Shen Yuan has gone mad!

Along the long stepping stones in the back garden, Meng Jiuyi strolled slowly, his gaze lingering and lost in thought, unconsciously snapping a tree branch repeatedly in his hand.

—This is her habitual gesture when she is upset.

Shen Yuan has left, but her words still echo in my ears.

"I'll have someone deliver the things to you in advance; we can help each other out."

What is it?

Meng Jiuyi had heard before that brothels had many strange and unusual things that made people willingly become beasts indulging in their lust.

But to everyone's surprise, Shen Yuan was so bold as to set her sights on Tan Yuchen.

After a brief moment of absurdity, Meng Jiuyi instantly understood her intention—

She wants to force me to marry her!

Nothing was more decisive than seeing all the major families in Kyushu have slept with her and Tan Yuchen.

The old lady will surely agree to let her into the Tan family.

Even Meng Jiuyi had to admire her audacity.

"Miss Shen thinks too highly of me."

How could Meng Jiuyi possibly agree to that? "I have no relation to the Third Young Master. I only have a nominal relationship with him and can't get close to him at all."

Shen Yuan laughed, "That's your business. I helped your friend get into the Kyushu Orchestra, and you helped me. Isn't that fair?"

Meng Jiuyi didn't know how well Shen Yuan knew Tan Yuchen, but based on what she had learned in the past six months, if she dared to scheme against him, Tan Yuchen would probably kill her before she could even kill Gao Xianyue.

Frustrated, Meng Jiuyi threw the withered branch into the bushes.

When they returned to the main house, the old lady was already taking a nap, and Shen Yuan left with her wish fulfilled.

Feng Ran and Feng Lan were having afternoon tea with the First Madam. Despite Feng Lan's many underhanded actions, she was doing her best to win over her sister-in-law.

A maid came over and said that the fourth young lady was looking for her. Meng Jiuyi was slightly puzzled, but followed her upstairs.

When they arrived at Tan Ni's boudoir, she was staring blankly at a jewelry box, while in front of them was a walk-in closet that was comparable to a villa, spanning three floors.

In addition to the spiral staircase, there is also an elevator.

Meng Jiuyi was more than just shocked.

Tan Ni rested her chin on her hand, looking troubled: "Xiao Jiu, which one do you think I should choose?"

Meng Jiuyi approached, puzzled. "What are you choosing?"

"There will be a charity gala next month, and the proceeds from the auction will be used for the protection of underage children."

Meng Jiuyi watched her fiddling with the pigeon blood ruby ​​in the box.

It's at least 6 carats, which is top-tier even at Christie's auctions.

There were also various loose diamonds nearby. Meng Jiuyi said, "I see you have at least three of these purplish-red round diamonds. If you don't particularly love this color, you can donate one to charity."

"Then it's settled!"

After Tan Ni finished speaking, she reluctantly picked up the iridescent pear-shaped blue diamond next to her, intending to put it in the donation.

Meng Jiuyi asked in surprise, "Isn't this what you just bought last time—"

"Xu Yanzhi will also attend the auction, which will be held at a hotel owned by the Xu family."

Tan Ni leaned close to her ear and covered her mouth, "This young lady wants him to see my poise and elegance, my graceful demeanor. I don't care, you have to come with me then."

She knew it.

Meng Jiuyi shook her head and chuckled, her eyelashes fluttering slightly at the mention of a few words.

After selecting the donations, Meng Jiuyi accompanied her to the garden to feed the pelicans.

Thinking about Shen Yuan's thoughts, she probed Tan Ni's tone, "Ni Ni, it seems that Miss Shen really likes my cousin. She's beautiful and her family background is comparable to the Tan family. Does the old lady intend to match them up?"

If there are other ways to make Shen Yuan achieve her wish, is it possible to avoid using drugs?

Tan Ni thought for a moment, "Grandma is quite satisfied with her, but no one can make decisions for my brother. He hates people with impure motives."

Meng Jiuyi was taken aback.

"Chen Yuan has always been very good to me since we were little, even better than my own sister. But she became indifferent after she found out I had congenital asthma. She never came to see me during the years I was abroad recuperating, probably thinking I wouldn't be able to come back. Now she's also distant towards me. Xiao Jiu, can you guess why?"

Tan Ni rested her chin on her hand, turned her head and smiled at her, "Because she knows that this is an acute illness of mine, and I might die from it any time it flares up, so it's not worth the effort."

A thin layer of smile remained on her face, and after speaking, she happily went to feed the birds.

The sunlight that had been filtering through the fiddle-leaf fig tree was now completely withdrawn, and a cool breeze was blowing.

Meng Jiuyi squatted down silently beside her and abruptly asked, "Do you prefer sunny days or cloudy days?"

"Of course it's sunny."

"But if it's sunny all year round, it'll definitely get boring."

Meng Jiuyi said, "Maybe it's because I know that sunny days are limited that I like them. I'm thinking of putting aside all my unhappiness and enjoying this day to the fullest."

She wasn't so much talking about sunny days as she was talking about life itself.

Tan Ni turned her head and looked at her intently, and then she knew why she liked her.

She has a worldly yet otherworldly heart.

"Let's get back to what we were saying earlier."

Tan Ni's tone became lighter, "My brother once told me that the same rules apply to choosing friends and lovers: put aside status and see if the other person can always treat you with respect, so it's impossible for my brother to like her."

Respect? Meng Jiuyi was slightly taken aback.

Does someone in a high position who speaks of equality and respect actually treat everyone with respect?

No, he only indulges his own people.

Meng Jiuyi could fully imagine the scene. Xie Youze said he was somewhat interested in Meng Jiuyi, and that his family was short of a canary in a cage, so he asked the Third Young Master to act as a matchmaker.

He smiled casually—

"Go ahead."

The scene was so realistic that a tension rose from the soles of Meng Jiuyi's feet.

She tried not to think about these things, but she couldn't stop the weeds from sprouting and growing again in her heart.

For a moment, she actually believed what the hospital told her.

Tan Ni was called away by the maid.

The evening sun bathed the forest in its golden light, casting its glow upon Meng Jiuyi's now serene profile.

She spread a handful of feed in her palm and tried to feed the pelicans in the enclosure. The pelicans complained that it wasn't enough and opened their long beaks to snatch her head.

Meng Jiuyi covered his head, "Ancestor, don't eat me!"

Suddenly, she heard a chaotic running sound behind her. A giant sheep rushed up at high speed, its ferocity startling her so much that she staggered backward. Her back suddenly slammed into a flexible wall, and sage vines wrapped around her as she breathed.

A hand lifted her up firmly at the same time, and a low laugh brushed past her ear.

Meng Jiuyi turned her head in a panic, only to run straight into Tan Yuchen's dark eyes.

"Planning to feed yourself?"

"....."

Meng Jiuyi immediately moved to the side, feeling embarrassed and angry because her embarrassing situation had been witnessed by onlookers.

"Why are you here when you left earlier?"

Tan Yuchen slightly raised his chin, "Let's chase after the King of Hell."

Meng Jiuyi realized what she meant by the sheep and looked at it closely.

She's so ugly!

The alpacas she had seen were either soft, cute, and gentle, but the one in front of her with the side-swept bangs and gap-toothed face looked more and more like the second prince from a male-oriented drama.

She silently thought to herself, "It looks just like its owner."

Tan Yuchen raised an eyebrow. "Are you praising Cen Dong? I thank you on his behalf."

Meng Jiuyi: "......"

He picked a foxtail grass and, out of boredom, teased the pelican. The silly bird, thinking it was something to eat, went up to snatch his watch, but he grabbed its long beak, slapped its head, and it ran away.

"Jiang Zhou said earlier that you had something to ask me?"

yes.

Meng Jiuyi forgot why she held her breath and insisted on asking. Before, apart from worrying about her personal safety, she never took the initiative to contact him. Asking questions required enthusiasm and a basic level of trust between them.

But she's gone now.

"Just asking casually. I saw on the news that Chen Zhongli issued a new decree for the restructuring of the steel industry. I was wondering if it was related to the Parker pen swap that night."

Her tone became much colder.

No longer the nasal congestion of that day at the hospital, the bargaining and negotiation, nor the soft, melodramatic Wu dialect of that drunken cruise ship, the subtle competition.

Instead, it was handled very efficiently and in a very businesslike manner.

Tan Yuchen leaned against a tree, chewing on a blade of grass as he sized her up. "Who's blocking your path to wealth?"

Meng Jiuyi: ?

"Otherwise, it would look like someone is about to chop someone up with a knife."

"...."

Meng Jiuyi smiled, "No, Third Young Master, you're overthinking it. Let's get back to the main point: is there any connection?"

"have!"

Meng Jiuyi hadn't expected him to be so frank, which saved her the trouble of maneuvering later.

The slanting sunlight accentuated the man's high brow bones and deep-set eyes, revealing a pair of eyes that were sharp and indifferent, yet all his schemes were concealed beneath a facade of effortless charm.

What exactly is he trying to do?

Tan Yuchen turned to look at her: "Why don't you keep asking? Before, I would have dug deep into your mind even if you just spilled a glass of wine."

"I'm just doing my job for money. Once the collaboration is over, there's nothing more to ask."

Her smile remained unchanged. "It's getting late, I'll head out now, ah—"

Before she could finish speaking, Meng Jiuyi jumped to the side in fright—the ugly sheep was biting her, really biting her, chewing on her fingers.

She couldn't very well take it out on the sheep, so she glared angrily at Tan Yuchen and said, "Is this sheep out of its mind?"

Tan Yuchen lazily raised his eyes, "Yes, it does."

It seemed he had no intention of getting involved. Meng Jiuyi felt that arguing with a sheep would make him seem petty, so he could only secretly glare at it.

As a result, her rival spat in her face.