Release
Meng Jun paused, then remained silent, simply pouring her a glass of warm water and replacing the black tea in front of her. "Drinking too much tea can cause palpitations; it's better to drink more water."
"It's best if you don't meddle too much in my affairs." Yu Xi pressed her slender fingertips against the saucer of the cup and pulled the teacup closer to herself. "It's just a cup of tea, what's the big deal?"
"Also, don't change the subject." She answered crisply, giving Meng Yun no chance to escape.
Meng Yun's gaze fell on her, and she felt that the person in front of her was somewhat unfamiliar, different from the Yu Xi in her memory who was full of hope and optimism for everything.
His eyes dimmed instantly, and his voice was low, "But no matter what, Zeze is your child, and he is innocent."
"Can't you try to love him? Try to accept him?"
As she got emotional, Meng Yun sat up straight and became serious. "I think you're willing to bring him back because you want to try to love him. You need to give yourself some time."
"You said you hate seeing his eyes because they look a lot like my brother's, right?"
"What you don't want to see is thinking about him, not the child himself. He's also pitiful; he lost his father at birth and can't afford to lose someone who loves him too."
"Enough!"
Yu Xi grabbed the fruit plate from the table and slammed it at him. Meng Yun didn't dodge and took the hit squarely, blood instantly streaming from his forehead and down to his eyes.
The glass fruit plate shattered instantly, tiny fragments scattering around him like ripples on a lake after a pebble has been thrown in.
Her emotions were running high, and anger filled her heart. Yu Xi lost control and wanted to destroy the person in front of her, to make him stop.
Hearing the commotion in the living room, the housekeeper and the maid rushed over and separated the two, causing a brief chaos.
"President Yu, Xiao Jun, let's talk this out."
"That's right, we're all family, what could be so difficult that it warrants violence?"
"Not really, not really."
Yu Xi pushed aside the aunt who was blocking her way and yelled at her, "Get out of here, all of you! This is between him and me, it's none of your business!"
"Did you all hear that?" she repeated when they remained motionless.
It wasn't until Meng Yun raised her hand to signal the steward who was holding her that she said, "I'm fine, you can all go and get back to work."
"It was I who made my sister-in-law angry; I should be the one to blame."
"The first-aid kit is here." An observant woman quietly brought the first-aid kit over, walked up to Meng Yun, whispered a few words, and then left with the others.
Only Yu Xi and Meng Yun remained in the living room, locked in a stalemate for a long time without saying a word.
Meng Yun seemed oblivious to the pain, letting the blood from her forehead slide down her cheek and drip onto the light gray patterned floor.
Yu Xi grabbed a strand of long hair that was falling across her cheek with one hand and irritably pulled it back. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She never used to get so angry that she would fight with someone. How did she end up like this now?
She looked up at Meng Yun, tears welling in her eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
Yu Xi repeated the apology over and over again, frantically apologizing, "I'm so sorry..."
There was no hint of blame in Meng Yun's eyes. Instead, she asked with concern, "Xiao Yu, are you still angry with me? If you are, hit me a couple more times."
He approached the trembling Yu Xi step by step, raising his hand to brush away the long hair that was wet with tears and stuck to one side of her face, but remembering his current status, he silently lowered his hand.
"I went too far. It was my fault. I shouldn't have forced you to accept Zeze now."
When he mentioned Meng Qingze's name, he was still mindful of Yu Xi's emotions, afraid that he might upset her again.
"It's not your fault, it's my problem." Yu Xi's emotions were like the weather in July, changing too quickly, fluctuating so much that even she was afraid of them.
She also had a bottle of tranquilizers prescribed by the hospital in her skirt pocket. Clutching the bottle through the fabric of her skirt, she wondered if she had become the crazy widow that outsiders talked about.
"Little..." Meng Yun wanted to continue calling her by the name he used during their student days, but before he could say it, he changed his mind and said, "Sister-in-law, if you don't want to see me right now, then I'll be leaving."
"I'll come see Zeze again tomorrow at noon."
Meng Yun turned around dejectedly, bent down to pick up the suit jacket he had casually placed on the sofa, and before he had taken two steps, he heard someone call out to him from behind.
"Wait!" Yu Xi took two steps forward and reached out to grab the hem of his suit jacket draped over his arm. "Don't go yet!"
"At least treat the head injury first."
Meng Yun turned around happily, and before Yu Xi could continue speaking, she obediently sat back down on the sofa and opened the first-aid kit. "Okay, then sister-in-law, please help me apply the medicine. I can't see."
In this way, this scene played out again in front of Yu Xi.
It was as if she had returned to that afternoon, when she met Meng Yun being bullied. She would have stepped forward and mustered up her courage to help him drive away the people who were bullying him, and she would have bandaged his wounds just like she was doing now.
At that time, Meng Chou was still alive. He would accompany her to the playground around dinner time, walking one after the other, chatting casually about what had happened that day.
Or they might be discussing a math problem that they both find difficult, and if they just look up, they can see boys on the basketball court skipping meals to play basketball.
And there are quite a few people like them who take advantage of the time when the teachers are not around to quietly come and take a walk on the playground.
"What major do you want to study in the future? Which university do you want to go to?" Meng Chou suddenly asked. The evening breeze lifted the hair on his forehead, and his sincere eyes looked at her.
Yu Xi lowered her head somewhat shyly, took two quick steps to overtake him, and said into the wind, "I don't know which university I want to go to, but I want to study fashion design, design pretty dresses, and have my own clothing brand."
“In the past, when we were in the orphanage, apart from the clothes donated by some volunteers and wealthy people, we wore all the old clothes that were given to us for warmth. I have always envied those children who can go to the clothing store with their parents to buy clothes and go shopping. I feel that they must be very happy, having new clothes to wear and their parents to accompany them.”
As Yu Xi spoke, her nose tingled with emotion, and she strode forward.
Meng Chou listened quietly, and then said in a very soft voice, "It will definitely come true."
"What did you say?" Yu Xi turned around, put her hands behind her back, her ponytail swaying in the wind, and walked backwards as she asked him.
"It's nothing." Looking at the girl's innocent smile, Meng Chou made an unwavering decision in his heart at that moment.
Yu Xi pressed further, "There must be something, they just don't want me to know."
"I said the wind is really strong today," Meng Chou shouted, cupping his hands in a megaphone shape.
Yu Xi pretended not to hear and asked, "What?"
"You definitely heard that!"
"No, the wind is too strong, I can't hear you!" Yu Xi said with a mischievous grin, mimicking his expression.
Thinking of this, Yu Xi smiled unconsciously, and pressed the cotton swab in her hand harder, touching Meng Yun's forehead where it had been hit. The latter winced in pain, but didn't cry out.
When she came to her senses, she saw Meng Yun frowning. She quickly softened her movements and apologized softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Meng Yun didn't respond, but changed the subject, asking, "Is there something you've been thinking about? Can you tell me?"
Yu Xi's brow twitched, surprised by his perceptiveness. "How did you know I was thinking about something?"
"Because I think the only thing that can make you happy, besides what happened in the past, is nothing else." Meng Yun said bluntly, no longer caring about anything else, and asked, "Are you thinking about my brother?"
Yu Xi paused as she was about to unscrew the medicine bottle. Her little scheme had been guessed, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.
But she only paused for two seconds before continuing to wipe the wound on his forehead. "You guessed right."
This time, Yu Xi didn't hide her thoughts anymore, but openly admitted them. She then asked, "Why did you mention your brother? Aren't you afraid I'll lose control of my emotions and go crazy again?"
"I'm not afraid." Meng Yun stared at her intently, like a stray puppy that had finally been taken in again and was trying its best to be cute and beg its owner to keep it.
"I think as long as it makes you happy, I'm willing to do anything, no matter what the price is." Taking this opportunity, Meng Yun finally said everything he had been holding back. These were words he had kept hidden in his heart for a long time, words he had wanted to say but had never dared to utter.
He's the kind of person who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
But with Yu Xi, he wanted to receive love, yet he was always cautious, afraid that his transgression would result in never seeing her again.
He struggles with this identity, knowing full well that it's impossible, yet he can't let go.
Sometimes, he wondered if Meng Chou had never existed in this world, would he have been able to win her favor?
But the result was clearly not what he wanted.
"I think you should go back now," Yu Xi said as she finished bandaging his wounds, signaling his departure.
As Meng Yun stood up, she asked, "Can I still come tomorrow?"
“Sure!” Yu Xi answered him readily.
As he reached the door, a thought suddenly flashed through Meng Yun's mind—an idea that seemed absurd to him yet allowed him to spend more time with Yu Xi.
He even felt he was crazy to do this, to recall someone he had hated since childhood.
"If I could tell you about Meng Chou's childhood, could I stay here a little longer each day?" he asked after hesitating for a long time.
Yu Xi nodded as if she had grasped at a lifeline, "Of course, I also want to hear his childhood stories."
"He left before he could even tell me, and he left in such a hurry." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. Seeing this, Meng Yun was even more reluctant to leave and wanted to go forward to comfort her, but then he saw her turn around and hurriedly go upstairs.
"See you tomorrow then." He stared at Yu Xi's slender back and said to himself.
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