blush
When Meng Qingze, who was holding a paintbrush, saw Yu Xi return, he couldn't wait to jump down from the chair that was taller than him and run to Yu Xi's side.
"Mother!"
"Brother Sanshui and I have prepared a surprise for you."
Yu Xi half-squatted, her gaze level with his, her brows slightly furrowed. "Brother Sanshui?"
While drawing stone dolls with Meng Qingze, Chen Miao introduced himself and his job title.
Meng Qingze, with her short legs, took hurried steps, pulling her hand and leading her inside. "Yes, he is Brother Sanshui."
Chen Miao stood up in response, pulled back the chair, and smiled calmly, "You're back."
"Mmm." Yu Xi responded, and Meng Qingze continued to pull him towards the table. He pointed to the unfinished stone doll on the table, "Mom, this doll is a gift from Brother Sanshui to you."
"But we haven't finished drawing it yet."
Yu Xi walked over and examined the doll. It was her favorite Hello Kitty design, but there was a tear in the hem of its skirt, just like the one she kept on her bedside table.
The coloring wasn't finished yet, but three lines of blush had already been applied to the doll's cheeks.
Upon seeing this, Yu Xi was startled. Applying blush to the doll was a technique taught to her by Meng Chou. Meng Chou knew she liked Hello Kitty and had bought her many related dolls. Before giving them to her each time, he would apply this blush to the doll.
"Zeze, did you draw these on the doll's face?" she asked, pointing to the mark, feeling a strange pang of pain in her heart.
Meng Qingze said in her childish voice, "Mommy, this isn't my drawing. Zeze drew her little dress."
“That was drawn by Sanshui. He said that drawing it this way would make the doll look cuter.”
A chill ran down Yu Xi's spine. Meng Chou had said the same thing to her before, and she remembered it clearly. Every time she received a doll from him, it would have this kind of blush applied to its cheeks. She asked curiously, "Why do you always put this kind of blush on the dolls?"
Meng Chou: "Because drawing it this way makes the doll look cuter."
"Don't you remember anything someone said before?"
Yu Xi raised her hand and tapped his head with the doll, "When did I ever say such a thing? Did your girlfriend before you met me teach you to say that?"
Meng Chou suddenly became serious, staring into her glasses, "Besides you, I've never had a girlfriend. Xiaoyu, no matter the future or the past, the one I've always loved is you."
Yu Xi was stunned, touched by his sudden confession, but still wanted to tease him, "Okay, whether in life or in death, you must only love me."
"I will." He lowered his head and kissed Yu Xi's nose, a light, fleeting kiss, filled with longing and infatuation.
What he said came true.
No one had thought about what the future would hold.
But Meng Chou really did what he said he would do.
Yu Xi began to have doubts about the person in front of her. A series of coincidences occurred one after another. Although Chen Miao had explained that he and Meng Chou were friends, even the best of friends would not explain the details of their love affair in such detail.
Taking advantage of Chen Miao's inattention, she grabbed his wrist. He did not resist and let Yu Xi roll up his sleeve, exposing his well-defined right forearm.
Yu Xi carefully examined his wrist and the back of his hand. After seeing that there were no marks, she quickly let go of him and said, "Sorry, I just wanted to confirm something."
I want to confirm if you are really him!
The disappointment in her eyes was fleeting; her eyelashes drooped, and her silver-rimmed glasses gleamed with a cold white light, as she tried to hide her sadness.
"It's okay." Chen Miao leaned closer to her and whispered, "Actually, sister, if you want to see it next time, I can come by myself."
Yu Xi pushed him away, glanced away, and dared not look at those glasses again. Her cheeks flushed, and the sadness and disappointment she had just felt vanished in an instant, replaced by the pounding of her heart.
With such an innocent-looking face, saying such things would make anyone hesitate.
Meng Yun simply draped her suit jacket over her forearm and quietly watched him put on a good show.
He knew why Yu Xi had suddenly lifted Chen Miao's sleeve to look at his wrist and the back of his hand. Meng Chou had a blue butterfly-shaped birthmark on the back of his right hand near his wrist.
She suspected that the person in front of her was Meng Chou in disguise.
That's ridiculous. The person is already dead, how could he possibly be alive and standing in front of Yu Xi again?
After all, he witnessed Meng Chou die with his own eyes, and that accident was nothing more than him using his mother's hand to kill someone.
"Chen Miao, why are you still staying at someone else's house?" Meng Yun said irritably, but because Meng Qingze was still there, he swallowed back any harsh words.
Chen Miao smiled and stepped forward, "Then it may really not be to Mr. Meng's liking. I'm afraid I'll have to live here and work with Mr. Yu from now on."
"President Meng, you can just call me Manager Chen."
The tense atmosphere was ignited at the slightest provocation, and neither of them was willing to back down.
Meng Yun sneered, "Some people really don't know their own limitations."
“That’s still better than President Meng being a clingy pest.” Chen Miao’s sharp gaze fell on him, and his face darkened. “I think President Meng has a family, right? Coming here all the time, people who don’t know the situation might think that President Meng has been kicked out of his home.”
"Heh—" Meng Yun walked around him, and as they brushed past each other, he deliberately lingered for a few seconds. "Don't blame me for not advising you to stay away from Xiao Yu."
Bah! He calls her "sister-in-law" to her face, but he calls her that behind her back. What filthy things is he thinking?
Chen Miao's arm veins bulged as she turned her head to stare at his back, cursing inwardly.
"Mommy, the doll is almost finished. It's a gift from Zeze and Sanshui to you. Do you like it, Mommy?" Meng Qingze looked at Yu Xi expectantly, her little hand holding onto her loose hair.
Yu Xi sat beside him, carefully looking at the stone doll, her emotions overflowing, "Of course, Mommy likes it very much."
"Brother Sanshui, let's finish drawing the rest together, okay?"
Chen Miao pulled out a chair next to Meng Qingze and sat down, picking up a paintbrush. "Okay, Zeze, look, draw a circle like this here, and like this here."
"What a beautiful heart!" Meng Qingze's eyes widened. He took Yu Xi's hand and handed her a paintbrush that hadn't been used yet. "Mom, draw one too, and Zeze, draw one too. That way, all our hearts will be on it."
"Okay." Yu Xi, who doted on him, picked up a paintbrush and drew a heart, just like Chen Miao.
It was a very harmonious scene, just like the ending of a TV series, where the family sat together happily, the husband and wife deeply in love, accompanying their child and living a wonderful life together.
While Yu Xi was drawing, Chen Miao looked up at Meng Yun with a gaze that held a hint of disdain and a sense of triumph, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Meng Yun gripped the glass tightly in her hand, wishing she could crush it, but the hatred in her heart was forcibly suppressed by reason.
He harbored hatred for every man who appeared around Yu Xi, regardless of who they were. A near-mad idea was etched into his mind: he wanted to possess her exclusively.
Even if she's married, even if she has a child now, he can accept it.
As long as it's Yu Xi, no matter what kind of person she becomes or what kind of experiences she has, this thought and desire are imprinted in his heart, becoming an indelible mark.
"Sister-in-law, Jin Xuexiao's crisis is temporarily over, but I heard that the fabric supplier for this clothing is having some problems." Meng Yun shook her water glass, the water swirling around with the movement.
Yu Xi looked up, her mind completely absorbed in painting the stone doll. She said softly, "Zeze, why don't you go to your room and finish the rest of your painting? Mom has some work to discuss with Uncle and the others."
"Okay." Meng Qingze nodded obediently, and as the housekeeper carried her away, she turned back and said, "Then Mom must come and see the doll that Zeze drew later."
Yu Xi: "Okay, Mom will definitely go."
After everyone had gone up to the second floor, Meng Yun continued, "If the raw materials cannot be delivered within the specified time, the garment production will be delayed, and the progress will fall far behind the competitors."
Yu Xi was well aware of this. The silk supplier that had been agreed upon was unable to provide the raw materials within the agreed time due to the rainstorm and lack of manpower.
The manufacturers they had agreed to meet were anxiously waiting for that batch of silk. They couldn't start production until it arrived, and all of this was wasting time.
Whoever produces and launches clothing first, and occupies the market, will have absolute dominance; falling behind will only lead to being beaten.
K Company, which was nominally collaborating with Jin Xuexiao to sell summer clothing, turned a deaf ear to this matter and only kept urging Yu Xi to speed up the process.
"I have already sent someone to urge and investigate this matter."
Meng Yun's gaze fell on Chen Miao, and she said with ill intent, "I say, Manager Chen, why don't we entrust this matter to you? It would be a good opportunity to showcase your personal abilities."
Meng Yun didn't give Chen Miao a chance to speak, and continued, "I think it's just a small matter like urging the supplier, Manager Chen can handle it, right?"
They so easily pinned the blame on him for something that the company's specialists had tried to find out about several times without success.
Chen Miao knew that Meng Yun wanted to use this opportunity to drive him away, but unlike how she dealt with Yu Xi's suitors in the past, she did not use her usual methods.
Yu Xi deflected his request, saying, "He just took office; he should just focus on managing things at the villa. I'll figure out a way to handle this."
Chen Miao readily agreed, "I think I can give it a try. It's my job to help my sister."
He avoided Yu Xi's suggestive gaze and directly continued Meng Yun's words.
"I'm really looking forward to your performance, Manager Chen." Meng Yun said almost word by word, raising the glass in her hand as if it contained baijiu (Chinese liquor), and drank it all in one gulp.
The supplier of silk has a factory located in a rural area on the outskirts of a third- or fourth-tier city. A few days ago, the factory was destroyed due to heavy rain. To help them resume production, we have to go there in person.
Chen Miao had to go on a business trip.
This journey undoubtedly provided Meng Yun with many opportunities.
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