Cloud Girl Chapter Twenty-Nine
The love cloud that had lingered over Xu Xiaomeng for almost a year seemed to dissipate the moment he stepped out of the hospital room.
At least he knew that Chen Nanyi wasn't doing it out of obligation, and that was enough.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Chen Nanyi is such a proud person; she would never compromise for anyone—if it's something she's unwilling to do, she'd rather try a thousand different ways, going through a thousand detours, than do it. Why would she compromise out of guilt or to please him?
As Xu Xiaomeng walked out of the ward with a silly grin, before she could even savor the delicious taste on her own, Qin Se called.
“Ah Jing, I can’t get in touch with Lu Bo. He’s avoiding me, but he’s not avoiding you—go tell him that a woman like Chen Yiwen, who sold her house for personal gain, can never marry into our Lu family! If he insists on marrying her, then he shouldn’t consider himself a member of the Lu family…”
Qin Se's voice was slightly sharp, carrying an air of undeniable authority.
Xu Xiaomeng gripped the phone tightly, thinking of Chen Nanyi just a wall away, and Qin Se's consistently domineering attitude. She lowered her eyes, feeling that her promising future, which had just begun to brighten, had become somewhat gloomy again.
Chen Yiwen has been quite remarkable lately; even after Lu Bo agreed to be with Sisley, he did indeed forget about her for a while.
It's just unknown what tricks Chen Yiwen used to stir up trouble again, which actually made Lu Bo, who was about to elope with the wealthy merchant's daughter Sisley, run away with her!
When Heathley found out about this, it's unclear how she reacted, but one thing is certain: even if Lu Bo eventually came back and married her, she probably would never believe in love again.
Xu Xiaomeng knew that Chen Yiwen had sold the Chen family's only house to provide financial support for Lu Bo and the other heirs, including when they were fighting against her, despite Chen Nanyi and the others being destitute.
The Chen family was once a wealthy political family, but their current decline is largely due to Chen Yiwen's later vanity, extravagant spending, and falling in love with the wrong person.
However, Xu Xiaomeng thought to herself, Chen Nanyi must have known about it already!
Knowing that her sister had spent all the money on herself and Lu Bo and had no money left to save her, she didn't even ask any more questions before she was about to die.
And this time, he almost lost her without even realizing it.
Fortunately, she was just overworked, and given her poor health to begin with, the pressure caused her to break down suddenly; otherwise…
On the other end of the phone, Qin Se said some very unpleasant things again. Then she thought of Xu Xiaomeng's recent attention to Chen Nanyi and how Xu Xiaomeng had resisted her urging to get married. She immediately felt dissatisfied again.
He then extrapolated this logic to Lu Bo, saying directly, "With an older sister like that around, how good do you think Chen Nanyi can be? And given her personality and background, she absolutely cannot offer you any help..."
Qin Se continued using the same old clichés on the other end of the phone, although it sounded quite reasonable.
Ke Ren's potential is limitless.
If Chen Nanyi were by his side, his entire life might be completely changed. How can we assess that now?
Therefore, Xu Xiaomeng calmed herself down for a moment, then narrowed her eyes, chuckled lightly, and said coldly, "If you don't want to repeat the same mistakes, then do it that way, just like you drove my mother away back then. And I won't marry Liu Shixi either. I'll marry the woman you dislike the most, and die a painful death like my father did..."
Before Xu Xiaomeng could finish speaking, a nurse carrying a tray at the corner was so startled that she dropped a bunch of gauze. The gauze rolled right to Xu Xiaomeng's feet, bumped into her, and then stopped.
Xu Xiaomeng was startled and suddenly remembered that she was still on this side of the viewing window and the door was not closed. Chen Nanyi probably heard everything and saw his cold look.
Sure enough, when Chen Nanyi, who was looking out from his hospital bed, saw Xu Xiaomeng turn around, he immediately closed his eyes in a panic and stopped looking at her.
Xu Xiaomeng wanted to go in and explain to her that even if he had nothing, he would not marry a woman he didn't love.
Just look at how her mother gave birth to her, who was so weak, and how miserable she is now. If he also abandons her and lives on, what will she do?
However, he had to deal with the urgent news his subordinates had just reported to him immediately—after all, this was the last period of Lu Mian and his group's struggle, and he roughly knew what desperate things they would do, so he couldn't relax for a moment, otherwise everything would be lost.
Therefore, Xu Xiaomeng didn't care that Chen Nanyi might be afraid of him anymore—rather than the result still being bad, it was better to go against her wishes and be with her! Anyway, no matter how she asked her, she had already habitually resisted and refused.
If he continues as before, he won't be able to get even a step closer to her.
So what are these misunderstandings compared to now?
Xu Xiaomeng turned and left. Strangely, however, Chen Nanyi wasn't as cautious as he'd imagined, and didn't seem to be dwelling on the matter.
She just felt that Xu Xiaomeng seemed to have changed a bit, but she still felt the same way in front of her.
She also strangely felt that Xu Xiaomeng treated her like a princess and held her in the palm of his hand. In the past, Chen Nanyi felt ashamed of this and therefore avoided such feelings, but although she was not used to it now, she still had some expectations for him for some reason.
However, in any case, this is at least a better sign.
On the day Chen Nanyi was discharged from the hospital, the doctor repeatedly told her that she needed to truly let go of her depression in order to live a good life. Chen Nanyi listened absentmindedly, but couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that Xu Xiaomeng didn't show up.
He probably didn't know that he was also one of her sources of frustration, or perhaps he chose not to appear because he had his own path to walk!
Little did she know that Jing Xiao had sent her assistant to pick her up.
After the car drove into the playground at the foot of Tulo Mountain, at the foot of the mountain where the Chen family villa was located.
"Mr. Xu invites you upstairs!" the assistant said, then quickly left.
Chen Nanyi was somewhat puzzled. However, although she was always suspicious, she didn't want to think about it anymore at this moment.
She began to walk, approaching the stone path steps.
The entire campus was quiet, but her heart remained calm.
The sight of fiery red rose petals carpeting the path leading upwards, blending seamlessly with the lush greenery beside it, inexplicably made Chen Nanyi feel a little shy.
She climbed step by step, as if stepping into a sacred hall. And at the end, the bright sunlight pierced through the swaying shadows of the trees, illuminating Xu Xiaomeng, dressed as a red envelope, and Chen Yijing, dressed in bright yellow, standing in front of the door, creating a heartwarming scene.
This situation was exactly the same as what Xu Xiaomeng had described to her that rainy night!
How wonderful it would be if such a person existed in her and Yi Jing's lives? This was the only thought that filled Chen Nanyi's mind as she stood on the stone steps in the gentle breeze.
Xu Xiaomeng bought the house, saying that the two of them could live there first.
“Although the initial amount doesn’t count, all the money I earned later was by myself. Please rest assured, I’m not the kind of person who would freeload off the Lu family. It just provided me with a better stage,” Xu Xiaomeng said, dispelling Chen Nanyi’s concerns about accepting the house.
But it wasn't until she finished washing up and cleaning up that night that Chen Nanyi discovered Xu Xiaomeng had also moved in.
Chen Nanyi felt a little embarrassed, and also felt that she shouldn't have been so soft-spoken, so she frowned, puzzled, "Didn't I say I would pay you back the money for the house in installments? I've already given you the down payment."
Chen Nanyi stammered as she spoke, lacking the confidence to tell Xu Xiaomeng to leave because the house wasn't entirely hers yet.
Xu Xiaomeng glared at her, raised one eyebrow, and said with amusement, "You've given me the money, so how are you going to live? That's all the money you have now, right? But if you let me stay in one of the rooms, you can still get the rent back from me!"
Chen Nanyi was stunned by Xu Xiaomeng's suddenly vivid expression. She suddenly realized that this somewhat wicked Xu Xiaomeng was very unfamiliar to her, and she was increasingly unable to keep up with Xu Xiaomeng's train of thought. She had no idea what to do.
She looked puzzled, hesitant, considering how to phrase her words. Xu Xiaomeng also watched her with a composed expression.
"How did you become so glib?" Chen Nanyi suddenly blurted out.
"Huh?" Xu Xiaomeng paused, then hesitated, "You...don't like it?"
Seeing his sudden, somewhat bitter smile, Chen Nanyi felt a pang of pity and smiled back at him.
Then she shook her head vigorously, "No, I think it's great..." Before Chen Nanyi could finish speaking, she was stunned by Xu Xiaomeng, who suddenly laughed like a little squirrel.
This unusual change in style made Chen Nanyi feel deceived, but she was also somewhat surprised by how varied his expressions were.
Xu Xiaomeng's heart softened when she saw her stunned expression, and she met her gaze with gentle tenderness.
The two of them couldn't help but laugh.
So, taking advantage of Chen Nanyi's momentary lapse in attention, Xu Xiaomeng moved into Lu Ran Academy—Chen Nanyi's home halfway up Tu Luo Mountain.
After the original principal stepped down, Xu Xiaomeng also served as the principal of Luran Academy. Their daily lives, including their respective work activities, are not mentioned.
But every evening, Xu Xiaomeng would drag Chen Nanyi, who still didn't like going out much, to the playground at the foot of the mountain for a run.
Chen Nanyi was impatient to be with so many people.
Actually, she just subconsciously disliked crowded places and was afraid of what people would say if they saw her with Xu Xiaomeng. Xu Xiaomeng, however, always seemed to see through her thoughts and would feign malice, saying, "You think you're so special? You're not some genius. Besides me, who understands you? You're too narcissistic..."
But Chen Nanyi's shamelessness was no joke. After hearing this, she didn't say anything else, only refused, lying on the bed and turning another page of her book. "I don't want to go."
Whenever Chen Nanyi acted like this, Xu Xiaomeng would earnestly cup Chen Nanyi's face and say, "You've overdrawn your life force before, and who knows when you'll be able to make up for it? Considering that I also contributed to your life, you should at least take some responsibility!"
Xu Xiaomeng spoke sincerely, without a trace of disrespect, and then hugged Chen Nanyi's face to prevent her from moving, leaving Chen Nanyi unable to say anything more.
And so, besides attending classes during the day, exercising in the evenings, and playing around in the kitchen in the evenings... Xu Xiaomeng entered Chen Nanyi's life in a gentle yet powerful way.
The Chen family villa was originally sold by Chen Yiwen to a wealthy man. That newly rich man was interested in the location of Luran Academy and wanted to use it for his child's future schooling.
Later, she found the old household items outdated and replaced them all. Xu Xiaomeng spent a lot of effort to find some of them.
The current home furnishings are still arranged according to Chen Nanyi's wishes.
Xu Xiaomeng once asked her if she wanted to build a wall around the house and then knock it down, because living with walls around the house felt like giving up the feeling of being in a forest, and it wouldn't be as comfortable, like living in a box.
However, after careful consideration, Chen Nanyi decided to let it go—after all, things that have already existed cannot be truly erased as if they never existed.
During the period when they "lived together," Chen Nanyi slept in the room where Chen's parents had previously lived with her.
Before Xu Xiaomeng slept in Chen Nanyi's room, she had opened up the large study room, leaving Chen Yiwen's room empty.
Although they lived under the same roof, Xu Xiaomeng was very courteous, and none of the problems Chen Nanyi had worried about occurred.
This was exactly what Chen Nanyi wanted to hear.
After all, Chen Nanyi is a person who is very indifferent to all kinds of desires in a strict sense, so such a life of simplicity and detachment is naturally fine for her.
But what if Xu Xiaomeng suddenly wants to do something? How can she stop her?
One day, Chen Nanyi was sitting on the bed folding the clothes she had just collected when...
Xu Xiaomeng suddenly rushed into the room like a swift leopard, and without saying a word, she tried to tear off her clothes.
Chen Nanyi was taken aback and tightly covered her clothes.
Although Chen Nanyi was in poor health, she was very strong. Even though in the midst of the chaos she realized that he didn't seem to have any intention of violating her, and it seemed that he was just trying to take off her clothes, Chen Nanyi still pushed him away forcefully.
Chen Nanyi sat on the bed, still shaken, when she noticed that Xu Xiaomeng, whom she had pushed to the ground, had red eyes and a blank expression.
Chen Nanyi couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that she should be the one acting this way! Why was he acting so aggrieved?
Chen Nanyi was puzzled, but she also felt that she was overreacting. They were already living together, and she had prepared herself mentally. However, Xu Xiaomeng hadn't said anything, so she felt it was only natural.
Feeling a little embarrassed to ask Xu Xiaomeng about this topic, Chen Nanyi patiently asked Chen Yijing, "What's wrong?"
Unexpectedly, Xu Xiaomeng's gaze shot straight at her, and she asked in a solemn tone, "You like women?"
Chen Nanyi was completely bewildered, but still shook her head, genuinely looking puzzled.
Xu Xiaomeng's tense face suddenly relaxed, and she lowered her head. After a long while, she said softly, "Don't wear those clothes anymore." Then, inexplicably, she got up again and walked out the door dejectedly.
Chen Nanyi later learned that it was because she had always worn her father's clothes to save money, and because she was bright and tall with an extremely cold personality, only showing kindness to women, she was mistaken for a lesbian.
Xu Xiaomeng overheard rumors and recalled that Chen Nanyi was indeed more patient and considerate towards the little girl, which is why she did what she did that day.
Chen Nanyi has never cared about what others think. After learning about this matter, she brought it up at the dinner table once, saying, "Let them say what they want, it's not a big deal."
Xu Xiaomeng was eating at the time when he heard this and snorted. He didn't intend to tell her—he genuinely thought she might be a lesbian, and he was heartbroken. After all, in today's society, even their college counselor, the gentle and frail Xu Yingxiang, was a lesbian. How could he not worry?
Chen Nanyi was feeding Chen Yijing, who was sitting next to her, with a spoon. Looking at Xu Xiaomeng's thoughtful and sullen expression, she couldn't help but smile slightly, and a feeling of warmth suddenly arose in her heart.
But who knew, for some reason, Xu Xiaomeng seemed to become more and more frightened, and actually insisted on dragging Chen Nanyi to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a marriage certificate! To prevent Chen Nanyi from going down that path.
Chen Nanyi, who was pulled out of bed in the middle of the night by Xu Xiaomeng, was almost dizzy from Xu Xiaomeng's crazy behavior. However, in the midst of the chaos of being dragged around by him, she actually felt a secret joy.
She had always felt that someone as socially awkward as herself couldn't be a suitable housewife.
Especially after Xu Xiaomeng returned to the Lu family, her status became even more important. Even if he wanted to marry her, she would not be able to fulfill the role that concerned social image.
However, even if Xu Xiaomeng didn't marry her, Chen Nanyi felt that being his mistress once wouldn't be out of the question—even if Xu Xiaomeng pursued her again with a vengeful heart and then cruelly abandoned her, she would accept it...
This kind of thinking is not hard to understand. Although Chen Nanyi has such a personality, she is not good at being tactful or frank with people, and may even be "overly self-important".
Even so, she really didn't want to just marry anyone and become a housewife, a job that anyone could do, and then deal with all sorts of trivial matters in life.
But if she doesn't intend to do that, but still wants a man, a mistress is undoubtedly the most suitable option for her, and Xu Xiaomeng is the most suitable for her...
How fortunate she is to have met such a person with such a pure heart.
Whenever she thinks of Xu Xiaomeng's soft hands, with their fleshy texture and warm temperature... her heart is filled with something called love.
She had complained about her miserable life more than once, and sometimes she almost couldn't suppress her restless heart and wanted to go crazy, but she never expected that God had left such good fortune waiting for her.
Perhaps this was God's way of teaching her gratitude, and that's why He gave her such a great reward!
Chen Nanyi didn't want to admit it, but she knew that her mindset was deeply ingrained.
Everyone sees her as someone who is so proud that she won't yield to anyone, but in reality, she despises herself just like her father. Otherwise, how could she have such a dirty thought as to become someone's mistress?
But on the other hand, the allure of living with Xu Xiaomeng was constantly drawing her in—she was just unsure whether she had the resolve and courage to make it work with him.
Mini-drama: Why is Xu Xiaomeng called Xu Xiaomeng?
Mr. Lu said, "I've chosen names for the children. Take a look. Here, if it's a boy, we'll call him Lu Yunrui; if it's a girl, we'll call her Lu Yunxiang."
Xu's mother said, "No, I'm saying a girl must be a girl! And I want to call her Mengmeng!"
Mr. Lu exclaimed, "No! This won't do!"
Mrs. Xu put her hands on her hips and said, "Why can't it be? I gave birth to this child!"
Mr. Lu: "Tch, you gave birth to her? You gave birth to a child all by yourself... Oh, okay, okay, I know I was wrong, I was wrong. We'll name her Mengmeng, we'll name her Mengmeng!"
Xu's mother said, "No, a girl should know how to act cute, so her name should be Xiaomeng!"
Mr. Lu: "Okay, okay, whatever you want, whatever you want, whatever you want."
Thus, Xu Xiaomeng's lifelong name was decided (because Lu Ai was later forced to take Qi Rao's name, and Xu Siyue didn't want to use the name Lu Ai had chosen, nor did she want to use anything else, so she had to settle for a name that they had "discussed").
Lu Ai (灬ε灬): "I'm innocent, son! It's not my fault that your effeminate name has led to people making fun of you! My adorable boy!"
Xu Xiaomeng: "Hmph!"
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