My Villainous Persona Collapses as My Family Reads My Mind - chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Third Brother, I’ve been really well-behaved lately. I haven’t caused any trouble.” Meng Zhiyi replied in a soft, obedient voice, looking as sweet as can be.

She stood where she was, instantly recognizing the man before her as her Third Brother, the forensic doctor, Meng Yanchuan.

Meng Yanchuan, only twenty-five years old, was already a rising star in the forensic field.

Like the other young masters of the Meng Family, Meng Yanchuan was handsome and tall, every gesture carrying the air of a true aristocrat.

Meng Zhiyi had to admit: her brothers in the Meng Family were all exceptionally good-looking.

At this moment, he was holding a cup of coffee, staring straight at her.

*Strange, at breakfast this morning, Eldest Brother said he was following up on a serial murder case. How did he get home so quickly?*

Meng Yanchuan was stirring his coffee unhurriedly, just about to speak when he suddenly heard this voice, and his hand paused mid-motion.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What did you just say?”

Meng Zhiyi placed her hands obediently in front of her and blinked. “I said, I haven’t caused any trouble.”

Meng Yanchuan replied, “Not that.”

“Huh?” Meng Zhiyi looked confused.

Meng Yanchuan narrowed his eyes, an unusual glint flickering behind his glasses.

Could he have misheard?

*Ah… Now I remember, it seems the police discovered new remains of a victim, so they called Meng Yanchuan back.*

*Meng Yanchuan would never guess that the suspect they caught this time is just a scapegoat.*

Meng Yanchuan sipped his coffee without a change in expression, quietly listening to Meng Zhiyi’s inner thoughts.

It wasn’t an illusion-this voice was definitely Meng Zhiyi’s.

And he hadn’t been mistaken-Meng Zhiyi hadn’t opened her mouth at all.

So these were her thoughts?

But how could he hear his sister’s inner voice? Could it be that he’s been too overworked lately, and something is wrong with his health?

That must be it. Not long ago, a colleague claimed he’d seen a cucumber bid him farewell, and after getting checked, was diagnosed with severe depression and bipolar disorder.

Meng Yanchuan thought to himself, deciding that before returning to work, he should get a checkup at the hospital.

He put these thoughts away, set his coffee cup on the table, and walked slowly towards her, his gaze fixed on Meng Zhiyi’s hand in its cast.

Meng Zhiyi suddenly felt a chill run through her and instinctively pulled her hand back a little.

She hadn’t forgotten: this Third Brother of hers looked gentle on the surface, but was in reality cold-hearted and sinister.

Last time, just because the original Meng Zhiyi knocked over one of his specimens, he locked her in a room full of formalin-soaked specimens, scaring her into a fever.

“You stole your Fourth Brother’s underwear and sold it to fans-does the Meng Family not give you enough to eat or spend, or do you just not want this hand anymore?”

Meng Yanchuan’s tone was as casual as asking if she’d had lunch, as he pinched the bandage on her cast and lifted it, his voice sinister: “If you don’t want it, that’s fine. Your Third Brother is pretty handy with a scalpel-I can help you amputate the hand.”

“?”

Meng Zhiyi quickly jerked her hand back and hid it behind her.

She then immediately recalled that in the original plot, Meng Zhiyi had hung around with a group of unsavory friends, some of whom were fans of Meng Tinglan.

At first, she only secretly took small items, claiming to others that Meng Tinglan had given them to her, in order to show how favored she was in the Meng Family.

But later, those so-called friends were no longer satisfied with small things, so she ended up stealing Meng Tinglan’s underwear. Those friends then sold it to a Sasaeng Fan of Meng Tinglan’s.

They even exposed it online…

That was how Meng Tinglan found out. The two argued, and during the quarrel, Meng Zhiyi accidentally missed a step and fell down the stairs, fracturing her left forearm.

“…”

As the memories ended, Meng Zhiyi nearly lost her composure.

She could barely maintain her expression.

*Was the original Meng Zhiyi insane? She wasn’t even disgusted by wearing someone else’s underwear!*

*And the Sasaeng Fan was even worse. What would they want with Meng Tinglan’s underwear? Were they planning something unspeakable? Ew, if I think about it another second my brain will be contaminated.*

Meng Yanchuan’s eye twitched slightly. When he looked up at her, the coldness in his gaze was like being stared down by a venomous snake.

Meng Zhiyi knew very well that among her four brothers in the Meng Family, Meng Yanchuan was the hardest to handle-and the one the original Meng Zhiyi feared most.
“Meng Zhiyi, if you still want to stay in this family, you’d better restrain yourself. Mom and Dad can’t bear to kick you out, but that doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Did you hear me?”

As he spoke, Meng Yanchuan had already returned to the coffee table, took out a wet wipe and wiped his hands forcefully. As if touching her just now was like touching something dirty.

“Got it, Third Brother.” Meng Zhiyi glanced at him quickly, then lowered her head, her long lashes covering the amusement in her eyes, pretending to look very frightened.

[Heh, anyway, you won’t be smug for long. The Meng Family will be ruined in less than two years. When that happens, I’ll go laugh at you in prison.]

Meng Yanchuan’s hand stopped mid-wipe, his expression darkening.

He wanted to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he gave up.

He wasn’t sure whether the problem was with himself or with Meng Zhiyi.

Meng Yanchuan glanced sideways at Meng Zhiyi, who was still standing by the entrance, seemingly unable to figure out why she would do such a thing. He asked again, “Selling a pair of underwear for fifty thousand? Mom and Dad give you five hundred thousand a month-still not enough?”

Meng Zhiyi: “It’s not…”

[Snatching from the young master?]

[A pair of worn underwear sells for fifty thousand?!]

[Alright, alright, I misunderstood. Meng Zhiyi is simply a business genius. If the other brothers were worth anything, I’d steal from them too.]

Meng Yanchuan: “…”

The auditory hallucinations were getting worse. The most urgent thing was to go to the hospital.

After sending Meng Zhiyi away, Meng Yanchuan immediately left the house, only to bump into Meng Zhizhou, who had just returned.

“Yanchuan, why are you back?”

“The bureau sent me back on short notice, so I thought I’d come home to see Mom and Dad.”

Meng Zhizhou checked his watch and asked, “It’s almost dinner time. You’re leaving again?”

“I’m heading to the hospital.” Meng Yanchuan still felt something was wrong with himself and decided to consult a doctor first.

“Are you sick?” As the Eldest Brother, Meng Zhizhou had always taken good care of his younger siblings.

Meng Yanchuan frowned, but still told him about being able to hear Meng Zhiyi’s inner voice.

“Probably just haven’t rested well lately. Shouldn’t be a big deal,” Meng Yanchuan comforted himself.

“Don’t go yet. You’re not the only one in the family.”

“What?” Meng Yanchuan looked surprised. “Eldest Brother, don’t tell me you can hear it too?”

“Mm, and Mom and Dad as well.”

Meng Yanchuan took off his glasses and pinched his aching brow.

So, he couldn’t exactly say the whole family was sick, could he?

After a moment, Meng Yanchuan still voiced his doubt: “What on earth is going on?”

“How should I know?” Meng Zhizhou leaned against the car, fiddling with his lighter, and continued, “But I’ve found her inner voice has a certain degree of credibility.”

For example, he had just checked at the company and found that there really were a few people deliberately placed around him.

However, he hadn’t uncovered the real hidden threat by his side, so he came back hoping to get some clues from Meng Zhiyi’s inner voice.

Hearing this, Meng Yanchuan suddenly remembered the inner voice he’d ignored earlier.

He hadn’t told the family about being transferred back-how did Meng Zhiyi know?

And she even knew the police had found a new victim…

The police hadn’t even announced it yet-how did she know?

Meng Yanchuan’s last thought lingered on Meng Zhiyi’s inner voice saying the criminal they caught was just a scapegoat.

“Eldest Brother, did you learn something from her inner voice?”

Meng Zhizhou recounted the incident with the banquet surveillance video, though he kept the company matters to himself.

Meng Yanchuan narrowed his eyes, pondering for a while.

“Thinking about it here won’t help. Let’s wait and see if what she says matches reality.”

Meng Yanchuan thought his Eldest Brother made sense.

That evening, Meng Father and Meng Mother returned home. Seeing their third son, who hadn’t been home in months, they were overjoyed and personally cooked a table full of delicious dishes.

After coming home, Meng Zhiyi had shut herself in her room to sleep. Now, woken up by the maid, she came downstairs looking groggy and sleepy.

At the dining table, the Meng Family members exchanged glances.

“Dad, Mom, Eldest Brother, Third Brother.”

After sitting down, Meng Zhiyi sweetly greeted everyone as usual.
She looked at the dishes on the table, which were obviously not made by the nanny, and sneered coldly in her heart.

[The only people who could get Meng Father and Meng Mother to cook personally are probably a few of my brothers, right? The daughter who was lost for more than ten years and just came back has never had this kind of treatment.]

These words made Meng Father and Meng Mother feel awkward.

[It’s true. I got lost as a child, there’s no real emotional bond, so it’s normal that they don’t care.]

[That’s fine. Anyway, I don’t have any feelings for this family either, so I don’t have to take them into consideration in whatever I do from now on.]

Moreover, Meng Zhiyi suddenly started to understand a little why the original owner had been so difficult.

She was also a member of the Meng Family, but her parents’ care and attention had never been given to her.

All her unreasonable behavior seemed like just an attempt to get her family to pay more attention to her.

In front of outsiders, she acted arrogant and domineering, showing off her identity as the Meng Family’s heiress everywhere, all just to let outsiders know that her family loved her.

But she used the wrong methods. And indeed, the Meng Family really didn’t love her.

Meng Father and Meng Mother, listening to her inner thoughts, couldn’t help but lower their heads in shame.

“Yiyi, have some of this.” As if trying to make up for it, Meng Mother picked up a piece of lobster meat for her.

Meng Zhiyi frowned first, then raised her face, looking at Meng Mother with a slightly aggrieved expression: “Mom, I’m allergic to seafood, didn’t you remember?”

Meng Mother’s expression faltered, her outstretched hand freezing in midair, at a bit of a loss.

She didn’t even know that her own daughter couldn’t eat seafood…

“I’m sorry, Mom was just busy and got confused.” Meng Mother said, tossing the lobster meat into Meng Zhizhou’s bowl, then picked up a piece of beef brisket for her instead.

[Heh, ‘busy and confused’? She just never cared in the first place.]

“Thank you, Mom.” Meng Zhiyi smiled happily.

But she was secretly puzzled.

[What’s up with the Meng Family today? Why are they suddenly being so kind to me?]

[Could this beef be poisoned?]

“…”

The other four people at the table fell silent.

Seeing Meng Zhiyi staring at the beef in her bowl without moving, Meng Yanchuan simply picked up a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

[Oh… he ate it, so it’s not poisoned.]

After that, she began eating with relish as well.

Meng Mother secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but felt even more uncomfortable inside.

During the meal, Meng Yanchuan’s phone chimed.

He casually opened the voice message. It was a colleague asking him to return quickly; there had been new developments in the case.

Meng Zhiyi perked up her ears to listen, secretly muttering in her heart.

[At this point, they must have found another body part, but still haven’t found the victim’s head, so they can’t confirm the identity of the deceased.]

[Actually, the head is hidden in a tea plantation not far from the body parts. There’s an abandoned well there, and the culprit used stones to weigh the head down under the water.]

Meng Yanchuan said nothing, his long fingers tapping on the screen as he replied to his colleague.

He wanted to see whether Meng Zhiyi’s inner voice could really be trusted.

At the same time, elsewhere-

Shen Que had just returned to his apartment when he received a call from a friend.

“Bro, the things you sent over do contain substances harmful to the body. The dose isn’t high, but if taken long-term, there could be problems. My suggestion is to stop taking them immediately.”

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Shen Que pressed his thin lips together, his eyes swirling with unreadable emotion.

“I understand.”

After hanging up, Shen Que stared thoughtfully at the city lights outside his window.

Scenes of Meng Zhiyi’s spoiled and brilliant demeanor, as well as her inner thoughts, kept replaying in his mind.

At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to what Meng Zhiyi said in her heart. But after receiving the call that his grandmother had fainted and been sent to the hospital, he became suspicious.

For his peace of mind, he had all of his grandmother’s usual supplements tested.

He didn’t expect that there really would be a problem!

Shen Que lowered his gaze, a bit curious as to how Meng Zhiyi knew that someone had tampered with his grandmother’s supplements.

He recalled the task Meng Zhiyi mentioned in the hospital today, and a glimmer of interest flashed in his eyes. “Meng Zhiyi, you’ve really made me curious now.”