"No! It can't be true. How could I be disfigured? You must be lying to me!" Ling Meng pushed Yang Xiner's hand away, as if she had gone mad. She touched her own face and found it wrapped in bandages. She screamed and frantically tore at the bandages. She didn't want to become an ugly monster. If she turned into an ugly monster, her brother Zhou Mucheng would no longer love her.
She felt a tearing pain in her hands, face, and body, and fresh blood seeped through the bandages. Ling Meng seemed oblivious to the pain as she desperately tore at the bandages on her face. All she wanted to know was whether her face was truly disfigured. She didn't want to become an ugly monster.
"No, Mengmeng, don't do this. Mom and Dad will find the best doctors to cure you. You will be beautiful again, just like before. Mengmeng, listen to Mom, okay? Don't hurt yourself like this, Mengmeng. Sob..." Yang Xiner's heart was breaking as she held Ling Meng's hand, preventing her from pulling off the bandages.
"Let me go! Let go! I don't want to become an ugly monster! I don't want to!" Ling Meng screamed loudly, struggling and pushing Yang Xiner away. She scratched Yang Xiner's hand with her nails, her eyes filled with madness and ferocity.
Ling Tianzheng had no choice but to call a doctor.
The doctor administered a sedative to calm Ling Meng down.
A nurse brought new bandages and medicine, replacing the ones on Ling Meng's body.
Lying on the hospital bed like a puppet without a soul, Ling Meng stared blankly at the ceiling. Tears rolled down uncontrollably. How did it come to this? Why was she disfigured?
Yang Xiner gently held Ling Meng's hand, brushing aside the hair on her forehead. "Mengmeng, Mom and Dad will find the best doctors to cure you. They won't let a single scar remain. Be a good girl and don't think too much."
A glimmer of hope flashed in Ling Meng's eyes, but quickly faded. Could she really be cured? Would there be no scars left? Could she truly return to her former self?
There was a soft knock on the door, followed by the door opening. Song Yanxue, Song Ziyuan, and Zhou Mucheng walked in. They had all come to see Ling Meng upon hearing the news. They were shocked because the Ling family was not an ordinary family. Every corner of their house was heavily guarded. How could it catch fire?
"Ling Uncle! Yang Aunt!"
Ling Tianzheng nodded slightly. "Please have a seat."
"Mucheng, Yanxue, Ziyuan." Yang Xiner saw the three of them, wiped her tears, and forced a smile to greet them.
Ling Meng caught sight of Zhou Mucheng and quickly covered her head with the blanket. She couldn't let her brother Zhou Mucheng see her like this—so ugly.
"How is Mengmeng now?" Song Yanxue asked, concerned, as she looked at Ling Meng lying in the hospital bed.
Yang Xiner's nose tingled, and tears almost welled up again. She shook her head. "The doctor said she needs a skin graft surgery."
Ling Meng hid under the blanket, listening to their conversation. She bit her lip forcefully, and blood trickled from her lips. But she couldn't feel the pain now because the pain in her body was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
"Mengmeng, don't be sad. You will be fine. Can you let me see you?" Song Yanxue walked to the bedside and softly asked Ling Meng.
Ling Meng tightly clutched the blanket. She didn't want to see anyone right now, especially her brother, Zhou Mucheng.
"Yanxue." Yang Xiner reached out and patted Song Yanxue's shoulder, shaking her head. She knew her daughter didn't want to see anyone at the moment.
Song Yanxue sighed, "Aunt Yang, how did the fire happen?"
Thinking about the big fire yesterday, Yang Xiner was also puzzled. "I don't know. I've already asked someone to investigate." She had actually ordered someone to set fire to Ling Yue and the others' house, so how did her own house catch fire instead? Could there be some connection?
After sitting for a while, Zhou Mucheng and the others bid farewell and left.
Only after Ling Meng heard the sound of the hospital room door closing and the footsteps fading away did she emerge from under the blanket. Her eyes, red from crying, looked at Yang Xiner and asked, "Mom, will I really be okay?"
At the moment she found out about her disfigurement, she truly wanted to die. It wasn't until her brother, Zhou Mucheng, arrived that a glimmer of hope ignited in her heart. She had worked so hard to wait for Ling Yue and Zhou Mucheng to cancel their engagement, and she had finally become the young lady of the Ling family. How could she give up now? She wanted to regain her original appearance and marry Zhou Mucheng.
Yang Xiner lovingly touched Ling Meng's head and said, "Yes, believe in Mom. You will definitely become as beautiful as before."
"Okay." Ling Meng's eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope as she slowly closed her eyes. She was truly exhausted.
Ling Tianzheng heard his phone ring and took out his phone to look at the number on it. He walked out of the hospital room and answered the call, "How did the investigation go?"
"It's Madam. We set fire to Ling Yue and the others' house as ordered, but we don't know how gasoline ended up spilling in the garden. Unfortunately, someone flicked a lit cigarette onto the gasoline, causing a big fire."
Ling Tianzheng's face darkened, exuding a cold aura. After a few words, he hung up the phone and walked into the hospital room.
Yang Xiner felt a sense of low pressure and turned to look at Ling Tianzheng. "Tianzheng, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ling Yue has already left the Ling family. Why won't you let her go?" Ling Tianzheng stared at Yang Xiner with cold and furious eyes. Even if he didn't like that daughter, they still shared a blood relationship.
"Where haven't I let her go?" Yang Xiner felt a bit panicked. Did Ling Tianzheng find out about her ordering someone to set fire?
"Don't tell me you didn't order the fire? Do you know how the house caught fire? It was because those two subordinates accidentally spilled gasoline, and it only ignited because someone carelessly flicked a cigarette onto it. You brought this upon yourself." Ling Tianzheng's eyes were filled with piercing coldness.
Ling Meng, in a daze, heard Ling Tianzheng's words and opened her eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing. She looked at Yang Xiner and asked, "Mom, did you really do this?"
Yang Xiner couldn't meet Ling Meng's gaze. "I heard from Xue Xue that she slapped you, and I wanted to stand up for you." How could she have known that things would turn out like this? If she had known it would eventually lead to her daughter being disfigured, she would never have allowed someone to burn Ling Yue and her friends' house. But now, everything is already too late.
Ling Meng closed her eyes in pain. She knew she shouldn't blame her mother, but she couldn't help but hate her in her heart. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't be disfigured, wouldn't become a monster.
"Meng Meng, Mom did all this for you. Can you forgive Mom, please?" Yang Xiner panicked and reached out to hold Ling Meng's hand.
Ling Meng pushed her away. "I want to be alone." She didn't want to see her right now.
"Meng Meng."
"Leave, just leave. I don't want to see you right now!" Ling Meng cried out.
Yang Xiner felt a stab in her heart. "Mom really didn't know it would turn out like this. Mom just wanted to help you let off some steam." It's all because of those two good-for-nothings. They couldn't even handle such a small matter properly. She was going to find them and make them pay.
