Cui Qingling frowned, but Meng Wan didn't find it strange.
"The invitation allows you to bring an extra female or male companion. Given Wen Qinglian's family background, it's normal for her to be able to come in."
"But what is that matter?"
“We were both selected by our teacher to participate in the school’s exhibition competition. However, because our school is a well-known cradle of jewelry designers, many people in the industry came to visit. Our teacher had high hopes for both of us, but her work was reported by a very famous designer in the industry, who said that she had plagiarized her early work.”
“Hmm…” Meng Wan raised an eyebrow.
"As you can imagine, she not only had to withdraw from the exhibition, but was also sued by the designer. Her teacher's attitude towards her also changed, and with the ridicule from others, she couldn't bear it anymore and dropped out of school."
"What does this have to do with you?"
There is still some connection, after all, it was the designer she suggested.
But she only gave a small hint. If Wen Qinglian had been honest and not tried to take shortcuts, and hadn't chosen to plagiarize the designer's early works in order to suppress her, none of this would have happened.
Of course, Cui Qingling wouldn't say these things to Meng Wan.
"My fame started around that time. She probably blamed me for her mistakes. After all, although I wasn't involved in the whole thing, I was the biggest beneficiary."
Cui Qingling shrugged, looking quite innocent.
Meng Wan had no doubts and nodded, understanding why Wen Qinglian was so hostile towards Cui Qingling—it was jealousy!
"Let's not talk about her anymore." Cui Qingling didn't take Wen Qinglian to heart.
She put on a smile and nuzzled against Meng Wan, "So, how did I do today?"
"Very excellent." Meng Wan ruffled her hair, her tone full of affection and affirmation for her friend.
"But it's getting late, I have to go now. Don't stay up too late, I'll go to the clinic later to get you some medicine, remember to take it."
As Meng Wan spoke, she casually checked her pulse to make sure there was nothing wrong before feeling relieved, but she still couldn't help but give her a few more words of advice.
Cui Qingling was already used to it, and instead of being impatient, she smiled and agreed. Seeing Meng Wan's helpless look, she then tried to coax her into being cute and charming.
The two exchanged a few more trivial words before parting ways. When Meng Wan went out, Meng Zhilian was already waiting at the door. He had changed out of his sharp suit and put on his usual hoodie, along with a hat and mask, completely covering himself up.
He is no longer the unknown bar singer he once was, but a big star with nearly ten million fans.
With her strong abilities, effective marketing, and the ability to generate buzz, coupled with her early strategy of keeping her face hidden, it's no surprise that Meng Wan became a hit.
"Let's go." Seeing Meng Wan come out, Meng Zhilian patted her head.
"Where's Sister Bai?"
"She said she needed to go back to the company to keep an eye on the rankings, so I told her to drive the car away."
Coincidentally, the Meng family's home is not far from here.
At first, I didn't notice the benefits, but once we moved in, they started to appear. The area is surrounded by bustling commercial districts, and many large gatherings are held here. Transportation is much more convenient, and even security has improved significantly.
The two walked side by side, occasionally falling silent, but without any awkwardness.
"Did that person say anything?" Meng Zhilian certainly didn't believe that Meng Wan had really 'accidentally' spilled orange juice on the other person's skirt.
Meng Wan raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer. Instead, she asked another question.
"Where did you get so much money? Aren't you afraid you'll actually have to pay it back?"
"What can we do? Should we tell her, 'Oh, my sister was so naughty, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me and my sister, our whole family will be grateful to you?'"
Meng Zhilian's exaggerated tone made Meng Wan laugh.
"It's a good thing your goal is to be a singer. If you were an actor, Sister Bai would probably be worried about how you would get roles with your acting skills."
"However, if we really have to pay, we're not afraid. My brother has saved some money, although not a lot yet, but he can shamelessly say that it's not a big deal to pay in installments." Anyway, he had already received a lot of eye-rolls the moment the family went bankrupt.
Meng Zhilian didn't say his last words. He wrapped his arms around Meng Wan's neck, seemingly thinking about the past.
Meng Wan roughly understood the unspoken meaning behind Meng Zhilian's words. When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; even old friends might betray you for a share of the spoils. Although there were benefactors willing to lend a helping hand, it was merely a drop in the ocean for the Meng family at that time.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul only leads to ever-increasing debt. No wonder Meng Boqun preferred living in a dilapidated apartment building to spending all his savings to pay off most of his debts. Being debt-free is a blessing; at least any future earnings are his own, without the burden of paying exorbitant interest.
"You're so rich now, why don't you buy some clothes that match your status?" The atmosphere became dull, and Meng Wan deliberately teased Meng Zhilian.
"I... want to buy back our old house." Meng Zhilian was wearing a mask, but you could still feel his hopeful anticipation for the future. "But don't let it slip."
“That house is quite old, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to buy a new one?” Meng Wan believed that a house was just a place to live, and as long as everyone was there, it didn’t matter where they lived. Naturally, she didn’t understand the significance of Meng Zhilian’s actions.
“That house was bought by my dad to propose to my mom, although my maternal grandfather didn’t agree in the end… Anyway, that house holds many memories for them. When it was mortgaged, my mom cried so hard.”
Meng Wan nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
"I guess my eldest brother thinks the same way." The brothers have witnessed glory and experienced lows together, so their bond is naturally much deeper than that of brothers in normal families.
The two returned to the Meng family home. When they saw Meng Zhilian, who hadn't been back for a long time, the two elders were taken aback and pulled him aside to ask about his recent situation.
Meng Wan said goodbye to them and went back to her room.
She stared at her phone's chat screen, her legs curled up in the chair, her fingers tapping on the desk, looking somewhat conflicted.
Finally, she sighed and dialed a voice call.
The call was answered quickly, and Tang Qi's voice came through the electrical connection.
"Oh, I thought it was sometime in the year? This little ingrate is calling me?"
Meng Wan silently rolled her eyes and didn't say anything.
Tang Qi stopped teasing her, turned around in his chair, and faced away from the door.
"Speak, what is it?"
Are you in the country?
Tang Qi raised an eyebrow. "You're quite well-informed."
He went back to China after the Lunar New Year to take care of some things and just returned a couple of days ago.
"I heard the Tang family is going bankrupt?"
Hearing Meng Wan's blunt words, Tang Qi not only wasn't angry, but instead laughed out loud.
His laughter was hearty, a rare sight indeed.
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