Chapter 86 I want everyone to be like me and Bao…

Meng Yanxi learned about this a month later.

It was early June, and the height of summer was fast approaching, with less than a month until their wedding. Meng Yanxi was full of energy and elation, and even when competing for attention with her son, she became humble and polite, giving way to him several times.

Lu Jingyue was having a rough time with his love life at the time, and Meng Yanxi's state really irritated him. Master Lu said sourly, "President Meng is riding high on spring breezes, seeing all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day. Has she become the top scholar in the imperial examination?"

"I already became the top scholar ten years ago." Meng Yanxi was quite shameless. "After passing the imperial examination, there's the wedding night. These are the four joys of life, and I've already achieved my goal. Master Lu, you should keep up the good work."

Master Lu's teeth ached from the sourness: "Get lost."

Meng Yanxi took her car keys and went home.

The wedding dress he ordered for Jin Zhao arrived; the brand delivered it to their home. When he got home, he didn't see Jin Zhao. She was upstairs trying on the dress, and their little one was being looked after by two nannies, crawling on the living room mat.

My baby can't crawl yet at this age; he can only lie on his stomach, supporting himself with both hands, tilting his head back, and struggling to move forward with his little arms and legs.

The little dumpling lived up to its name; it was truly fair-skinned and plump, like a glutinous rice ball. The chubby little thing lay under the toy shelf, trying to move forward for ages without getting a single meter off. Finally, it let go, lying back on the ground, belly pressed against the floor, drool dripping from its mouth, its limbs still kicking wildly as it tried to move forward.

Meng Yanxi, watching from the side, laughed heartily, which was rather unkind.

One of the aunties taking care of the little girl was from the Meng family. She was an elderly member of the Meng family and had taken care of Meng Yanxi and Meng Zhuxi back then. Hearing the voice, she turned around and said with a smile, "Yanxi is back? Zhaozhao is inside trying on wedding dresses."

Meng Yanxi responded, then squatted down with a smile and picked up the little dumpling high.

When the father and son are not arguing or fighting, they are quite affectionate and filial. The little boy recognizes his father, hugs his neck, and giggles happily.

The baby was pink and tender, just like Jin Zhao. Meng Yanxi couldn't help but kiss him twice and exclaimed, "He smells so good, just like your mother!"

The little dumpling laughed and babbled.

Meng Yanxi stared at him, her eyes full of laughter, and said, "Look at you, so adorable. Who did you learn that from? Did you learn it from Lingling?"

Meng Yanxi kissed the little dumpling again, then sat down on the sofa with her son in her arms.

Meng Yanxi personally flew to Paris last summer to order the wedding dress. Jin Zhao didn't know this and thought it was ordered after they decided to hold the wedding this year. But how could there be time? The starry sky pattern on the wedding dress alone required 38 embroiderers, with 0.1 mm gold thread embroidered on ivory white satin, and then adorned with 999 real diamonds, taking nearly 2,000 hours.

Even trying on a wedding dress like this is a huge undertaking. The brand manager and his assistant helped Jin Zhao try it on, while Meng Yanxi waited patiently outside.

But he was patient; the little baby couldn't sit still and soon started squirming and wanting to get down and play.

Don't let the little dumpling's small size fool you; he's incredibly strong. He wriggled around so much that Meng Yanxi couldn't handle him and couldn't help but say, "Why are you like a caterpillar? Aren't you a crayfish?"

"Ooh!"

The little dumpling stared at him with its dark, grape-like eyes, its tender little fists clenched tightly, as if protesting against its father's mouth.

The aunt came up and took the little dumpling away, while Meng Yanxi looked down at her phone.

Aside from the wedding, he hasn't had anything important going on lately. The wedding preparations are almost complete, and now he's just waiting to get married. While casually scrolling through social media, he stumbled upon a trending topic.

A student's parent assaulted a teacher.

Meng Yanxi had no interest in topics that were clearly personal matters but were deliberately used to stir up group conflict, and he didn't want to contribute traffic to unscrupulous media. However, because he had a child who was a teacher, he still clicked on the link instinctively.

A recent news story.

A conflict arose between a teacher and a student in class. After class, the student went online and publicly criticized the teacher, exaggerating the situation and spreading rumors. The teacher responded by directly criticizing the student, who reportedly developed depression as a result. The student's parents then went to the school and assaulted the teacher.

The comments below are all over the place, with some siding with the teacher, some siding with the parents, and some even blaming the victim, telling the teacher to reflect on why other parents didn't hit others but only her. If she really has a clear conscience, why didn't she call the police?

It's unimaginable what the person involved must be feeling, being dragged online and publicly executed despite being clearly a victim.

Meng Yanxi glanced at it indifferently, showing no interest in learning about biodiversity.

Just as I was about to exit, my gaze suddenly fell on a comment—

"Do you think the teacher didn't want to call the police? She was suppressed by her superiors and couldn't call the police at all! This trashy school should learn from the neighboring Suishi Teachers' College! Last month, one of their students threatened suicide to graduate, shamelessly trying to frame a young teacher who was on maternity leave. In the end, Suishi Teachers' College handled the matter fairly and justly, suspending the student's studies without holding the teacher accountable. This is the kind of school that truly educates and nurtures people!"

As her gaze fell upon the words "teacher" and "maternity leave," Meng Yanxi's brow twitched, and a strange sense of anxiety suddenly welled up within her.

This comment's IP address is local. Below are 55 comments. Meng Yanxi points to one, and the comments expand—

"You're not talking about that teacher I know, are you?"

"Give me a code word: young female teacher, from the foreign language department, currently on maternity leave?"

"JZ?"

Upon seeing the abbreviation, Meng Yanxi's eyes narrowed sharply.

Jin Zhao.

My eyes immediately scanned the text downwards in a rapid, multi-line scan—

"Don't mention her name! She's a really good teacher. Don't let her suffer this undeserved misfortune. She's already unlucky enough to be framed by that scumbag!"

“I’ve taken her classes. She’s a very knowledgeable teacher. Her classes are full of valuable information. She’s also very kind and gentle. She never makes things difficult for students and always puts us in their shoes. I never expected that such a good teacher would be targeted by a scammer. Fortunately, the school protected her in the end and didn’t let us down.”

"Don't flatter Ms. Sui! It wasn't the school that protected her; it was the teacher who protected herself!"

"Put an ear in."

"The student was from the art college. The leaders there initially wanted to suppress the matter, since a student's suicide could easily escalate and lead to public criticism, potentially impacting their careers. So, upon receiving the news, the art college leaders immediately rushed to the hospital, hoping to work with the hospital to cover it up. As for how they did it, it's obvious—they shifted all the blame onto the teacher, making them change grades and sacrifice their careers just so the student could graduate smoothly… Luckily, the teacher was clear-headed enough to arrive at the hospital before them, obtaining the medical records first, and then immediately returned to her own college with the evidence to seek protection from the dean and secretary. After all, if she were sacrificed, her college would also be affected. It was because she presented the evidence first that the leaders from other colleges were able to take strong action, demanding that the school punish the student for the violation. Otherwise, what you see online now is her name; she's being publicly shamed online."

"That's right! Besides her, our counselor was also implicated in this incident. She was terrified and lost 10 pounds in a week. It was an utterly undeserved disaster!"

"So please, in the future, when discussing these kinds of topics, just say whoever it is, use their full name, and don't involve students! We honest students really don't want to be represented by a few scumbags!"

...

In the sweltering heat of June or July, the sun outside was scorching hot, but Meng Yanxi's gaze was as cold as ice.

My fingers gripped the screen so tightly they turned a deathly pale color.

It turns out his intuition was right last month.

Ever since he returned from his business trip, he had a feeling that something was wrong with Jin Zhao. Although she didn't show it, the occasional look in her eyes was like that of a stray cat that had been wandering for many years, helpless and vulnerable, having weathered many storms, and extremely insecure. He thought it was because she had caught a cold from the air conditioning, which was why she was showing vulnerability.

So that's why.

She didn't catch a cold from the air conditioning; she was terrified.

He was completely unaware.

Meng Yanxi held her phone with two fingers, her eyes glowing with a scarlet hue.

*

During Jin Zhao's pregnancy, Meng Yanxi hired a professional nutritionist team to plan her diet. During her pregnancy, she only gained weight in her belly; everything else remained the same, with only some areas becoming fuller. Giving birth to the baby was actually not too painful, and recovery was quick, so she didn't have any anxiety about her appearance when holding the wedding at this time.

In the mirror, the wedding dress fit perfectly, the pearl-white lace skirt flowing like clouds, the smooth cut outlining a slender waistline, and diamonds swirling at the shoulders and neck, sparkling brilliantly like a long and magnificent galaxy.

Half a starlight illuminated her face, her skin like milk rubbed with moonlight, her naturally black hair fluffy and soft. Her eyes were clean and clear, with a slight pink tinge at the corners, still as lively and pure as when she was a young girl.

"Mrs. Meng is so beautiful! No wonder Mr. Meng is so infatuated with her. If I were a man, I would be infatuated with her too, and I would neglect my duties as a king! Hahaha!"

"Yes, Mrs. Meng is so beautiful, with great skin and a great figure. How do you take care of yourself? Can you teach us?"

The brand manager and his assistant were adjusting her skirt, showering her with compliments, which Jin Zhao smiled faintly. She felt neither resentment nor excessive pride.

She felt a little giddy, after all, she also thought it looked really good.

"There's also a crown, which will be delivered to Mrs. Meng next week," the brand manager said.

"A crown?" Jin Zhao turned his head and asked.

"Yes, President Meng ordered it together with the wedding dress."

Jin Zhao looked at the intricate embroidery on the wedding dress. She didn't understand haute couture, nor did she understand the joy of the rich spending money like water. But even though she didn't understand anything, she could tell that this dress must have taken a long time to make.

"When did he place the order?" Jin Zhao asked.

The brand manager said, "It was around this time a year ago."

She then confirmed with her assistant, "I remember it was around last year when college students graduated, during graduation season."

Last year's graduation season... Jin Zhao's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

Last year, when Meng Zhuxi graduated, she apologized to Meng Yanxi for accidentally deleting the dance videos on his phone. She was pregnant at the time, and perhaps due to the pregnancy hormones, she was a bit sentimental. Thinking that she could no longer make up for it with a dance video, she teared up and told him that she was no longer the Jin Zhao he liked ten years ago, that she could no longer dance "Luoshen," and that perhaps even that dress no longer fit her.

So, because of this sentence, Meng Yanxi went to order a wedding dress? It tells her that she doesn't need to find a matching dress; there are different dresses to suit her.

The dance dress from ten years ago, the wedding dress from ten years later.

At different ages and in different stages of life, what belongs to her will always arrive at the perfect moment.

Jin Zhao was lost in thought.

When she came to her senses, the dressing room had become quiet, and the two staff members who had helped her try on the wedding dress had already left.

Meng Yanxi appeared in the mirror at some point, standing behind her, silently looking at her reflection.

The moment their eyes met, a smile naturally appeared at the corner of her eye.

"Does it look good?" She didn't turn around, but smiled sweetly at herself in the mirror.

The man didn't say anything, he just stared at her with dark eyes.

Jin Zhao sensed his emotions and turned to face him: "What's wrong?"

Meng Yanxi remained silent.

Jin Zhao lifted her skirt and walked up to him, looking up at him: "Meng Yanxi, why aren't you saying anything?"

She asked softly, reaching out to pull his fingers.

Meng Yanxi's fingers were very cold; despite it being the height of summer, his body felt as cold as if it were the dead of winter.

"What's wrong?" She gently enveloped his hand. "What happened?"

The sharpness in Meng Yanxi's eyes was hidden in a dark aura. He stared at her for several seconds before suddenly saying, "Little Dumpling is injured."

Jin Zhao's face turned pale instantly.

No mother in this world can accept her child being hurt, and Jin Zhao was no exception. Upon hearing that her baby was injured, she instinctively felt heartache and anxiety, grabbing Meng Yanxi's hand and repeatedly asking, "How did you get hurt? Where are you hurt? How are you now? Are you crying?"

She didn't hear any crying, and before Meng Yanxi could answer, she rolled up her heavy, elaborate skirt and ran downstairs to see what was happening.

Meng Yanxi grabbed her hand forcefully, and Jin Zhao was pulled back.

Their eyes met, and she looked at him with tears welling up in her eyes, flustered and confused, as if accusing him of not caring about the baby's injury.

Meng Yanxi's calmness was unfamiliar to her: "Little dumpling is fine, I was just joking with you."

Jin Zhao looked at him in disbelief; it's no exaggeration to say that her heart skipped a beat.

"Meng Yanxi, how old are you? Why are you making jokes like that?"

Meng Yanxi stared at the moisture in the corners of her eyes and said indifferently, "Who knows? Maybe she just wanted you to experience the feeling of heartache."

"After all, you'll only feel heartache for the little dumpling." Meng Yanxi gave a self-deprecating smile and said in a low voice, "Others aren't important to you."

Jin Zhao's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she looked at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Through the bedroom door, downstairs, the little dumpling's giggling laughter drifted up, seemingly from a great distance, yet also appearing very close.

The little guy isn't old enough to talk yet, but he's very keen on singing. Every day he shouts "ah-oh-ah-oh" for a while, and his aunt takes the opportunity to teach him to say "daddy" and "mommy".

Jin Zhao wore the wedding dress that Meng Yanxi had carefully prepared for her. The diamonds sparkled beautifully, and she seemed to be carefully cradled in light. Meng Yanxi stood in front of her, looking down at her silently.

She didn't know why she subconsciously thought of what happened at school last month. Meng Yanxi hadn't said anything, he hadn't even given a hint. But just one look from him gave her a strong intuition—he knew.

At the same time, as if struck by a sudden enlightenment, she realized that she seemed to be wrong.

Before today, before this moment, she never thought she had done anything wrong. But in this very second, in this moment when their eyes meet, she feels that she might indeed have made a mistake.

She held Meng Yanxi's hand, her throat terribly dry. Even drier than her throat was her abrupt explanation: "Last month, the day before you went on your business trip, a student suddenly contacted me..."

She habitually took a deep breath to calm her chaotic thoughts, trying to tell him about the matter in a rational and objective manner, but Meng Yanxi interrupted her calmly: "I know everything."

Before Jin Zhao could ask him how he knew, Meng Yanxi stared at her and asked indifferently, "My question is, if I hadn't found out myself, were you planning to never tell me for the rest of your life?"

Meng Yanxi's gaze was as sharp as it had become in his youth. In fact, he had gradually become more restrained over the years, especially in the last two years. Jin Zhao had grown accustomed to his lack of sharpness, and he himself had also grown accustomed to it.

Jin Zhao suddenly felt very sorry and explained in a low voice, "The reason I didn't tell you when you came back from your business trip was because I felt that the matter was over and there was no need to drag you into worrying about it again."

Meng Yanxi looked at her expressionlessly: "Jin Zhao, do you still remember what you promised me on my birthday?"

Jin Zhao was so ashamed that she couldn't speak.

Meng Yanxi pressed on relentlessly: "Am I just a nodding acquaintance of yours? Why are you so afraid to bother me?"

"No." Jin Zhao lowered her eyes, her fingertips tightening around his fingers, and explained, "It's just because the matter has been resolved."

"The matter is resolved." Meng Yanxi repeated her words, the crimson at the corners of her eyes growing stronger, but her tone becoming softer. "Does the shock you suffered in this matter, the torment and pain you endured alone during this process, no longer exist?"

Jin Zhao's eyes are stinging.

Meng Yanxi chuckled and called her by her full name: "Jin Zhao, you'd rather tell me you caught a cold from the air conditioning than tell me you were scared."

Jin Zhao: "No, I really thought it was just that the air conditioner was set too low at the time."

Meng Yanxi: "Congratulations, you've fooled yourself."

Today, Meng Yanxi displayed an unusually aggressive demeanor.

Although he was sharp-tongued, he was often too lazy to speak. But when it came to Jin Zhao, he couldn't bear to part with her. Apart from a few occasional moments of fun, he mostly indulged and protected her, to the point that Jin Zhao couldn't withstand his advances.

In truth, if he had been a little gentler, given Jin Zhao's love for him, even if she couldn't quite explain why, she would have instinctively followed her instincts to coax him. But his sharp edge made Jin Zhao habitually raise her rationality.

She recounted the events to him frankly: "I admit I was terrified at the time. After all, if something really happened to the student, I would be finished. It's impossible not to be scared. At the hospital, I thought about similar cases at other schools and was very afraid that the leaders of the student's college would try to cover it up and pin the blame on me. My legs were shaking on the way to the doctor to take the medical records. I was afraid that the college leaders had already given me advance notice and wouldn't let me take the records. I even thought about what I would do if they wouldn't allow it. But after thinking about all these possibilities, none of them really overwhelmed me. I later realized that there's always a solution. Just like life, it's so long, and we're bound to encounter all sorts of things. I may not be mature or strong enough now, but I will grow, and I will have to learn to face things alone. I can't always seek your protection every time something happens."

Meng Yanxi stared at her quietly, her eyes red-rimmed. After a long while, she asked in a hoarse voice, "But I want to protect you, I want everyone to love you as much as I and the baby do. Was I wrong?"

As if something had suddenly stung her heart, Jin Zhao's eyelashes trembled rapidly.

Meng Yanxi took a step back gently, her eyes red, and nodded: "I was wrong. I was wrong to not understand you, not to understand that you don't need me. What you need from beginning to end is to accumulate your own strength. What you need is to be able to leave without hesitation and abandon me even if you no longer love me. Even without me, you can live a good life."

Seeing Meng Yanxi retreat, Jin Zhao felt an unprecedented sense of panic.

“No…” She took two steps forward, trying to pull him away.

However, she almost tripped because of the excessively long skirt.

Meng Yanxi had already planned to leave, but when she noticed that she had tripped, she couldn't bring herself to do it and reached out to help her up.

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Author's note: Once the last question is resolved, the series will be over. Don't worry about the issues of personal growth and mutual growth!