Chapter 62. Who will repay her for what she has endured? ...

Same-city delivery is very efficient; the dress Jin Zhao sent him back then arrived the very next day.

The high school student goes to school during the day and comes home after evening self-study around 9 PM. The housekeeper said there was a package for him and left it in his room.

Meng Yanxi never expected that Jin Zhao would actually send it.

He knew she liked him; otherwise, he wouldn't have made a point of arriving at the classroom ten minutes early every day to bring her goji berry and chrysanthemum tea. Rain or shine, even on Sundays when there were no classes, she would bring an extra bottle on Saturdays.

He knew that giving that dress might not have been the most appropriate gift, but just like those goji berry and chrysanthemum teas he didn't like but still enjoyed drinking, wasn't that what youthful infatuation was like? There would be various kinds of awkwardness, but none of them could compare to the faint sweetness when that piece of white sugar in his heart melted.

He disliked the taste of chrysanthemums, yet he looked forward to that bottle of goji berry and chrysanthemum tea every day; she looked so beautiful in it, yet she returned the dress to him.

"Wrong number, refuse to accept."

Meng Yanxi glanced at the sender's name on the express delivery slip and called over the aunt.

The auntie paused for a moment, realizing the recipient was clearly Meng Yanxi. She didn't say much, taking the package and planning to have the courier take it back tomorrow.

The next morning, the box that had been placed in the entryway was gone.

When Meng Yanxi went downstairs to eat breakfast, she simply said, "It wasn't sent to the wrong address. I brought it back."

He got it back.

Along with that dress, he took back all the sincerity he had shown in his youth.

Half a semester was recovered.

His sister was so happy she wished she could grow wings and fly around, finally free from dancing. During that time, Meng Zhuxi would spend all her free time running around the house laughing.

Meng Yanxi was heartbroken. She had been holding back for a long time, but finally exploded on the day of the Beginning of Winter.

That weekend, school was out, and Meng Zhuxi was watching TV downstairs, laughing out loud every now and then. Meng Yanxi was so annoyed with her that she came downstairs with a cold face and asked her, "What's all this nonsense that's making you so happy?"

Meng Zhuxi sat on the sofa, kicking her legs happily, and said, "It's nothing. When you're in a good mood, everything looks pleasing, unlike some people who find everything annoying when they're in a bad mood."

That girl could be so annoying sometimes that he wanted to feed her poisonous mushrooms; her words were always meant to pierce people's lungs.

Meng Yanxi simply pulled the power switch.

Meng Zhuxi was too young to reach it, and her grandfather, father, and aunt were not home. She was so angry that she sat on the ground and cried loudly.

Meng Yanxi's mood did not improve.

After watching Meng Zhuxi cry for a while, he felt a pang of sympathy and turned the power back on for her. The little girl was still sobbing.

He went up and patted her head, offering a few curt words of comfort.

Although Meng Zhuxi was annoying, he wasn't easily angered and quickly calmed him down. He even pulled him to watch cartoons together: "Brother, look at this fox, it's so pitiful, so pitiful! Does seeing how pitiful it is make you feel better?"

Meng Yanxi: "..."

His aunt came back from grocery shopping, and he got up to go out.

"Brother, where are you going?" Meng Zhuxi turned his head and asked, "There's mutton soup for lunch today."

Meng Yanxi didn't even turn her head: "Drink your soup."

Meng Zhuxi ignored him, and Meng Yanxi could still hear his sister's carefree laughter as he walked into the courtyard.

Meng Yanxi stepped out onto his skateboard, seemingly without any sense of direction, but when he stopped, he found himself at the entrance of Jinzhao's residential complex.

Perhaps it's because I came here too many times during the summer, and my muscles developed a memory for it.

He stood at the entrance of the residential area for a while before following the others inside.

Around ten o'clock in the morning, many elderly people were taking their morning walks in the community. Meng Yanxi sat alone in a chair in the courtyard, legs spread wide. As the elderly clapped their hands and walked past him, he could hear a few words of gossip.

The son of that family married a beautiful woman, but the dowry was a bit high, 300,000 yuan. The daughter of that family went back to her parents' home for postpartum care, and her husband's family was quite generous, providing financial assistance.

Meng Yanxi sat alone for a while, then got ready to leave and stepped onto her skateboard.

"Young man, don't try to skateboard in the neighborhood, you might bump into someone." An elderly woman suddenly ran out to stop him.

Meng Yanxi gave a cold smirk, not really wanting to pay attention. But deep down he still respected the elderly and cared for the young, so he got off the skateboard, picked it up, and carried it in his hand.

The old man was very satisfied.

At this age, I especially appreciate it when people take what I say seriously.

The old man looked Meng Yanxi up and down, then suddenly recognized him and asked warmly, "It's you, young man. Are you here to see your classmate again?"

During the summer, he came to the neighborhood several times to look for Jin Zhao, and when the elderly residents asked him, he only said he was looking for a classmate. A year later, the elderly residents still remembered him.

Meng Yanxi said calmly, "My classmate moved."

The elderly woman knew everything about every household in the neighborhood; she was always eager to find out, immediately asking, "Which household?"

Another elderly woman clapped her hands and came over, chiming in familiarly, "Jin's family, they're the only ones who moved in the last few months."

The old man immediately looked at Meng Yanxi: "Is your classmate Jin Zhao?"

Meng Yanxi was silent for two seconds, then hummed in agreement.

"Jin Zhao is wonderful! She's a beautiful, obedient, and sensible young lady with excellent grades. She's in Class A at Sui Da Affiliated High School." The old man was praising her when he suddenly realized, "You and Jin Zhao are classmates, so are you also in Class A at the affiliated high school?"

Meng Yanxi nodded.

"Oh my goodness! So handsome and so smart! Tell Grandma how you learned all that! Come, come, sit down!"

The old man pulled Meng Yanxi back to sit on the chair in the courtyard.

Meng Yanxi is naturally a cold and aloof person. He doesn't even explain problems at school, so how can you expect him to come to the neighborhood and talk to the elderly about how he studies? Of course, there's nothing to say.

However, unable to refuse their hospitality, I sat there posing as if listening to the two grandmothers chat.

The conversation naturally turned to the Jin family.

"Has their house been sold?"

"No, right? I saw Jin Wenhui bringing people to look at the house last week. I heard the price was 500,000 yuan higher than the market price, but it didn't go through."

"500,000? You're crazy for money."

"Good feng shui, that's why their daughter is in the top class of the high school. Haven't you seen that all the people coming to look at the house are parents of students?"

"Oh, so he's thinking about his daughter now."

Meng Yanxi raised her eyelids slightly.

The two elderly ladies got really into chatting and started talking non-stop.

"Yes, poor Jinzhao, having such a father. There's an old saying that goes, 'It's better to have a mother who begs for food than a father who is an official.' A man can't love a child like a woman can without carrying them for ten months."

"Wasn't this all instigated by her stepmother? She herself had only given birth less than a year ago and was already rushing to have a daughter. When she miscarried, she blamed it on Xiao Jinzhao and even called the police to arrest her. Her father didn't do anything about it and just let the police car drive into the community and downstairs. My God, his daughter is only sixteen or seventeen years old, a young girl who hasn't experienced anything. How could she withstand this scene? If she were fragile, she might have jumped off the building on the spot."

"Who says otherwise? Wasn't that the middle school student in the next neighborhood who jumped like that? His was nothing like that; he couldn't even stand being scolded by his own mother."

"Alas, what a tragedy. Fortunately, the police later investigated and cleared Xiao Jinzhao's name."

"What's there to investigate? Didn't you hear Lin Yao later insist that it was a case of 'innocent until proven guilty'? The police released her because they couldn't find any evidence, but that doesn't prove that Xiao Jinzhao didn't do it."

Meng Yanxi listened in silence, sharp veins bulging on the back of her hand.

"That woman is really something! Oh, so she just uses her words to accuse someone, regardless of whether there's any evidence or not, and then she just throws the blame on them? His ex-wife only left him with one daughter, and such an outstanding one at that, and she thinks she can just send her to No. 9 Middle School after she had a miscarriage? That's the Affiliated High School's Class A, a class you can't even get into if you pay the entrance fee. She managed to get Xiao Jinzhao into No. 9 Middle School. What kind of place is No. 9 Middle School? Good students are one in a hundred, but there are tons of troublemakers. Jin Wenhui, this father of hers, is really something!"

"That's right, Xiao Jinzhao was sitting right here at the time, crying so hard."

The old man touched his chest, calling out "my precious little darling" with heartache.

Meng Yanxi looked up, his handsome face pale, and his lips moved: "She's sitting here, crying?"

His voice was very soft and hoarse.

The old woman slapped her thigh indignantly: "Yes, she cried so hard, without making a sound, just with her head down, tears streaming down her face. We old folks asked her for a long time before she finally choked out, 'I don't want to transfer to No. 9 Middle School, but I have no choice.' Sigh, such a good girl, lost her mother at such a young age, and is bullied by her stepmother..."

"Bang!"

Meng Yanxi loosened her grip, and the skateboard crashed to the ground, the wheels making a loud thud on the concrete.

The two elderly people were suddenly startled and looked at him sharply.

The boy wore a black windbreaker, zipped up to his chin, which made his face appear unnaturally pale. He had an extremely handsome face, and his eyes were bottomless black, looking cold like shards of ice.

The two elderly people had originally wanted to complain to him, but when they met those eyes, they were speechless for a moment.

"Sorry." Meng Yanxi bent down to pick up the skateboard and stood up.

The boy was tall and slightly thin, with sharp features that were even more chilling than the winter wind.

"I have to go now."

The old man stared at him, momentarily bewildered, but then noticed two figures not far away and his attention was immediately diverted: "Hey, isn't that Lin Yao?"

Meng Yanxi suddenly turned around.

Another elderly person recognized her and said, "It's her. Who is she with? Look, the woman next to her with the perm."

"Are they looking at the apartment? The couple has been taking turns bringing people to view it recently."

"It doesn't seem like it. The two were chatting and laughing and even linked arms. They looked very close."

Meng Yanxi narrowed her eyes.

He has an excellent memory, completely different from Jin Zhao who can't remember people. Whether it's numbers or people, he can almost always remember them. He's just cold and doesn't talk about it, so others think he doesn't remember.

So when Ji Haoxuan's mother caught a glimpse of him, she instantly turned pale with guilt, but when he turned his gaze away indifferently, she felt relieved.

A prince like Meng Yanxi probably wouldn't remember someone as insignificant as her.

She turned her head and continued chatting and laughing with Lin Yao.

Lin Yao: "Thanks to your friend for introducing the buyer, let's go upstairs and wait."

Mother Ji: "Don't be so formal, we're all sisters."

Lin Yao smiled and asked with high emotional intelligence, "How are your son's grades lately?"

Ji's mother couldn't hide her pride: "He moved up six places in this monthly exam."

Lin Yao: "Boys in puberty are easily distracted by those around them. Once the distractions are gone, their grades will improve in no time."

The two smiled knowingly, appearing to be in good spirits.

Meng Yanxi brushed past the two on her skateboard, her windbreaker whistling through the air, leaving a chilling gust of wind.

Jin Wenhui's house was sold that day. The buyer was introduced by a friend of a friend of Ji's mother. The buyer was also very shrewd and successfully negotiated a discount of 500,000 yuan, still at the market price. Although Jin Wenhui felt that his house was worth 500,000 yuan more than others, Lin Yao said that it was just to do a favor for a friend, and he was happy to do a favor for his young wife as well.

Those were their last lucky days. Since then, both the Jin and Ji families have been plagued by bad luck, lacking everything they wanted and getting nothing the more they desired.

Jin Wenhui, who runs a business, began to frequently lose orders, both large and small. At the last minute, orders were always snatched away, and his cash flow quickly became critical. From then on, the situation deteriorated rapidly, and the tragic scenario of poverty-stricken couples facing numerous misfortunes began. Meanwhile, Ji's father, a senior executive at a large company, was reported by name for embezzling public funds, and the police took him away directly from his office.

Meng Shixu once spoke with his son.

At that time, Meng Yanxi was not yet eighteen years old, so these matters naturally had to be handled by Meng Shixu. If it was just a matter of venting anger, Meng Shixu felt he could tolerate it. He was a loving father, but driving someone to the brink of ruin was not his style.

"They're all ordinary people, why go to such lengths?" Meng Shixu said, stopping short of saying anything.

Meng Yanxi was curled up on the sofa, looking listless.

He had just beaten up Ji Haoxuan at school, and because he refused to make a self-criticism under the national flag, he lost his own spot for admission to university.

But that wasn't the reason he was in a bad mood. It was probably just because Meng Shixu said "ordinary person".

They are all ordinary people, and Jin Zhao is just an ordinary girl, so why did they have to be so cruel to her?

Even though he later confirmed repeatedly that she hadn't ultimately been transferred to No. 9 Middle School and had indeed gone abroad, and that she must have fought tooth and nail to achieve this result, who should repay the embarrassment, pain, and despair she endured during that process? How can they repay it?

Meng Yanxi looked up at Meng Shixu: "Dad, give me two years."

Meng Shixu was taken aback: "What?"

Meng Yanxi: "I'll be twenty in two years. Please take care of things for me before I turn twenty, and I'll handle it myself after that."

*

When Jin Zhao returned, Wu Guo had already left, and Meng Yanxi was on the phone.

Jin Zhao initially thought it was related to Wu Guo's matter, but as he got closer, he heard Meng Yanxi say to the person on the phone, "The four-piece bedding set was washed too, the purple one."

Four-piece set?

Meng Yanxi: "It's been cold lately, so use goose down for the blankets, not silk."

Noticing that she had returned, he didn't say anything more and quickly hung up the phone.

Jin Zhao didn't ask about Wu Guo, although she was a little curious about what had happened to him that would lead him here on such a joyous occasion as New Year's Day, following a post on WeChat Moments. She both disliked the Wu family and had a rare interest in them. But since Meng Yanxi didn't say, she didn't ask.

Luo Heng and Si Tian returned at noon; both had to go to work the next day.

In the afternoon, the group returned home, with Luo Heng driving the first half and Meng Yanxi driving the second half.

It was already dark when they arrived at Suiyi. Meng Yanxi saw Luo Heng and Si Tian off and said quite naturally, "Want to go to my house?"

Jin Zhaozheng was typing on his phone with his head down, and said without looking up, "No, no need, take me back to school."

Meng Yanxi: "?"

"Your dorm room is flooded, how can you still live there?" Meng Yanxi laughed in exasperation.

He was afraid she wouldn't want to sleep in the same room with him, so he arranged for the housekeeper to go to his place early in the morning to prepare everything, from bed sheets and duvet covers to shoes and clothes. He was very attentive to everything.

So, my girlfriend would rather live in a flooded dorm?

Is he a beast in her eyes?

Jin Zhao sent out the message, then turned around and explained, "No, the project I applied for two months ago has been approved, at the national level."

Her tone was subtly excited, and her eyes were shining.

“The teacher from the Asset Management Department just contacted me and said that I now have a national-level project, plus the SSCI paper I published before, so my points are enough to apply for a talent apartment. Talent apartments are different from teachers' dormitories; they are commercial housing. Considering that my dormitory was flooded, she arranged a fast track for me and has already arranged an apartment for me. I can go back and find the building manager to get the key and move in.”

"Two bedrooms and one living room." Jin Zhao held up her phone to emphasize, looking at her boyfriend with a hint of pride.

Boy friend:"……"

Nobody told him his girlfriend was too amazing, and he suddenly found himself with more competitors.

One teachers' apartment was flooded, and another talent apartment suddenly appeared.

She really did learn a lot from that book.

Jin Zhao saw his expression, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of bitterness, and struggled to suppress a laugh. Thinking of what he had said that morning, she deliberately said, "If you are short of money and can't rent out your house for the time being, you can consider staying at my place for now."

She was very generous: "No need to rent, you can stay for free."

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Author's Note: The flashback from the male protagonist's perspective inserted here connects to Chapter 38. Those who forgot can go back and read it. It says that the male protagonist was angry all autumn after receiving the dress sent back by the female protagonist, until he learned something from the neighbor and began to feel sorry for her. This is what he learned from the neighbor on the day of the Beginning of Winter, and it connects to his later revenge against the Jin and Ji families.

Also, I changed the book title and it brought everyone to the forefront [laughing and crying emoji] Fireworks really did us justice and made it to the app's bookstore homepage! This is the first time my book has made it to the homepage before the main text is finished, and I want more readers to see it, so I temporarily changed the title to a Jinjiang-style one. I'll change it back to "Only Fireworks Know" after it's finished~ Please support President Meng and Lingling! Although I'm super slow, I will try my best to write the best I can ever hope for [heart emoji]