Chapter 92: Tiffin Box
The journey ahead was difficult, and many people had begun to doubt Ni Mengxue after what had happened. In fact, many of Lu Yucai’s subordinates were secretly blaming her.
They believed that if Ni Mengxue had informed them before rushing ahead, this tragedy might have been avoided.
Some blamed her for recklessly going out despite knowing the area was dangerous, while others had even begun to wonder whether Lu Yucai could still be followed safely.
Lu Yucai, however, remained in his room. He sat silently, replaying everything that had happened in his mind and wondering how he could have prevented it.
How could he have avoided all of this? Regret slowly filled his heart.
Then he heard a steady voice. "You shouldn’t blame yourself."
Lu Yucai looked up and saw Meng Xiaoni standing at the door. He walked inside and repeated calmly,
"You really shouldn’t blame yourself. In fact, if I were in your place, I would think Ni Mengxue was somewhat responsible for this death."
"Don’t disturb me, Meng Xiaoni. I’m not in the mood to listen to your stupid theories."
Meng Xiaoni shook his head.
"Think about it. The current Ni Mengxue isn’t the previous Ni Mengxue. She must have been worried that Ruo Chiwu would expose this fact to everyone. If that happened, she might have been experimented on, or, at the very least, treated differently by everyone. So she decided to kill Ruo Chiwu once and for all."
It was a solid theory. However, Lu Yucai knew Ni Mengxue.
The Ni Mengxue he knew was kind to the point that she would fight even powerful people for someone she had only recently grown attached to.
He looked at Meng Xiaoni. "You don’t know anything. You don’t know anything about her. She’s innocent."
His voice became heavier. "If you have to blame someone, blame me. It was my mistake. It was my stupidity that caused Ruo Chiwu to die. I..."
He couldn’t continue. Meng Xiaoni looked at the guilt in Lu Yucai’s eyes and shook his head.
"I won’t stop you from drowning yourself in guilt. But Lu Yucai, if I were in your place, I would make everyone stand against Ni Mengxue, take this opportunity to divorce her, and then live peacefully after paying a small amount of alimony."
Lu Yucai stared at him. "You know that she isn’t the real Mengxue. So why do you have such hard feelings toward her?"
Meng Xiaoni shook his head. "Even if she isn’t the real Ni Mengxue, can anyone guarantee that she won’t turn out to be worse than the real one?"
Lu Yucai stared at him for a long moment. "You’ll regret it."
Meng Xiaoni paused before smiling. "You’ve started to like her."
Lu Yucai didn’t answer. Instead, he turned toward the window.
The RV had already started moving. The sound of the other vehicles following them was faint, while the car behind them was being driven by one of his subordinates.
Everything seemed to have fallen back into place. But Lu Yucai knew better.
It was merely the silence before another danger appeared. He looked outside.
"That mutated plant... Look. Isn’t that flower beautiful?"
Meng Xiaoni followed his gaze.
Sure enough, a beautiful purple flower stood among the ruined landscape.
"Such a beautiful flower shouldn’t bloom in this polluted world," Lu Yucai murmured. "Yet rather than thinking that it is making this world more beautiful, everyone treats it as a threat. It’s only trying to survive while remaining beautiful."
Meng Xiaoni looked at him. "You’ve learned to speak poetically."
Lu Yucai remained silent. Meng Xiaoni shook his head.
"I thought I could rescue you, but it seems I can’t help you at all."
He turned to leave, but before stepping out, he stopped.
"If you ever change your mind, come to Burning Star Base. I’m planning to take revenge on Su Yao. Once I succeed, I’ll hand her husbands over to you."
Lu Yucai continued staring out the window. "I’m not interested in revenge anymore."
His gaze remained fixed on the purple flower. "I just want to live a peaceful life with that flower."
He paused. "However, I know that in the end, I’m still part of this polluted world."
Meng Xiaoni shook his head. "Hopeless and hypocritical."
The journey that should have taken a long time was shortened by more than half because Yanni Hills had become much easier to navigate.
Ni Mengxue personally drove the RV and made sure they safely left the hills behind.
Now they needed to cross Riley Forest. Once they passed through it, they would reach their second checkpoint, Burning Star Base.
By the time they reached the edge of Yanni Hills, night had already fallen.
Knowing that venturing into a densely forested area at night would be dangerous, they decided to camp there for the night.
Their food was stored inside the RV. One by one, the people from the other vehicles knocked on the door and collected their rations before returning to their own cars.
As evening passed, most of them had gradually calmed down.
Things that had seemed unclear earlier had also become clearer.
Ruo Chiwu’s death had been an accident. There was nothing they could have done once the mutated plants had trapped her.
Lu Yucai wasn’t the only person responsible. Everyone had played a part in what had happened.
Ni Mengxue was about to enter her room when Fu Lin stopped her. He looked at her calmly.
"I’m sorry. I was being too impulsive earlier. I shouldn’t have reacted like that."
Ni Mengxue blinked before shaking her head. "It’s all right. I understand."
Fu Lin smiled. "There was something Ruo Chiwu wanted to give you tonight."
He took out a tiffin box and handed it to her. "Here. Eat it. She’d be upset if you didn’t finish it."
Ni Mengxue stared at the tiffin box before looking at Fu Lin’s calm smile.
She already felt as though someone had driven a knife straight through her heart.
Still, she accepted the box and gave him a polite nod.
She was about to leave when Fu Lin suddenly spoke again.
"My wife said she wanted to build a house with you once we reached our destination. She was planning to become your neighbour again."