Chapter 100: Health Swap?
At first, he wanted to kill both of them. His parents were ashamed of his deed and had long ago left the country, and the only person recognising him was his girlfriend.
His girlfriend was a gold digger through and through, but he loved her. So he changed his intention.
He successfully entered their laboratory as a cleaner and was about to steal some of the patent as payback when the apocalypse arrived.
Having no choice, he decided to leave with Mo Beichan and Meng Xiaoni. Along the way, he got to know about them making a recovery potion.
Greed overtook him, and he changed his plan. With his girlfriend’s help, he started keeping an eye out for the formula.
However, before he could take any action, Mo Beichan stole the credits and became Su Yao’s husband. King, knowing the disparity in their background, started to blackmail Mo Beichan instead.
Mo Beichan eventually learned about his true identity, and one day he murdered King.
Meng Xiaoni was stunned by the details of the backstory and subconsciously blurted, "From when and how did you know?"
Ni Mengxue touched her eyebrows and smiled. "I just know it. So now we just need to rely on the second person to reveal the truth."
"The girlfriend?" Meng Xiaoni asked; his shoulders started to relax, and hope flashed in his eyes.
"Hm." Ni Mengxue gave a faint nod.
"Do you know her location then?" Meng Xiaoni leaned forward; the faint medicinal fragrance clinging to him assaulted her senses.
"Not yet." Ni Mengxue leaned forward. In the original novel, this girlfriend didn’t appear until the Burning Star base became a self-independent base.
"Then... would I have to wait for a long time? My family..." Meng Xiaoni began but stopped midway, realizing he was acting too anxious. Subconsciously, he didn’t want Ni Mengxue to know how desperate he was.
He was worried... worried that she would use the desperation to ask for something more... like feelings... or his body... which he couldn’t give her.
Ni Mengxue smiled. "I think it would be better if you paid a hefty price to rescue your family. I have a plan."
Meng Xiaoni was confused, but before he could ask for anything, she changed the subject and asked, "I heard someone say that whenever a doctor arrives, they can’t detect your sickness. Is it true?"
Meng Xiaoni leaned back a little and fixed his clothes. "Do you think I am faking everything?"
"No. You are sick. I have personally checked your pulse." Ni Mengxue said with certainty.
"If I say he has done some kind of magic, would you believe me?" Meng Xiaoni pressed his eyes, staring intently into Ni Mengxue’s mesmerising purple eyes.
"Do you suspect he can suppress your illness whenever anyone checks it?"
"Yes."
His answer was unusually firm.
"I have undergone countless examinations since I was young. Every doctor says that there is nothing wrong with me." He lowered his gaze and gave a bitter smile.
"Before, he was the one who had a frail constitution, but after he stole my achievement... I became the one with health problems. While he... became better. I even suspect..."
"He has done a health swap?" Ni Mengxue asked calmly.
Meng Xiaoni slowly clenched his fist before nodding.
"At first, I thought it was merely a coincidence." His voice became quieter. "But the timing was too perfect."
He lowered his head, staring at his tightly clenched fingers.
"Before he stole my research, I was perfectly healthy. I rarely even caught a cold. But after the incident, my health deteriorated rapidly."
This was the first time Ni Mengxue had come across something like that. Even someone as experienced as she was stumped.
"Alright, I will look into it."
Meng Xiaoni stared at her hard for a few seconds before saying in a softened voice, "You don’t have to compensate for whatever the previous Ni Mengxue had done. You are not responsible."
Lu Yucai, leaning on the wall outside, stiffened at the eavesdropping.
When he saw Meng Xiaoni entering the room, he, who had returned from a discussion, decided to hide. Maybe he wanted to gauge whether or not Meng Xiaoni was lying about his intentions toward Ni Mengxue.
Call him selfish, but he desperately wished... Meng Xiaoni asks for a divorce.
And when he realised how cleanly Meng Xiaoni and Ni Mengxue were able to communicate, he started to feel jealous.
Even after spending so much time with Ni Mengxue... his conversations with her... were always her comforting him. Sometimes it seemed like only she was in the relationship... while he constantly poured all his negative emotions onto her.
And now... he suddenly realised why he couldn’t bring himself to fully connect with Ni Mengxue.
He never said that Ni Mengxue shouldn’t pay for the wrong deed done by the original Ni Mengxue.
Somewhere, he selfishly wished that she would stay with him even after meeting other handsome and capable husbands. Somewhere, he wished that the guilt of what the original Ni Mengxue had done would stay with her.
So... she would never think of divorcing him.
His hands slowly covered his face, and he murmured, "What a bastard I am..."
Ni Mengxue blinked before bursting out in laughter, puzzling both men.
"I never felt any guilt toward you or any of my husbands." She wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, chilling Meng Xiaoni’s heart.
’Did she... just admit... that he doesn’t care about our past sufferings?’
"The only emotion that I ever felt was killing. If I could meet the original Ni Mengxue... I would have experimented on her till she was a mangled piece of meat." Ni Mengxue laughed.
Meng Xiaoni and Lu Yucai froze instinctively.
"Did you misunderstand me for some kind of soft woman? Xiaoni, if I truly felt any guilt, I would have divorced you. But I am despicable enough not to mention it."
[Ding! A mission has been unlocked. Mission: Prepare for the incoming zombie tide. Duration left for preparation: 5 days.]