Ying Qian had nothing more to say.

The door was pushed open, and Tang Yawen returned. She saw the girl Wenwen sitting quietly by the bed and looked puzzled.

"Oh, what brings Xiaoqian here?"

"I wanted to come and see Sister Xuhe."

Tang Yawen smiled. "You're quite thoughtful." She lowered her eyes. "Much better than that kid Meng Beiyan..."

Ying Qian smiled gently, "Aunt Tang, don't say that. My brother also cares about Sister Xuhe very much."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yawen's sorrow deepened, and she said regretfully, "If only I hadn't sent him to another place so early back then, he wouldn't be close to us at all now."

She was truly filled with regret. Her son was never home these days, busy working and earning money, and he wasn't even willing to find a wife.

He always says he "hasn't met the right person".

Tang Ya-wen felt that he already had someone in his heart, not that he hadn't met the right person.

She hesitated for a moment, her gaze lingering on Ying Qian's face for a few seconds, "He gets along better with you, his younger sister. You should try to persuade him and take care of him more often..."

As the woman spoke, she took Ying Qian's hand and patted it repeatedly, as if giving her instructions.

Suddenly, Tang Ya-wen paused, her smile fading. "However, it's not convenient for you two, a man and a woman, to live under the same roof. I've told him that, but he didn't take it to heart."

After all that buildup, she finally said what she wanted to say: "Why don't you talk to Meng Beiyan about boarding at school? The dorms at No. 3 Middle School are all very nice..."

A hint of unreadable emotion flickered in Meng Xuhe's eyes. Listening to her mother's words, she closed her eyes, coughed softly, and tried to stop her mother from speaking.

Tang Ya-wen frowned, ignored her, and continued, "If you don't want to, that's fine too. You can still live here with us as usual, and I'll pick you up and drop you off every day."

"Bei Yan is busy with work, is he taking a break lately?"

Ying Qian nodded and said truthfully, "My brother is on vacation recently."

“The girl I introduced to him before was great in every way, and the two of them seemed to get along well. But he was worried about you…” Tang Yawen said, and then explained, “It’s not that I’m trying to get rid of you, it’s just that you can’t affect Bei Yan’s life!”

After listening to the long string of questions, Ying Qian had no grounds to refuse and obediently nodded in agreement.

That's what it's like to live under someone else's roof.

Meng Xuhe sighed softly, his gaze towards her filled with pity.

Outside the door, Meng Beiyan leaned against the wall, quietly listening to the conversation inside the ward. His fists clenched slightly, and reason suppressed his urge to rush in.

All afternoon, Tang Yawen kept talking about Meng Beiyan, hoping that Ying Qian could understand that her family was not ostracizing her, but just hoped that her existence would not affect her own future, that is, Meng Beiyan's future.

Tang Yawen meant that a large part of the reason Meng Beiyan hadn't found a partner for so long was probably because Ying Qian's mother had asked him to "take good care of Ying Qian for me."

Or rather, her son, who lacked love since childhood, fell in love with a sister who was almost six years younger than him.

These guesses were just a shadow, and she didn't dare to think about them in detail.

The hospital parking lot at dusk.

Ying Qian opened the back door of the car, but was stopped by a voice, "Sit in the passenger seat."

She raised her eyes in confusion and caught a glimpse of those unyielding eyes in the rearview mirror.

With no other option, she closed the back door and, as he requested, sat in the passenger seat, carefully fastening her seatbelt.

"Are you afraid of me?" He narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked.

Ying Qian shook her head, turned her head to look into his eyes, and said innocently, "No."

"From now on, everyone who rides in my car must sit in the passenger seat," he ordered.

"Oh," Ying Qian agreed, pouting and muttering under her breath, "What an absurd request..."

When Meng Beiyan heard her muttering softly, he immediately smiled, his lips curving into a smile, and his eyes and brows also showing a hint of laughter.

"Why are you laughing again? Meng Beiyan, you're so strange," she wondered.

As Meng Beiyan drove, he casually remarked, "You've grown wings and now you call me by my full name?"

His tone was always so cold.

However, he immediately added, "Do this more often in the future. I like you to be like this. Being so timid and hesitant is just too awkward."

"We shouldn't be too distant from each other."

His words were a subtle reminder to Ying Qian.

Even though she understood, when they got home she still said, "Brother, I want to live at school."

Meng Beiyan asked calmly, "What's the reason?"

She paused for a moment, then made up a whole bunch of reasons that even she herself didn't believe.

Meng Beiyan nodded and began tending to the rose placed on the table.

It's clearly Ying Qian's work; she just loves single roses.

Ying Qian thought he had agreed and was secretly pleased.

Meng Beiyan reached out and pulled her to his side, his tone indifferent: "The reasons are sufficient, but they're not true."

"How do you know it's not true?" she asked stubbornly.

“You know it in your heart.” He fiddled with a petal and then ruffled Ying Qian’s hair.

Ying Qian suspected that he had overheard her conversation with Tang Ya Wen... but she didn't dare to say anything.

"Brother, please let me board at school! I really mean it! I'm serious!" She hovered around Meng Beiyan like a little puppy clinging to its owner.

Meng Beiyan shook his head helplessly, restrained her, and parted his thin lips slightly: "I won't allow it."

"Why?" she asked, confused.

In the past, no matter what she suggested, even if Meng Beiyan disagreed, as long as she circled around a few times and said a few more words, he would eventually agree.

Why didn't it work this time?

While washing the vegetables, Meng Beiyan casually made up an excuse, saying, "We need someone at home."

Ying Qian couldn't hold back any longer. She tugged at the corner of Meng Beiyan's shirt and said rationally, "This person could be your future wife! The future mistress of this house."

"I still need to find a wife." Meng Beiyan shook the water off his hands. "Isn't it more convenient to have someone like you right here?"

Ying Qian: "..."

She was speechless.

"What's so great about me being a little burden? It would be so much easier to send me away..."

Meng Beiyan's eyes turned cold. He wiped the water off his hands, bent down, and cupped the girl's face in his hands. "You're not allowed to say you're a burden, never, especially not in front of me..."

"..." Ying Qian vaguely realized that she had touched his dragon scales, so she stopped talking.

They were just about to slip away.

Meng Beiyan pursed his lips, bent down and hugged her. Seeing that she wanted to escape, he held her tightly in his arms. She was completely devoid of warmth. Holding her felt like holding an ice cube; she was icy cold, as was she.

"This winter won't be cold, brother," she said weakly.

"How so?"

"Because you are so warm."