Regret and sorrow morphed into helplessness when Mu Jianyu looked at her. The idea of confessing everything to Li Xiuying crossed his mind but he couldn"t come up with enough courage to do so. Copper filled Li Chuntao"s mouth as her teeth increased its pressure upon her tongue as she forced herself to stop her snarky remark. She admitted now, only to herself, that pretending to be her twin sister was also testing her patience.
Li Chuntao wasn"t as patient as her twin sister. Most of the time she avoids nonsensical discussions in fear that she wouldn"t be able to stop her sharp tongue. She had once told Ying that she had short patience with stupid people and right now, that same patience was being tested by the man sitting across her.
"Yes, we had a heated argument," Mu Jianyu said and Li Chuntao almost didn"t hear it but luckily she did, "I was wrong. I should be the one to blame." He shut his eyes close and sighed. "I shouldn"t have done that. I"m so sorry, Ying."
He tried to swallow, but his mouth suddenly felt dry. Lin Meirong"s words came to him, reminding him of what could happen once Li Xiuying remembers or finds out.
"What"s our status now?" Li Chuntao asked curiously. "Are we still married or the papers have been filed?"
His eyes must have given him away because that wasn"t something he expected to hear from her. Mu Jianyu also had no idea if Ying truly signed the papers like she told him the last time he saw her before the accident.
Ying had promised him his freedom but wasn"t it ironic that now, he didn"t want to be parted from her anymore?
"Of course, we"re still married. The papers aren"t filed."
Disgust emanated from Li Chuntao"s eyes and she felt it. For the first time in her life she wished looks could kill. Mu Jianyu once again lied without batting an eyelid.
No. In fact, before Ying"s pa.s.sing, she had signed those papers. The reason why the study in their penthouse was locked was that Li Yuren went theire unannounced while Chuntao and Su Ling were busy taking care of Li Xiuying back at the hospital. He was able to retrieve the confidential doc.u.ments and divorce papers Li Xiuying kept inside the study.
Li Chuntao had to keep her mask in check, hoping that idiot wouldn"t be able to see through her deceit. He was such a pathological liar. There was no hope for him anymore and Li Chuntao felt bad for her twin sister for falling for such an unworthy man.
"I see…" She looked away, her appet.i.te was already gone as her ex-brother-in-law successfully ruined her morning. "I"m sorry, I think I need more time to sort this out. Losing the last seven years of my life… I wonder what important things I"ve forgotten."
She should have known not to expect more from Mu Jianyu because every time she tested him, he failed miserably. Anyway, she would hold him liable for his claim later once she set him up with Gu Changge. She couldn"t wait to see how the cheating couple would go after each others" neck to save their sorry a.s.ses.
Just looking at his face, Li Chuntao guessed that he was trying to limit the damage now. Mu Jianyu knew that he was nothing against the Li family and once Li Xiuying divorced him, Ying wouldn"t be able to stop whatever the family decided to do with him.
---
One week. That was all Li Chuntao could think about as she stared out of the floor-to-ceiling window of her sister"s office overlooking the business district of the capital. In exactly one week, it would be her parents" death anniversary.
It suddenly made her feel like the years pa.s.sed by too fast for her liking. It felt like one moment, she lost her parents then soon after, death had also taken Ying away from her. A lifetime without them was dreadfully a long time to be alone.
Today, Li Yuren had brought her here and she presented herself as her dead sister to the board. It wasn"t that any one of them had suspected her ident.i.ty but Li Chuntao remained silent throughout the ordeal to pacify the concerns of their investors.
For those old farts, their biggest concern regarding Ying"s memory loss is the possibility that she may also forget the skills she mastered during the past seven years. Li Chuntao scoffed inwardly. While it was true that Ying was the one who was more business savvy between the two, it didn"t mean that she, the younger twin, wasn"t capable.
From where she stood, she could see the new high-rise building owned by the Shen family. It stood proud under the afternoon sun.
She marveled at how good Shen Lingqing was able to stand her ground against the older compet.i.tors of the Shen family in the industry. She supposed that having a strict father like Shen Yi and tenacious mothers Lu Xinyi had made the Shen princess more resilient to face challenges in her chosen career.
As she contemplated how to spend her life in solitude, she heard her cell phone buzz on top of the desk, bringing her attention back from the heartache and grief she still felt from losing everyone she loved dearly.
It was a message from Shen Yuyan, reminding her that she and Shen Zichen would drop by at the Li Corporation to meet her.
"Let me fix my makeup and I"ll be down in a bit." She replied.
Li Chuntao rarely put makeup on her face and dress up but since she would have to live as her dead sister, she supposed changing her wardrobe and mannerism would be essential.
She groaned and wondered why she easily agreed to meet the Shen twins at this time when all she wanted to do was throw herself on her comfy bed and just sleep. Going out was the least she wanted to do ever since she came back from overseas and now that she was living as "Li Xiuying" she needed to make appearances in public.
Ever since she became a doctor, Li Chuntao rarely had time for relaxation and recreation. Most of her time was spent on either working or reading the latest medical journals to increase her knowledge, but that didn"t mean that she didn"t have an affinity with alcoholic drinks.
Ever since she started pretending to be Ying, Li Chuntao stayed at home, snuggled on her bed, and drowned herself with beer or with a bottle of whiskey. It made her forget everything, even if it was temporary.
She had made a deal with her Uncle Yuren to wrap up this act within a year. When she convinced him to allow her to carry out her plan for revenge, Li Yuren, understanding that she needed to do this to let go, had only given her one year to complete her plan
One year… it should be enough for her but she wondered if she would be able to pick up where she left off. However, the question of if she would be able to return from the person she was before Ying"s death was still a mystery.