Chapter 9 Identity: "My Wife"
09
Ultimately, with Su Xiao's insistence, Meng Yao managed to get a week's leave.
Thinking about her upcoming graduation defense, Meng Yao decided to temporarily step away from her studies and stop making excuses.
She had been living with Fang Huaixu for almost a month. Returning to school, the air was filled with the youthful atmosphere unique to graduation season. This relatively simple environment allowed her to relax her tense nerves for the time being.
The defense went surprisingly smoothly, and her solid professional foundation and clear logical presentation won the praise of her supervisors.
As she walked out of the defense room, sunlight streamed through the corridor windows and fell on her. She let out a soft sigh of relief. There are so many things in the world that you can't succeed at no matter how hard you try, but academics are one of the few areas where she can stand on her own two feet.
"Yaoyao! Over here!"
Not far away, her friend He Jia waved excitedly at her, his face beaming with uncontainable joy: "Yao Yao, I've finally found you!"
Besides the thesis defense, there was also an award ceremony for the successful graduate students. He Jia ran towards her with the award certificate in her hand and hugged her: "I thought I wouldn't see you today. Are you going to work later?"
"I'm on break recently," Meng Yao said, genuinely happy for her. She hugged her back with a bright smile, "That's great, Jiajia! I saw on my WeChat Moments that you received the interview invitation. Congratulations!"
Once the topic of passing the postgraduate entrance exam came up, He Jia started talking non-stop. She took a deep breath, patted her chest, and said, "It was really a close call. I barely passed the preliminary exam. Luckily, you dragged me into participating in so many competitions during my sophomore year, otherwise I definitely would have..."
"Hey, isn't this our big streamer?"
A slightly sarcastic voice broke in, and Meng Yao looked in the direction of the voice to see Chen Xuefei, their classmate.
At that moment, she and several friends were gathered together, waving their phones at Meng Yao's live stream, and saying contemptuously, "Don't you need to work so hard performing online anymore? How come you have time to go back to school? I heard the postgraduate entrance exam scores are out, but I don't see your name. Can't you balance your studies and work?"
These words were harsh and sarcastic, and Meng Yao's eyes dimmed with helplessness.
She and Chen Xuefei were high school classmates, but Meng Yao only met her when they were in the same class in college.
But ever since she met Chen Xuefei, her malice towards her seems to have never stopped.
Meng Yao didn't know where her hatred for her came from, but compared to the treachery in society, her blatant verbal advantage seemed much more endearing.
Meng Yao really couldn't be bothered to argue with her about something so undisputed, but He Jia had a fiery temper and immediately retorted: "Chen Xuefei, did you not brush your teeth today? Your breath smells sour! Yao Yao's grades are always among the top, and she can take the postgraduate entrance exam anytime she wants, unlike some people who only focus on finding fault with others. Are you trying to impress them?"
Chen Xuefei's face flushed red with anger: "You!"
"Do you think our Yaoyao will even acknowledge you?"
He Jia made a face at her, and Chen Xuefei, seeing that Meng Yao just stared without saying a word, felt bored and left with her people.
After she left, He Jia couldn't help but mutter with dissatisfaction, "She pays so much attention to you every day, anyone who doesn't know better would think she has a crush on you..."
"Never mind her, I want to thank our great debater today."
Meng Yao smiled and gently tugged at her arm, subtly changing the subject: "It's your special day. I booked a restaurant yesterday, and it's almost time. Should we invite everyone from the dorm?"
"Okay, okay, let's go!" He Jia was always easily distracted by her.
After returning to the dormitory and waiting for the other two to return from their defenses, the four of them went to the restaurant together.
The atmosphere was lively during the dinner. He Jia, her cheeks slightly flushed from drinking, put her arm around Meng Yao's and said with genuine regret, "Yao Yao, you were the one who should have succeeded... Your grades are so good. If you had started preparing from your junior year, you definitely would have had no problem. We could have gone to the same school then... Why did you suddenly decide not to take the exam..."
Meng Yao tightened her grip on the cup.
During my junior year of college, my grandmother's condition deteriorated rapidly. She was forced to borrow money from all over the place. Just surviving was difficult enough, let alone taking the postgraduate entrance exam.
She didn't tell anyone about those dark days. She has never liked to reveal her private affairs and emotions, and she doesn't need sympathy.
Looking back, she just smiled and said in a relaxed yet firm tone, "There's nothing to regret. Everyone has their own path. I'm doing fine now. I've saved up quite a bit of money from working, enough for me to take a six-month break to prepare for the exam. Maybe I can even come back to be your junior next year."
"That's great..." He Jia grinned foolishly, and quickly became happy: "When you pass the exam in the future, I'll come and teach you, and we'll continue to be the best in the world!"
As the dinner party was nearing its end and evening approached, Meng Yao's phone suddenly rang. She took it out and saw it was Chen Jie.
Without much thought, Meng Yao answered the phone, and a capable and steady voice quickly came from the other end: "Ms. Meng, do you have time today?"
Meng Yao was taken aback for a moment, then answered truthfully, "Yes, what's wrong?"
"Mr. Fang instructed me to pick you up to try on your wedding dress. The car will arrive at the east gate of your school in ten minutes. You can come over if it's convenient for you."
The private room was silent. Meng Yao's heart tightened, and she turned her head to see He Jia, who was closest to her, looking at her with the same astonished expression. He had obviously heard the contents of the phone call.
Meng Yao remained calm on the surface and spoke in a composed tone over the phone: "Okay, I understand. I'll be there in a bit."
After hanging up the phone, He Jia swallowed hard and cautiously asked, "...Who was it? This is the first time I've seen you so formal."
"A part-time job," Meng Yao casually put her phone back in her bag and made up a lie: "I took on a commercial wedding photography job, and they sent a car to pick me up. I have to go there first, so I might not have time to have dinner with you."
"Commercial filming? That's impressive!" He Jia's expression immediately relaxed, and she became interested: "Which company is it? They even sent a car?"
"It's just a small studio, maybe I'm just passing by today," Meng Yao replied vaguely, then hugged He Jia tightly. "I'm leaving now, let's chat later!"
After saying goodbye to He Jia and the others, she walked briskly toward the east gate.
As soon as I arrived at the East Gate, I saw the familiar Mercedes-Benz S-Class parked on the side of the road. Chen Jie, wearing frameless glasses, with a handsome face and elegant demeanor, was waiting beside the car, dressed formally.
Despite being parked in an inconspicuous location, this scene still attracted the attention of many people.
Meng Yao felt a little embarrassed. She never wanted to attract attention and was about to call Chen Jie to ask him to go to a less conspicuous parking lot when Chen Jie's gaze fell on her. He quickly went to greet her and bowed slightly, saying, "Miss Meng, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"No, no..." Sensing a gaze shifting towards her, Meng Yao realized she couldn't escape and quickly headed towards the car: "Let's hurry up and not keep Mr. Fang waiting."
“Mr. Fang is still working, let me take you to the company first.” Chen Jie didn’t notice anything amiss and politely opened the back door for her with a smile.
Ignoring the commotion behind her, Meng Yao bent down and got into the car.
The car drove away smoothly. Chen Jie, sitting in the passenger seat, handed over a tablet: "Ms. Meng, these are some wedding dress brands and haute couture options that we've shortlisted. You can take a look. They'll all be delivered to the company later. Mr. Fang will accompany you after the meeting."
Meng Yao quietly took the tablet, browsing through the extremely luxurious wedding dresses. Her gaze swept over the astonishing labels, her face expressionless, and she simply replied, "Okay."
Even though his face remained calm, his trembling fingertips betrayed his emotional state.
These gorgeous clothes were far removed from her world; she was merely a temporary wearer.
The car stopped in front of the Tianmu Group headquarters building. The towering glass curtain wall reflected a cold, dazzling light in the setting sun, exuding an imposing aura.
Chen Jie led the way, guiding her through the dedicated passageway to the upper floors.
It was extremely quiet here. The carpet was thick, and the air was filled with the same expensive, light fragrance as Fang Huaixu. Employees who knew Chen Jie would pass by and greet him. They were all dressed in an elegant and sophisticated manner. Occasionally, their eyes would sweep over Meng Yao, a young and beautiful woman whose clothes were obviously out of place here.
But Meng Yao displayed an unusual calmness, showing no curiosity or apprehension. Those around her subtly averted their gaze and hurried away.
"President Fang, the meeting isn't over yet. I'll go check on the progress. Please rest here for a bit."
Chen Jie led her into a spacious lounge, poured her a cup of tea, and then closed the door and left.
Before she entered, she noticed that the lounge had a one-way mirrored wall design, which allowed her to see the outside situation well, while people outside could not see the inside.
Finally able to be alone, she breathed a sigh of relief, took a sip of tea, and looked outside. The people working and talking continued as usual, completely unaware of her presence.
Only then did she completely relax her guard, revealing the curiosity that a girl in her early twenties should have for exploring new things. Like a little fox looking around, she curiously surveyed the magnificent environment.
A short while later, the door to the conference room not far away opened, and a group of people came out.
Meng Yao spotted Fang Huaixu immediately. He was surrounded by a crowd of people, standing tall and with a cold expression.
When the people around him brought up a topic, he chuckled, and the people around him quickly followed suit with a smile.
Unlike his gentlemanly elegance at home, Fang Huaixu's brows carried an oppressive and superior air she had never seen before—a confident, relaxed, and unyielding sharpness that suggested he was in complete control.
Chen Jie walked over to him and said something. Fang Huaixu looked up and shifted his gaze to the direction of the rest area, where he met her eyes in the lounge.
She clearly felt the enormous, insurmountable gap between them: if it weren't for this mutually beneficial deal, they would have been two parallel lines.
She sat quietly and waited until the door was pushed open and Chen Jie appeared: "Miss Meng, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. This place is not convenient, let's go somewhere else."
She's probably going to try on wedding dresses.
Without much hesitation, Meng Yao got up and followed him. Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned her head, she saw Fang Huaixu and his group of executives standing at the door looking at them.
Meng Yao maintained an awkward eye contact with them, continuing to try to figure out what Fang Huaixu meant. She thought he wanted her to go with Chen Jie to another place to rest, so she explained, "Assistant Chen just told me to go somewhere else."
However, Fang Huaixu simply made a no-need gesture to Chen Jie, and under everyone's gaze, calmly introduced her to the people around him: "This is Meng Yao, Miss Meng."
He paused for a second, then added clearly and without beating around the bush: "My wife."
A note from the author:
Bonus chapter: [Lop-eared rabbit head]
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