Tang Zhiyi finally learned her lesson and stopped causing trouble. Instead, Sun Lu glanced at Meng Wan.
Ignoring the two, Meng Wan quickly finished her lunch.
"I'm going to the supermarket to buy something. You can go back first."
"Okay, bring me a bottle of water."
Lan Xing gave an OK sign and left, while Meng Wan took the prepared clothes to the dressing room. Everything was arranged, but when she came out, someone blocked her way.
Meng Wan wasn't surprised to see Sun Lu blocking her way.
"The collaboration was canceled, you did it, didn't you?" Sun Lu looked at her, her tone incredibly certain despite the question. She couldn't believe such a coincidence.
"Take a guess?" Meng Wan tilted her head, smiled innocently.
"I apologize to you, what happened that day was my fault..."
“It really is your fault.” Meng Wan said frankly, but it left Sun Lu speechless.
She pursed her lips and took a deep breath. The atmosphere at her home had been very somber lately. Her parents were at odds, and with their failed business deal, they argued constantly. If things continued like this, the woman her father was keeping outside would soon be able to move in, and then she and her mother would get nothing!
Thinking of this, Sun Lu could only suppress her temper.
"I'll do anything you ask, but could you... possibly handle the cooperation agreement..."
"cannot."
Meng Wan's decisive refusal caused Sun Lu's expression to change.
"Meng Wan, do you really have to go this far?" Sun Lu's tone was somewhat anxious. Ignoring everything else, she reached out and grabbed Meng Wan's arm, but ended up pressing down on the spot where Meng Wan's hand was.
Although Meng Wan was good at enduring pain, the sudden pain made her instinctively shake off Sun Lu's hand. She placed her wound in front of Sun Lu, speechless.
"I...I didn't mean to..."
"The cooperation agreement has already been finalized. Rather than asking me to change it, it's better to improve the quality of your products. As businessmen, they're not foolish enough to lose profits over a little argument. The reason the cooperation failed is that you and I were just the intermediaries; the root cause was that one party failed to meet the other's requirements, nothing more."
"Is there really no other way?"
Sun Lu's pleading tone made Meng Wan frown.
“Sun Lu, don’t pin your future on someone you can’t trust. If you want something, you have to fight for it yourself. If you want recognition, you have to put in the corresponding effort. If you want respect, then when something happens, you should think about solving it first, instead of lowering yourself to beg for forgiveness, understand?”
Sun Lu stood there blankly, but Meng Wan was too lazy to say anything more to her and turned to leave.
Sun Lu watched Meng Wan's straight back, her hands gradually clenching.
"What do you know! You have Yan Nian, you have Lan Xing. Even if you weren't the eldest daughter of the Tang family, you still have people backing you up, people still flattering you, and people protecting you! But what about me? If I leave the Sun family, what will I have left? I will not only have nothing, but I will also let that damned mistress marry into the family legitimately. Why should she!"
She roared, as if to vent the grievances and anger in her heart.
Meng Wan stopped and turned to look at her. Her eyes were like a deep abyss, calm yet containing endless danger.
"Who asked you to leave the Sun family?"
"What?"
"Haven't you always prioritized profit? As long as there's something to gain, you're more willing to endure humiliation than anyone else. Isn't that a good thing?"
After Meng Wan left, Sun Lu remained alone for a long, long time... until she finally appeared in the classroom for class. The two didn't exchange a single glance all afternoon. By the time school ended, Tang Zhiyi and Sun Lu had become close friends.
The two left the classroom chatting and laughing, and the others gradually began to pack up their things.
At the school gate, Meng Zhili was already waiting. Fearing unnecessary trouble, he stood at the entrance of the school, his eyes fixed on the opposite side. But before Meng Wan came out, he met Tang Zhiyi's gaze.
Meng Zhili looked at her with a complicated expression, but she only paused slightly before looking away, as if she didn't recognize him at all.
"What's wrong?" Sun Lu followed her gaze, but Tang Zhiyi pulled her hand.
"It's alright, but you absolutely must come to the family reunion banquet tomorrow. You're my first friend here, and I'll feel much more at ease if you come."
"Of course I'll go, don't worry." Sun Lu looked away, patted her shoulder, and smiled sweetly.
"My driver has arrived, so I'll be going now." After getting into the car, Tang Zhiyi waved to Sun Lu.
"Okay, bye-bye." Sun Lu waved to her with a smile, but her expression quickly turned cold after the person disappeared from sight. She glanced at Meng Zhili, then quickly looked away and got into her car.
Meng Zhili stood still. He was certain that Tang Zhiyi had seen him, but pretended not to.
He lowered his head, the corners of his mouth curving downwards. "Yes, bridges are bridges, roads are roads, it's fine." His voice was very soft, dissipating in the wind.
"Brother!" The clear voice made Meng Zhili smile again. He waved to Meng Wan with a smile, watching her walk towards him step by step.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, how's your hand?" He reached out to take Meng Wan's schoolbag, but she refused.
"The medicine your master gave you must be good."
Meng Zhili chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"Let me introduce you. This is my childhood friend, Lan Xing. This is my second brother."
Meng Zhili greeted him, and Lan Xing nodded, but they didn't exchange any further words.
"Good evening, I'm leaving now." Having seen Meng Zhili, Lan Xing had achieved her goal. The two interacted naturally; at least Meng Wan wouldn't allow someone she didn't know well to pat her head.
"A new batch of wine has arrived at the tavern. I'll go check it out," Lan Xing whispered in Meng Wan's ear.
Meng Wan nodded. "Go ahead, see you tomorrow."
Lan Xing, on the other hand, was quite nonchalant. He waved to her and disappeared around the street corner.
"I'll go see if my parents need any help. Why don't you wait for me at the bus stop now?"
"Huh? Why am I waiting for you at the bus stop?"
Meng Zhili touched his nose, and only then did Meng Wan notice the gazes of those around them. It was indeed a strange combination for people from No. 1 High School and a prestigious academy to be together.
"You despise me?" Meng Wan suddenly realized.
"How is that possible!" Meng Zhili's eyes widened.
"Then let's go."
"But……"
Before he could say anything, Meng Wan walked ahead of him. Meng Zhili had no choice but to follow.
"I didn't look down on you. I was just worried that if you went to the back street and your classmates saw you, it would have a bad influence on you." Meng Zhili explained, fearing that Meng Wan might misunderstand.
"Did I do something illegal?"
"No...no."
"Did you do anything illegal?"
"No...no."
"Where did this negative influence come from?" Meng Wan looked at him with open and honest eyes, which made Meng Zhili feel somewhat ashamed.
He had a preconceived notion that people from the academy would look down on people from No. 1 High School, but now it seems that he was the narrow-minded one.
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