the inside was filled with crew members. Were these people afraid someone would abduct their artist in public?

But when he saw the appearance of Meng Ziyan, the actress playing the wife, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As one of the actors explicitly stated in the contract not to be replaced, this person must have a considerable background. Director Yan had been worried that some executive had slipped in one of their own. But looking at her, she was beautiful, with the air of a gentle, modest girl from a good family, even shrinking a little before strangers. Most importantly, her features truly bore some resemblance to Jiang Hanguang’s.

This point alone made her very suitable to play Gu Qingsheng’s replacement.

Meng Ziyan went straight to her dressing room and only came out when filming was about to start. She looked quite clever, but her actions seemed a bit dazed. She only hesitantly went on set under the guidance of the staff.

Yan Zhi, however, didn’t expect that the one with the problem would be Jiang Hanguang.

From the moment she saw Meng Ziyan, the woman’s delicate eyebrows furrowed, and not even Yan Zhi’s call to get ready could bring her back from her thoughts.

Yan Zhi shouted, somewhat displeased, “Jiang Hanguang, what are you doing!”

Jiang Hanguang stiffened, then hurriedly nodded apologetically towards Yan Zhi in the filming area. “Sorry, Director Yan. We can start now.”

At this, everyone’s gaze followed Yan Zhi’s voice to Jiang Hanguang, and Meng Ziyan was no exception.

She saw that strange yet familiar face. The other person’s peripheral vision seemed to be watching her as well.

It was strange because she had never actually met Jiang Hanguang, but familiar because every time Jiang Hanguang appeared on screen, it was when she would get beaten.

It reached the point where now, just seeing Jiang Hanguang’s face made the not-yet-fully-healed wounds hidden under her clothes ache faintly.

She couldn’t help but reveal a pained expression, and that look was taken in completely by Jiang Hanguang.

Jiang Hanguang’s hand under the table tightened slightly. A suspicion had already formed in her mind.

A suspicion she didn’t want to admit, but one that was almost certain.

Today’s shoot did not go smoothly. Not only was Jiang Hanguang’s performance a far cry from the past few days, but the newcomer Meng Ziyan was even more exaggerated. Whenever the Alpha actor she was working with got close, her face would stiffen, looking as if she were waiting to be disciplined. How could she possibly act out the loving couple described in the script?

Director Yan had to halt the filming. He flew into a rage, ordering the two actresses to go back and rest for an hour to get a better feel for their characters before resuming.

Jiang Hanguang watched Meng Ziyan’s slender back and silently followed her.

Off-set, Cheng Ying also sensed something was wrong. She didn’t stop Jiang Hanguang, but followed her to the door of Meng Ziyan’s dressing room.

The tall security guards dutifully blocked their way. Jiang Hanguang, however, was not as polite as usual. She simply said, calmly and coolly, “Did your President Feng instruct you that I could see Miss Meng?”

Cheng Ying heard this clearly, and her heart tightened.

What good intentions could a person like Feng Nan have? Listening to Jiang Hanguang’s tone, it was clear she had already guessed his meaning.

The guards exchanged glances for a moment, then stepped aside, but blocked Cheng Ying who was behind.

A guard who seemed to be the leader said in a tone that brooked no argument, “President Feng only said Miss Jiang could go in alone.”

Cheng Ying grabbed Jiang Hanguang’s hand. “Then you can’t go either.”

Who knew if that Meng Ziyan was hiding a knife? Given Feng Nan’s current situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if he did something crazy.

But Jiang Hanguang just glanced back at her, and she involuntarily let go.

The woman’s eyes were filled with an urgent pain, as if she wasn’t about to enter a dressing room, but to witness a truth that would cause her immense suffering.

Even so, she tried her best to soften her tone and said to Cheng Ying, “It’ll be fine.”

Why was she so certain?

Cheng Ying suddenly understood, and was suddenly overcome with rage.

Killing the body is the lesser evil; destroying the heart is the ultimate cruelty.

Jiang Hanguang slowly pushed open the dressing room door. Meng Ziyan was still wearing that conservative and concealing maternity dress. She seemed to have expected Jiang Hanguang’s arrival. She just nodded at the assistant standing beside her—who seemed more like a guard than a helper—and the assistant silently withdrew.

She slowly stood up, and the two women looked at each other. Finally, she revealed a smile that looked like a sob and said slowly, “I’ve thought many times about the scene of our meeting. Should I be angry, complain, or cry and curse? But now, it seems I feel none of that.”

Although Feng Nan had crudely and simply stuffed the phrase “hate Jiang Hanguang” into her head, humans are, after all, complex creatures.

Feng Nan didn’t know what Jiang Hanguang truly meant to Meng Ziyan during those dark, sunless days.

Meng Ziyan was Jiang Hanguang’s shadow, but wasn’t Jiang Hanguang also Meng Ziyan’s shadow?

On every night she was in too much pain to sleep, she would fantasize about Jiang Hanguang’s life.

How wonderful. She had escaped this terrible cage. She had a free life. She had people who loved her.

Jiang Hanguang was a sliver of moonlight shining on the mouth of a dark well—faint, cold, but always there.

The person in the well knew she would never climb out of this abyss-like well in her lifetime, so she could only rely on this cold moonlight to get through the long nights of the rest of her life.

Meng Ziyan didn’t hate Jiang Hanguang. She was possibly the person in the world who most wanted Jiang Hanguang to live well.

Just like the Gu Qingsheng who had taken that leap.

It’s enough for me alone to rot in this place. You all can go on with your happy lives.

I’m not jealous. It’s because my luck is bad, because I’m cowardly and incompetent. I brought this upon myself.

Jiang Hanguang looked at her face, her expression more severe than ever before. She was silent for a moment before finally speaking, “You and Feng Nan…”

Meng Ziyan had long been prepared for this question. She didn’t answer, but slowly took off her jacket.

Jiang Hanguang’s breath caught.

The exposed parts of the woman’s otherwise fair skin were covered in horrific scars.

Blue bruises, purple bruises, cuts from a knife, burns from a cigarette.

Jiang Hanguang thought she had prepared herself mentally, but her mind still went blank, stung by the cruel sight before her.

She instinctively grabbed the chair beside her, her hand clenching the soft backrest so hard it left a deep indent, her fair fingertips turning deathly pale from the pressure.

Tears fell from her eyes. She opened her mouth but no sound came out.

If she could have made a sound, it would have been the furious growl of a wounded beast.

It was the first time she had felt such utter rage, a rage so intense that if Feng Nan were in front of her, she didn’t know what she would do.

From Feng Nan’s perspective, this was indeed a complete and utter victory.

He truly understood Jiang Hanguang. At least, he knew that what pained her most was not her own suffering, but the involvement of innocent people.

Someone had suffered such inhuman treatment just because she bore a slight resemblance to her.

That kind of pain far surpassed anything she could endure herself.

Meng Ziyan looked at Jiang Hanguang’s face, sighed, put her clothes back on, pulled out a tissue, and walked over to her. She asked, “If I wipe your tears, will you think I’m dirty?”

Jiang Hanguang shook her head, almost in alarm.

Meng Ziyan carefully wiped away Jiang Hanguang’s tears, her tone still very calm. “I knew you wouldn’t leave if I didn’t let you see. But, this isn’t your fault. I know it’s not your fault. It’s just my bad luck.”

Later, she found that Jiang Hanguang’s tears kept falling, impossible to wipe away completely. So she could only shrug helplessly and say with feigned lightness, “I’m your fan, you know. Don’t let my last impression of you be this sobbing mess.”

The words “last impression” finally jolted Jiang Hanguang. She grabbed Meng Ziyan’s hand and said decisively, “You can’t go back!”

Meng Ziyan just shook her head. “Do you know why he let me out?”

Perhaps afraid it would be too painful for Jiang Hanguang to say it herself, she immediately answered her own question: “He has my compromising photos and videos, and my family in his hands.”

Jiang Hanguang’s grip on her wrist suddenly tightened. Meng Ziyan frowned but didn’t struggle. “I could report him right now, but I would lose my family, my reputation. You know how people judge victims in sexual assault cases. I’d rather die than have my videos spread on some website for people to watch.”

She bit out the word “die” heavily, as if it were both an oath and a release.

Jiang Hanguang finally realized she was hurting her and quickly let go. Meng Ziyan rubbed her wrist, her gaze carrying a resolute calm. “He’s the one who’s wrong. You have to keep living well. The better you live, the less peace he’ll have. For me, that would be the best comfort.”

Meanwhile, Cheng Ying sat on a chair outside the door, looking up at the ceiling with a calm expression, but the hand hidden behind her was already gripping the armrest tightly.

Just because Feng Nan didn’t let her in didn’t mean she wouldn’t investigate.

The surveillance system at the Feng family villa wasn’t exactly hard to hack.

She saw Feng Nan’s torture of Meng Ziyan. Out of pity for the woman, she didn’t continue watching, but instead rewound the surveillance footage to two months prior.

The day Feng Nan and Jiang Hanguang divorced.

She watched Jiang Hanguang place the divorce papers on the table in front of the man. She watched Feng Nan jump up furiously and hurl a heavy-looking decorative object from the desk at Jiang Hanguang.

The woman couldn’t dodge in time and could only block it with her arm. The sharp edge cut her arm, and crimson blood spilled out.

Then, Feng Ying’s angry voice came from off-screen. Feng Nan sat down like a mad dog restrained by its master, glaring venomously at his mother, who was out of frame.

Cheng Ying’s gaze remained fixed on Jiang Hanguang. The woman’s expression was still calm, showing no sign of pain from her injury.

Her slender, pale hand pressed tightly against the bleeding wound, but couldn’t stop the blood from gushing out.

Blood seeped through her fingers and dripped onto the thick carpet, disappearing in an instant.

Cheng Ying unclenched her jaw and let out a slight breath.

She had originally planned to stop there, to make Feng Nan, this rich kid who had been sitting on top of the world, lose everything. Just the scornful gazes would have been enough to make him miserable for a lifetime.

But now she had changed her mind. How could that possibly be enough?

At the very least, Feng Nan had to shed as much blood as he had made others shed. Only then would it be barely enough.