Chapter 3, Chapter 3: "Was that when you went to see Lu Erlang?"...

Upon arriving at the Zhang residence, a steward came forward to report on matters.

The report concerned the congratulatory gifts from relatives. Meng Yuanxiao was unfamiliar with such matters, but Zhang Mingyue remained calm and quickly made a decision.

The manager smiled and agreed, then went to carry out the task as instructed.

Upon entering the room and seeing the stack of account books on the bed, Meng Yuanxiao was even more surprised. "Mingyue, you've started managing the household?"

“I’ll learn some from my mother,” Zhang Mingyue said casually. “I’ll have to learn it sooner or later anyway, so there’s no harm in learning it sooner.”

As they talked, the two washed their hands, took off their shoes, and got onto the couch. Meng Yuanxiao immediately noticed the storybook on the couch.

It was the storybook that Tang-gege found for her that day, but the cover did not have the author's autograph.

Curious, she picked up the storybook and flipped through it. "Mingyue, where did you get this storybook? It's quite rare!"

Isn't that rare? Even her older brother couldn't get her one.

"It was given to me by Lu Erlang," Zhang Mingyue said.

Meng Yuanxiao paused in his flipping through the storybook.

Even though she didn't care much anymore, hearing Mingyue's words still made her heart clench.

She pursed her lips tightly, and after a long while, asked in a muffled voice, "When did he give you the storybook?"

"It was two days before I went to your house, so you wanted to give me a storybook that day, but I didn't accept it."

So Lu Erlang actually got his hands on the storybook, but instead of giving it to her, he gave it to Mingyue.

But this is only human nature. He was about to get engaged to Mingyue, so he should have given it to her.

The storybook in his hand suddenly felt hot, and Meng Yuanxiao fell silent, a sour feeling rising in his nose.

Zhang Mingyue gave her a strange look. "I was only two days ahead of you. I didn't try to steal your thunder. Why are you upset? If you hadn't gotten the book, I was thinking of giving you this one."

"oh."

Zhang Mingyue glanced at her, too lazy to pay her any attention.

Now that Lu Erlang is getting engaged to Mingyue, Meng Yuanxiao will no longer have any thoughts about him.

Once she felt less upset, she put down her storybook and asked, "Mingyue, I heard you're getting engaged to Lu Erlang, is that right?"

Zhang Mingyue paused in her tea-pouring, and surprisingly blushed.

"Where did you hear that? That's just wishful thinking on my mother's and Madam Lu's part. Lu Erlang already has someone he loves."

"Who is it?" Meng Yuanxiao asked instinctively.

Only after asking did she realize she had spoken out of turn; her tone had been too eager.

Fortunately, Mingyue didn't think much of it and just shook her head, saying, "I don't know, I just heard it from others."

"Oh," Meng Yuanxiao said awkwardly.

She then thought of something, "My mother already knows, and other households must have heard about it too. Since Lu Erlang is unwilling, why does he still allow Madam Lu to interact with the Zhang family?"

Zhang Mingyue looked somewhat unnatural, her eyes lowered, but Meng Yuanxiao still keenly noticed her unusual expression.

Yes, Mingyue, who never suffers a loss, would never allow Lu Erlang to take advantage of her like this.

unless……

Meng Yuanxiao's heart pounded, and she suddenly remembered something.

They had played with Lu Erlang a few times, but her attention had been focused on Lu Erlang, and she hadn't noticed Mingyue.

Looking back now, Mingyue was a straightforward and easygoing person, but she was a little different with Lu Erlang.

Just as she was in shock, Zhang Mingyue slammed down her teacup. "Yuanyuan, I need to find Lu Erlang and ask him clearly."

Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a moment: "Huh?"

Zhang Mingyue said seriously, "You'll come with me."

Meng Yuanxiao swallowed hard. "I... I don't think it's a good idea for me to go..."

Zhang Mingyue grabbed her hand, saying, "Good Yuanyuan, if you don't go and I go alone, people will definitely overthink it. If he really has someone he likes, we'll all ignore him from now on."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

Zhang Mingyue seemed to have made up her mind long ago. Without giving Meng Yuanxiao a chance to refuse, she dragged her directly to the gate of the Imperial College after a while.

Just as school was ending, the two of them hid behind a sycamore tree a little distance away and waited, while sending a servant to intercept Lu Erlang.

Before they could catch Lu Erlang, they first saw Cui Xintang coming out of the Imperial Academy.

Meng Yuanxiao had just peeked out from behind the sycamore tree when he met Cui Xintang's gaze.

Meng Yuanxiao had not seen him since that day in the Meng family garden, so she was surprised to see him again.

Cui Xintang noticed her and a look of surprise flashed across his face. He quickly looked away and continued talking to the person next to him.

Meng Yuanxiao should have been very happy to see him, but today he couldn't help feeling guilty.

Seeing that Cui Xintang had finished speaking to someone and was about to come over, she felt a surge of nervousness. "Mingyue, I haven't finished my homework for today. I'm going home now!"

After saying that, she ran towards the Meng family's carriage as if fleeing before Mingyue could stop her.

She walked quickly, but not as fast as Cui Xintang with his long legs and broad strides.

Before she could even reach the carriage, the driver greeted her with a beaming bow behind her, saying, "Greetings, Young Master Cui!"

Now Meng Yuanxiao couldn't escape. She had just slowed her pace a little when a large hand reached out from behind, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and pulled her back.

Why are you running?

Meng Yuanxiao turned around awkwardly, forcing a sweet smile: "Brother Tang, what a coincidence!"

The person who had never held back in front of Cui Xintang blushed today.

Cui Xintang paused for a moment, then loosened her collar.

What are you doing here?

Meng Yuanxiao stammered, unsure how to answer, but forced himself to say, "Brother Tang, what are you doing here? I'll do the same thing."

Cui Xintang turned around and looked back, just in time to see Lu Erlang coming out of the gate of the Imperial College.

Even more coincidentally, Lu Erlang saw them and was looking at them as well.

Cui Xintang turned around to look at Meng Yuanxiao, raising her eyebrows. "I'm here to see someone. Is Yuanyuan here too?"

“No!” Meng Yuanxiao immediately shook his head.

Cui Xintang stared at her for a moment, but didn't say anything.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Meng Yuanxiao followed him silently to the carriage, but unexpectedly Cui Xintang also stopped next to the Meng family's carriage.

"Brother Tang, where is your carriage?"

“I didn’t come along,” Cui Xintang glanced at her, then stepped into the carriage. “I’ll take your ride.”

Once inside the carriage, Meng Yuanxiao was feeling somewhat uneasy when Cui Xintang suddenly asked, "Has the Meng family changed their cook?"

Meng Yuanxiao was confused. "No, what's wrong?"

Cui Xintang smiled and said, "You've been eating well these past few days."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She was a little annoyed, and subconsciously looked down at herself, then pinched her waist.

She's a little chubby, but her waist is still very slim.

She hummed and said, "I haven't gained much weight, just a little bit."

Following her words, Cui Xintang's gaze fell on her waist.

Previously, I treated her more like a younger sister, only thinking that she was too thin. So when we were together, I just wanted her to eat more, and when I saw something delicious, I would buy it for her.

I only noticed today that her waist is really slender, so small that he could easily wrap his arms around it.

Suddenly thinking of this, other images involuntarily flashed through my mind.

Cui Xintang felt unusually uncomfortable. He tightened his throat and subtly shifted his gaze away from Meng Yuanxiao's waist.

My throat felt parched, so I poured myself a cup of tea and drank it down in one gulp.

Meng Yuanxiao pinched the soft flesh at her waist, feeling annoyed for a while, and secretly resolved to eat less from now on. When she looked up, she saw that Cui Xintang's ears were red.

She almost thought she was seeing things. She blinked and was about to speak when Cui Xintang looked up and met her gaze.

Cui Xintang was handsome, and at this moment he looked at her with a pair of deep phoenix eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling. He himself was fine, but Meng Yuanxiao's face turned even redder.

Seeing this, Cui Xintang took out a rolled-up scroll from his sleeve and handed it to her.

Meng Yuanxiao blushed as she took the scroll. She unrolled it and saw the painting on it. She immediately recognized it as a work by her favorite master of calligraphy and painting.

Her almond-shaped eyes immediately lit up. "Brother Tang, how did you get it?"

That master has long since gone into seclusion and has not produced any paintings or calligraphy for a long time.

Cui Xintang raised his hand to pour her a cup of tea, and said, "I left the capital a few days ago and took the opportunity to visit you."

He spoke casually, but Meng Yuanxiao knew that the master was not easy to find, and that Brother Tang must have gone to great lengths to be able to meet him.

She stared at the painting in her hands, admiring it carefully before cautiously putting it away.

Cui Xintang said, "I originally wanted Meng Xu to give it to you, but since we met today, I'll give it to you."

Meng Yuanxiao's eyes crinkled into a smile. "Thank you, Brother Tang."

Cui Xintang looked at her, a half-smile on her face, and suddenly asked, "Were you just seeing Lu Erlang?"

Meng Yuanxiao had just taken a sip of tea when he heard this and almost choked.

She hurriedly protected the scroll beside her, coughing several times before she calmed down a bit, "No..."

Cui Xintang sat opposite her, his long legs crossed, watching her leisurely without saying a word.

Meng Yuanxiao knew he couldn't hide it from him.

Previously, when she was playing with Mingyue and Lu Erlang, Cui Xintang had seen her twice. On both occasions, when he saw her, he called her away.

Meng Yuanxiao originally thought she had kept her feelings for Lu Erlang a secret, but now she was no longer sure.

She was embarrassed and somewhat awkward, clutching her clothes as she whispered, "I came with Mingyue."

After she finished speaking, her heart skipped a beat, but then she heard Cui Xintang hum in agreement.

Meng Yuanxiao's beautiful almond-shaped eyes flickered, and her heart suddenly settled back into her stomach.

She thought her brother Tang wouldn't believe it!

Cui Xintang finished his tea, put down the teacup, and ordered the servant to stop the carriage.

Meng Yuanxiao asked in surprise, "Brother Tang, aren't you coming back to the Meng residence with me?"

Cui Xintang was about to get up when she heard this and looked at her with a smile.

Meng Yuanxiao frowned slightly. "Brother Tang, I haven't done the homework the teacher assigned, but he will check it tomorrow."

Cui Xintang: "..."

Meng Yuanxiao tugged at his sleeve and pleaded softly, "Brother Tang, come back with me and help me with my homework! Or, could you ask the teacher to grant me a few more days?"

Cui Xintang: "The master won't listen to me."

Meng Yuanxiao almost cried. Her teacher had been away for the past few days, but had assigned a lot of homework. She had only been playing and hadn't done any of it.

Hongshao, who was sitting with a servant in front, interjected, "Miss, Young Master Cui used to be able to come and go from the Meng residence at will, but he can't anymore."

He used to visit the Meng residence to look for Meng Xu. But now that the two of them are discussing marriage, if he continues to visit the Meng residence frequently, rumors are bound to spread.

Meng Yuanxiao immediately understood what Hong Shao meant.

Her face flushed, and she hurriedly let go of Cui Xintang's sleeve.

"Brother Tang, you, you go ahead and do your work."

Cui Xintang glanced at her again before getting up and getting off the carriage.

Meng Yuanxiao was feeling down when the curtain in the car window was suddenly lifted from the outside.

Standing outside the carriage, Cui Xintang sighed softly and asked, "What lessons are you still struggling with?"

Meng Yuanxiao immediately beamed with joy, rushed to the window, and rattled off the homework assigned by his teacher.

Cui Xintang said helplessly, "I'll have someone send it to you tomorrow."

Overjoyed, Meng Yuanxiao leaned halfway out of the carriage without thinking, hugged Cui Xintang, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I knew it! Brother Tang is the best!"

When she realized what she had done, both of them were stunned.

A note from the author:

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