Chapter 16
The next morning, the morning light shone through the clear window onto Meng Xi's bedside, and melodious birdsong came from the branches of the large trees in the villa's courtyard.
Meng Xi slowly woke up, covered her face and yawned, then sat up in bed. She stretched her body sleepily and gave a big yawn.
I slept soundly without any dreams last night.
The alarm clock by the bed shows it's 6:30 in the morning.
After washing up and having some breakfast, it's time to go to school.
Today is Saturday. After evening self-study, we have a day off on Sunday.
Meng Xi thought to herself that it would be perfect to go find Lu Yu after evening self-study.
Even if things don't go well, she'll have a day to process her feelings.
However, when Lu Yu was mentioned, Meng Xi felt like she had forgotten something...
She suppressed her strange feelings and obediently made the bed. Her gaze casually swept to the phone on the bedside table, which was half-covered, and then she suddenly remembered that she had added Lu Yu on WeChat last night!
Meng Xi quickly picked up her phone and, sure enough, saw a pop-up notification on the screen.
You have a new message.
She nervously swiped to open the message and saw that Lu Yu had already accepted her friend request.
It was late last night, and I only sent one simple and direct message.
【？】
That is quite in line with Lu Yu's consistent personality and style.
Cold and aloof, she doesn't want to talk to anyone, and even typing an extra word feels like a favor.
Looking at the question mark, Meng Xi hesitated for a moment.
Did Lu Yu feel that his sudden act of adding friends was very offensive?
If someone had a childhood like his, it would be hard for them to trust anyone, right?
It seems a bit impolite of her to add me as a friend so abruptly.
It's best to explain things properly and keep a certain distance from him. When dealing with someone who is wary, avoiding excessive closeness and aggressiveness will make them feel more comfortable.
She typed in the WeChat chat: "Sorry to bother you, Lu Yu. I noticed you haven't been back to the Lu family home these past few days. Are you in a bad mood? I'll come find you, let's talk."
After hitting her, she reflected on it herself.
Something seems off.
Are you in a bad mood? I'll come find you.
It looks ambiguous no matter how you look at it...
It makes me seem very unserious!
They had just agreed not to bother each other, so Lu Yu shouldn't like this.
Since learning about Lu Yu's past, Meng Xi felt her patience with him had increased infinitely.
I was no longer afraid; instead, I felt sorry for them.
Meng Xi tried to analyze it and concluded that all his indifference and irritability actually stemmed from his inner lack and insecurity.
But as time went on, this feeling became ingrained in his very being, and he probably no longer felt that way about himself.
After repeatedly deleting and rewriting the words in the chat box, Meng Xi finally made up her mind and typed: 【Lu Yu, hello. I'm so sorry to bother you. May I ask where you live? I need to talk to you.】
It conveyed the purpose of the visit without appearing intimate.
We'll see how Lu Yu replies later.
If he directly refuses to communicate, then so be it; she'll just have to think of another way.
If she agrees to communicate, then she should go and have a good talk with him.
Sometimes, it's more effective to talk about conflicts with outsiders than to discuss them with family members.
Lu Yu comes from a special family and has this kind of personality. No one has ever been able to comfort him since he was a child. He has to swallow all his grievances by himself, which must have been very hard for him.
After sending the message, Meng Xi turned off her phone and put it back on the bedside table. After eating breakfast, she went to school.
Four Seasons Hotel, Qingwu City Center.
Top floor suite.
The first rays of dawn shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a soft, diffused light on Lu Yu's aloof profile.
Lu Yu, wearing the clothes from last night, was curled up on the sofa, his eyes slightly dark, and he was fast asleep.
"Ding-dong~!"
The phone notification sound rang out abruptly, unusually clear in the quiet suite, startling him awake.
Lu Yu immediately picked up his phone and unlocked it. He saw Meng Xi's reply: [Hi Lu Yu, I'm so sorry to bother you. Where do you live? I need to talk to you.]
His slender fingers stroked Meng Xi's profile picture on the screen a few times, unconsciously tapping his phone.
Meng Xi's reply could be described as very formulaic.
It's like the official greeting you hear from customer service representatives on the phone, which you see everywhere in everyday life.
She said, "Where do you live? I need to talk to you."
Does this mean he will be able to see Meng Xi?
And it was she who took the initiative to come.
Despite needing a favor, Lu Yu's mood improved slightly.
His forehead, which had been throbbing from staying up all night, was still throbbing with pain, and he was anxiously waiting for her reply. But when he actually saw her reply, all his headache and irritability vanished.
Just like in early spring when the ice and snow melt, the spring breeze is warm, and all things revive.
Lu Yu smiled faintly, his finger tapping the chat box as he typed: 【Four Seasons Hotel, Qingwu City, Room 1701】
He held his phone and waited for a while, but still received no reply. Looking at the time, he saw it was Saturday and remembered he had class today.
She has excellent grades, so she definitely wouldn't bring a cell phone to school.
Lu Yu gave a self-deprecating smile, casually put his phone into his pants pocket, and went into the bathroom to wash up.
While washing his face with cold water, he suddenly remembered what Shen Kangsheng had said that night.
"Brother Yu, a good student like Meng Xi would definitely like someone with good grades..."
"The two of them need to be able to help each other improve."
"Their personalities don't match either, so they're not suitable for us, are they?"
"Even if you catch up, there will be plenty of people taking advantage of the situation in university after you've been in a long-distance relationship..."
Lu Yu's expression hardened.
I recalled that night when Meng Xi stood at my door with the documents in her arms.
Slender and delicate, timid and shy.
It's as if a gust of wind could blow it away.
He scoffed lightly, looked up at himself in the mirror, his expression indifferent and arrogant.
Did they really think he paid money and used connections to get into No. 1 Middle School?
Lu Yu grabbed his coat from the sofa, casually put it on, picked up his car keys, walked to the underground garage, and drove his sports car towards the Lu family home.
No one knows Lu Yu's actual academic level, but he knows it himself.
He may not want to study, but if he really tried, who could be as smart as him?
As Lu Yu turned the steering wheel, his expression grew colder as he thought of Xu Baizhu at home.
Mother?
So many people in this world deserve to be mothers.
She, Xu Baizhu, is the least worthy of him.
-
At the doorway at dusk.
Shen Kangsheng and his group came from inside. The young men and women, who had been having a wild night, were still in good spirits, their faces beaming with a drunken, carefree joy and excitement.
Choosing to skip school and go out to play during the years when they should be studying seems to be a rebellious and cool thing in their eyes, as if doing adult things means they have really grown up.
A few boys came up behind him with grins, put their arms around Kang Sheng's shoulders, and said with cigarettes in their mouths, "Brother Sheng, shall we go play mahjong?"
Just as Shen Kangsheng was about to laugh, a group of people passed by, and one of the young men hesitated and said, "Brother Wei, are you really going to make a move on the young girl?"
Liu Wei sneered: "Otherwise? I've used every dirty trick in the book for Luo Ying. If Meng Xi's face is ruined and she still can't win back Lu Yu, then she's just not destined for it!"
“Brother Wei, the key point is that if you disfigure her, you'll go to jail! Besides, the main issue is that Lu Yu dumped her, right? If you really want revenge, if you really like Luo Ying, then you should target Lu Yu... instead of hitting that young girl…”
Liu Wei got angry and slapped the brim of his baseball cap. "You're so damn talkative! If you hit Lu Yu, wouldn't Luo Ying be heartbroken? If you hurt her, wouldn't she never talk to me again?"
The little red-haired boy who had been hit rubbed his head, looking aggrieved.
He secretly grumbled to himself.
I've never seen such a simp before. Even he was moved, but the girl didn't even give him a second glance.
The smile vanished from Shen Kangsheng's eyes. His face turned cold as he strode forward, grabbed Liu Wei, and said, "Do you know Meng Xi and Lu Yu?"
Liu Wei was already furious, and being suddenly pulled by a man made him even angrier. He cursed and said, "All you ever do is meddle in other people's business, huh? Get lost!"
Ignoring Liu Wei's curses, Shen Kangsheng grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into a small alley. Shen Kangsheng was much taller than him, and Liu Wei had no chance to resist: "Come here, I have something to tell you."
Unable to resist, Liu Wei was dragged to a secluded corner. Shen Kangsheng's eyes darkened slightly as he asked, "I just heard that you were planning to make a move against Meng Xi?"
Liu Wei, with his neck stiff, sneered: "What, you're Meng Xi's protector? So what if I hit a woman?!"
Shen Kang Sheng smiled indifferently: "Let's get straight to the point, shall we cooperate?"
The moment he saw Liu Wei, he knew the opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.
If you want Lu Yu to suffer the same pain he did back then, cooperating with Liu Wei is the most suitable option.
Isn't Meng Xi a good student? She's about to take the college entrance exam, and Lu Yu likes her.
If Lu Yu were to see the girl he likes seriously injured and hospitalized, unable to take the college entrance examination, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
In the end, he was the one who caused it all. What kind of expression would he have?
It's going to be amazing...
Shen Kangsheng knew best that physical pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart, which was the hardest to heal.
He still vividly remembers the pain he felt when Xia Yueyi died in front of him.
Shen Kangsheng's eyes were as black as a bottomless abyss, and the way he looked at Liu Wei gave Liu Wei a sudden chill.
He shuddered, his eyes filled with wariness as he looked at Shen Kang Sheng: "What benefits would I get from cooperating with you?"
Shen Kangsheng smirked: "If you want to make a move on Meng Xi, you'd better know where she lives first, right? I'm sure I can tell you the best place to make a move from No. 1 High School to her house.
He scoffed, "I've been following Lu Yu for so long, I have quite a few connections. If I just have a few brothers follow and gather information tonight, it'll definitely be faster than you. Besides, if you don't want to take responsibility, you can cooperate with me. You can just cooperate and reap the benefits without lifting a finger, isn't that better?"
Liu Wei hesitated for a moment, clearly tempted, and then asked, "What grudge do you have against Lu Yu that you want to harm Meng Xi?"
Shen Kangsheng chuckled lightly and said, "Isn't that the same as you, brother, with women?"
Liu Wei nodded knowingly, and after thinking it over, he felt that this cooperation was worthwhile. He immediately changed his expression, giving off a look that said, "From now on, you're my brother." He said, "Then let's add each other on WeChat and contact each other directly?"
He took out a cigarette and handed it to Shen Kangsheng, who took it, tilted his head, and lit it. That was how their friendly relationship was established.
After Liu Wei left, Shen Kangsheng quickly changed his expression, walked back to the original spot, and shouted at his former brothers, looking indignant: "Didn't you guys just hear what those guys were saying?"
"Meng Xi! You all don't know, Brother Yu really likes her. This is the first time in all these years, right? Yesterday, Brother Yu messaged me saying that this woman doesn't know what's good for her and that we should teach her a lesson. Those guys just now happened to know her, so this saves us trouble."
Shen Kangsheng patted his chest indignantly: "In a few days, you all wait for my notice, come over and teach this woman a lesson about how arrogant she really is!"
He clicked his tongue twice after he finished speaking, and smiled meaningfully: "If we make Brother Yu happy, how could we not get our share of the benefits?"
The underlings naturally trusted Shen Kangsheng, with whom they worked day and night, and one of them immediately shouted in agreement, "That's right! Let's teach her a lesson!"
"Brother Sheng is so thoughtful!"
...
Sunset and starlight shift.
A day flies by.
At 9:30 p.m., the moon hung silently in the distant sky.
The silvery moonlight flowed silently onto the ground.
Looking up, the night sky is filled with countless stars of all sizes, twinkling with scattered light.
Meng Xi packed her schoolbag, boarded the night bus, and returned to the Lu family home.
Not far away, a silent figure took out a phone to locate the location and whispered a voice message: "Brother Sheng, the Meng family is quite rich. They've moved into a villa."
She put her schoolbag down and came out of her room just as Uncle Gu walked in, smiling gently as he said, "Xi Xi is back. Want some late-night snack?"
Meng Xi shook her head, politely declining Uncle Gu's offer.
She was about to pack up and head out to find Lu Yu; time was running out, and it wouldn't be safe if she stayed any longer. She held her phone in her hand, and just as she was about to leave, Uncle Gu sighed, "The young master came back once today and then went out again. He's not going to school, and he's not coming home. It's so worrying."
Did you go home for a while?
Meng Xi noted down the information and gently reassured him, "Don't worry, Lu Yu is an adult, so you don't need to worry too much about his personal safety."
The atmosphere was heavy, but she wanted to lighten things up for Uncle Gu, so she smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Uncle Gu, I'm going out to find a classmate. I'll be back in a little while. Don't worry about me, I'll be right back!"
Meng Xi boarded the bus to the city center, carrying a small cloth shoulder bag.
It's getting late, and there aren't many people on the bus from Lujia to the city center.
Two or three people sat there sparsely.
She found a seat in the back row, took out her phone, and politely sent a message to Lu Yu.
I'm off.
Lu Yu, who was in the hotel, received the message and put down his documents, staring at those four words for a long time.
After thinking it over, he slowly replied: "How did you get here?"
Meng Xi replied more crisply: "[Public bus.]"
An undisguised anticipation welled up in Lu Yu's cold eyes. He locked the screen, stood up, grabbed his coat from the bedside table, put it on, and prepared to leave.
The evening breeze was slightly cool. Lu Yu opened the window, and the wind from the high floor whistled past, carrying a hint of coolness.
He was slightly tempted, took a black shirt from the closet, and took the elevator downstairs.
The bus stops in the city center weren't far apart. Lu Yu, holding his shirt, deliberately stood a little further away from the bus stop sign, to prevent Meng Xi from seeing him as soon as she got off the bus.
If he were to wait for him at the bus stop, Meng Xi would definitely find it... rather creepy.
I'll stay even further away from him; I probably never want to have anything to do with this lunatic again.
Lu Yu knew very well that this was not something he would have done before.
In the past, it was always girls who brought him clothes.
After delivering the clothes, he still felt annoyed and threw them on the ground before turning around and leaving.
I've long heard that love can make people blind.
Unexpectedly, he preferred to be blind even though he was already blind.
Willingly, and happily.
Lu Yu chuckled lightly, a self-deprecating laugh, as he watched the buses coming and going in the distance.
Meng Xi was drowsy on the bus. She huddled in a corner at the back of the bus, her head resting against the closed window.
I don't know when, but a middle-aged man sat down next to me. He wore glasses, was dressed in dark blue, and was slightly overweight.
He kept staring at Meng Xi, his hand secretly moving over her body.
Meng Xi sensed something was wrong, but at first she didn't take it too seriously. She opened her eyes and glanced outside, only to find that they were about to arrive at their stop.
Then she turned her head and found a man sitting next to her, who had been sitting alone before.
Seeing that she was awake, the middle-aged man immediately withdrew his hand and placed it on his knee, looking calmly ahead with an honest and unassuming appearance.
Meng Xi's heart skipped a beat, and she shrank back slightly, asking warily, "...What did you just do?"
The middle-aged man looked completely innocent and deliberately raised his voice, shouting, "What's wrong with this young lady? I didn't do anything wrong!"
The few people on the bus turned around to look.
The driver shouted impatiently, "Everyone, please have some self-respect when you're out and about, and don't do anything shameful!"
Upon hearing the driver's warning, Meng Xi's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she felt a little scared.
With so many seats available, why did he have to sit here? And I just felt something strange on my leg...
Meng Xi cautiously observed him, noticing that he was much fatter and taller than her.
Still squeezed inside, clearly at a disadvantage, he said, "Excuse me, I need to get out."
The man gave an "oh," spread his legs apart, creating a narrow gap, and said nonchalantly, "Then you can get out."
Even with her gentle nature, Meng Xi felt extremely humiliated and disgusted at this moment.
She immediately got up, squeezed out of her seat, and stood in the middle of the back door.
But just now, when she passed by him, her calf was still touched.
Meng Xi knew that the disparity in strength was too great for her to force her way through, but the man shamelessly followed her, leering at her.
"Young lady, what are you doing out here alone so late at night?"
The car came to an abrupt stop, the door opened, and Meng Xi got out as if fleeing.
The man got off the bus shortly after and followed her. When he reached the back of the bus stop sign, he reached out and said, "Little girl, don't run away—"
Meng Xi was so scared that tears were about to come out. When she turned to look at the man, a look of despair appeared in her eyes.
"Thump!"
Meng Xi bumped her face hard against someone, and instinctively looked up. Her eyes, filled with fear and surprise, immediately met Lu Yu's gaze.
Lu Yu's face immediately turned extremely pale, and his entire aura became furious. He wrapped his long arm around Meng Xi and pulled her into his arms to protect her.
He kicked the man in front of him solidly, sending him flying two meters away.
Tears welled in Meng Xi's eyes, her whole body trembled slightly, and she leaned helplessly against Lu Yu's chest.
A cool evening breeze blew, and the chatter of tourists filled her ears. She seemed to hear Lu Yu's barely audible voice, a sound that was both a sigh and a gentle coaxing: "Meng Xi, I'm here."
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