Chapter 37, Section 37: "Chen Sulin loves you to death."...
Meng Ran dismissed Jiang Yuqing's comments with a smile.
After replying to Chen Sulin's message, the two-person set meal they ordered was served.
Just as Meng Ran picked up her cutlery, she heard Jiang Yuqing across from her say, "By the way, before we start eating, I'd like to announce some good news."
Jiang Yuqing smiled and said cheerfully, "I'm finally free from this misery! I don't have to work for that skinflint anymore!"
Her tone was so casual that Meng Ran paused, her chopsticks stilling, and it took her a beat to realize: "You resigned?"
Jiang Yuqing: "Yeah! How about it? Isn't it amazing news? What's with that expression?"
Meng Ran: "I'm just... a little surprised."
This news shouldn't have surprised her so much. In fact, Jiang Yuqing had complained to Meng Ran many times about her dissatisfaction with her current job and had mentioned wanting to quit more than once.
Meng Ran was still surprised that she took action so quickly.
After all, there are plenty of people in life who complain every day about dropping out of school, quitting their jobs, or getting divorced, but most of them just keep talking about it.
Jiang Yuqing shrugged: "Actually, I didn't expect it to be so fast. How should I put it, it just happened to be the right time."
Meng Ran: "What happened?"
Jiang Yuqing raised an eyebrow: "You're just unhappy with your job and don't want to do it anymore. Ranran, weren't you planning to start your own business? I've already made up my mind, I'm going to work for you, Boss Meng, from now on!"
Meng Ran hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, then Jiang Yuqing burst out laughing: "Hahaha, look how scared you are! Don't worry, I was just joking. Don't feel pressured."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuqing cleared her throat: "Actually, Zhou Bapi told me a couple of days ago that he was going to give this year's promotion opportunity to another male colleague in the same group who is not as capable or as successful as me."
"That swindler Zhou is making empty promises, saying I'll be given priority for promotion next year. I don't believe a damn thing!"
“I was already unhappy with my job, and I recently finished paying off my mortgage and had some savings, so I resigned in a fit of anger.”
Meng Ran opened her mouth, words of comfort and righteous indignation swirling in her throat before finally settling into two words: "Congratulations."
Jiang Yuqing smiled and said, "Thank you."
Meng Ran: "So you've officially resigned now?"
Jiang Yuqing: Not yet, but soon. I've been working overtime every day for the past two years, and I've accumulated a lot of time off and annual leave. I'll leave once I've used them all. My savings are enough for me to live on for a while, so I'm not in a hurry to find a new job. I'll wait until I've rested enough.
Meng Ran said from the bottom of her heart, "It's great."
“That’s right,” Jiang Yuqing said. “After being so busy for so many years, I don’t know what to do when I suddenly have free time. Do you have any plans lately? Why don’t you invite me, a free person, to join you?”
Meng Ran thought for a moment: "Does assembling a cat tree count?"
"Sure!" Jiang Yuqing clapped her hands. "Speaking of which, I was just about to tell you. Have you ever considered creating an account?"
Meng Ran: "You mean the kind of self-media?"
Jiang Yuqing: "Yeah! I was thinking about this yesterday when I had nothing to do. If you're going to start assembling a cat tree, you can film the process, edit it, and use it as the first video on your account."
"I've even thought of a title for you: I'll recreate the cat castle my daughter drew at kindergarten in a 1:1 scale!"
Meng Ran's eyes lit up: "It does sound very plausible."
"Of course!" Jiang Yuqing proudly raised her chin. "All those years I spent working at the MCN company weren't for nothing, were they? Coming up with a video title is a piece of cake for me, right?"
Meng Ran: "Then I'll go buy the equipment in the next couple of days, and then—"
"No need, no need!" Jiang Yuqing said, "You can use mine. I was planning to create my own account and bought all sorts of equipment, but unfortunately I was too busy with work and couldn't get it done."
The two hit it off immediately and started discussing the video script, getting more and more excited as they talked.
Finally, Jiang Yuqing simply suggested, "How about I come to your house tomorrow and we take pictures together? Oh, by the way, your husband isn't home during the day, is he?"
Meng Ran chuckled: "The way you're saying it makes it sound like we're about to have an affair."
Jiang Yuqing seized the opportunity: "Then, would you like to steal my darling?"
After a few jokes, Meng Ran said seriously, "He shouldn't be here. He usually comes home at the same time as my daughter."
Jiang Yuqing: "Great, then we'll film the video during the day, and I'll go back when your daughter is almost out of school, so I won't have to see your husband."
...
On Monday morning, Jiang Yuqing arrived at the villa as promised.
As soon as she entered and changed her shoes, Jiang Yuqing looked around curiously.
Meng Ran found it amusing: "Didn't you say you'd been here a few times before?"
Jiang Yuqing: "Yes, but that was five or six years ago, and I've almost forgotten about it."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuqing gestured, "Come on, show me around! The last few times you came, you were pregnant, so I didn't feel comfortable letting you show me around for too long."
Meng Ran took Jiang Yuqing for a walk around the villa.
When they arrived at Meng Ran's room, Jiang Yuqing pointed to the lamp on the bedside table and said, "This is the wedding gift I gave you when you got married. It's been so many years, I would have forgotten about it if I hadn't seen it today."
Meng Ran suddenly realized, "No wonder, when I saw this lamp, I felt that its style was a bit different from the other furniture in the bedroom."
"What other gifts did you give me in the two years after we got married?" Meng Ran asked. "I didn't even know if you hadn't told me."
Jiang Yuqing: "Let me think... Oh right, later when you got pregnant, I gave you a teddy bear."
Meng Ran: "A teddy bear?"
Jiang Yuqing gestured with her hand: "Yes, it's about this big. Do you remember?"
Meng Ran tried hard to recall, but to no avail.
Jiang Yuqing: "That doll looks similar to the toys that children play with. Could it have been placed in your daughter's room and mixed up with other plush toys?"
The two went to Chen Miaoying's children's room.
Meng Ran looked around several times, carefully checking every compartment of the cabinet, but still couldn't find it.
"That's strange," Jiang Yuqing frowned. "If it's not here, where could it be? Did your husband throw it away?"
Meng Ran couldn't understand it either.
She had been to almost every part of the house during this time, but she didn't remember seeing a teddy bear anywhere.
Jiang Yuqing suggested, "Which room in your house do you visit the least? Since you have no recollection of it, it might be a room you rarely go to."
Meng Ran blinked slowly: "That might be... the master bedroom?"
Because she assumed the master bedroom was Chen Sulin's private space, she had only been inside once, and that was mostly spent in the walk-in closet.
Meng Ran quickly denied it again: "If it looked like a child's toy, it would be unlikely to be placed there."
Jiang Yuqing: "It's not necessarily true. Maybe it's in some corner of the master bedroom, and your husband and the housekeeper have forgotten about it."
"You've been looking for so long, why don't you go take a look? Just use the process of elimination. Or is it that your stingy husband won't let you into his room?"
Meng Ran: No, not at all.
Jiang Yuqing: "That solves it!"
Encouraged by Jiang Yuqing, the two arrived at the door of the master bedroom.
"I won't go in," Jiang Yuqing said. "I'll wait for you at the entrance."
Meng Ran nodded and pushed open the door to the master bedroom.
I was prepared to leave empty-handed, but when I went in, the first thing I saw was what looked like a doll on the headboard.
Meng Ran walked closer and saw that it really was a small brown bear, slightly larger than the palm of her hand, placed on the bedside table.
Her heart started racing for no apparent reason. Meng Ran carefully picked up the doll and walked out of the master bedroom.
Before Meng Ran could ask, Jiang Yuqing immediately said, "Yes, yes, yes! That's it! Amazing, Ranran, where did you find it?"
Meng Ran pursed her lips, hesitated for a second, and then lied as if possessed: "In a small corner of the dressing room."
Jiang Yuqing was so happy that she didn't notice her unusual expression: "That's great! I thought we couldn't find it!"
"Let me tell you," Jiang Yuqing said excitedly, "this doll has a mechanism inside that can record audio! I bought it specifically for this function! But I forgot how to operate it, wait a minute—"
Jiang Yuqing took out her phone: "I'll take a picture and search it to see if I can find any explanation or something."
Meng Ran said "okay," held up the doll for Jiang Yuqing to take a picture, and took the opportunity to examine the doll carefully in her hand.
Over the years, the edges of the doll have worn a little, but it is still quite clean overall.
"Found it!" Jiang Yuqing said, "There's a hidden button on the bear's tail. A short press plays the recording, and a long press restarts the recording. The longest recording can be twenty seconds."
Meng Ran followed instructions and groped behind the doll until she found a button.
Jiang Yuqing asked expectantly, "Why don't you try pressing it?"
Meng Ran: "...Try."
She felt a little nervous at the thought of hearing a voice from six years ago.
Meng Ran took a deep breath silently and pressed the button on the tail.
After a brief period of static, her own voice came through.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are—can you stop laughing? It's bothering me."
"Sorry, please continue."
"Flashing lights... Chen Sulin, get out!"
"how?"
I can't sing well with you next to me—
Perhaps the time limit had been reached, and the recording ended abruptly there.
Meng Ran: "..."
Jiang Yuqing: "..."
After a long few seconds, Jiang Yuqing coughed lightly and commented, "This toy is of pretty good quality; it still has power after six years."
Meng Ran: "..."
She forced herself to remain calm and said, "It's getting late, why don't we start working?"
Jiang Yuqing: "That's true, let's go downstairs then!"
Meng Ran ignored the heat on her earlobe and hummed in response.
...
Meng Ran was in charge of assembly, and Jiang Yuqing was in charge of filming.
With all sorts of tools at our disposal, a whole day passed, and we finally got the cat tree installed and the video footage ready.
Jiang Yuqing rubbed her sore arms: "Finally finished, it was really tough!"
"I'll start editing when I get back tonight. I'll definitely have the first version of the video out by the day after tomorrow at the latest, and then you can add the voiceover."
"Then after all that's done, I'll cut out two final versions, one long and one short, and release them on different platforms."
Jiang Yuqing studied media-related subjects in college and later worked at an MCN company. She was much more professional than Meng Ran in managing accounts and publishing videos, and took the initiative to take on the post-production work.
Meng Ran felt bad and wanted to pay Jiang Yuqing according to the market price, but Jiang Yuqing refused to accept it no matter what.
"No, no, no, giving me money now puts a lot of pressure on me," Jiang Yuqing said. "If this account really takes off and has the potential to make money, then we can talk about these things later."
Meng Ran couldn't refuse her: "Then how about we wait until the video is finished, and I'll treat you to a beauty treatment at the salon?"
While the two were wandering around the villa in the morning, they found a beauty salon membership card.
This time, Meng Ran learned her lesson and made a special effort to find out who the owner of the beauty salon was. Fortunately, it had nothing to do with the Zhao family.
Since there was no expiration date written on the card, Jiang Yuqing called it out of curiosity and learned that the card was for life and that there was still a balance of over 100,000 yuan left in the card.
Jiang Yuqing: "Really? I feel like even at market price, I'd still make a profit."
She had searched online beforehand and found that the beauty salon was positioned as a high-end establishment, with each treatment costing a considerable amount of money.
Meng Ran laughed: "It's nothing. If you didn't have such sharp eyes, I wouldn't have been able to find this card."
Jiang Yuqing: "Ranran, since you've put it that way, then I really won't hold back!"
After seeing Jiang Yuqing off, Meng Ran went back upstairs.
She hadn't had time to put the doll back in its place yet.
Meng Ran sat on the bed and couldn't help but press the bear's tail again.
Even though the toy's recording quality was a bit poor, you could still hear the rising intonation at the end of her voice.
Whether it's "Can you stop laughing?", "Chen Sulin, get out!", or "I can't sing well with you next to me."
Undoubtedly, she was being coquettish with Chen Sulin.
This realization made Meng Ran's cheeks feel slightly hot.
The thought that this doll might have always been on Chen Sulin's bedside table made her heart pound uncontrollably.
The screen of her phone was lit up, displaying the answer she had just found online.
The batteries in toys like these cannot last for more than six years if they are not replaced midway.
Meng Ran stared at the doll in her arms for a long time.
She was startled awake when she heard footsteps and voices downstairs.
It was Chen Sulin who picked up Chen Miaoying from kindergarten.
Her heart rate spiked to its limit in an instant, and Meng Ran instinctively stood up and rushed into the master bedroom, putting the doll back in its original place on the bedside table.
As I came out of the room, I ran into Chen Sulin, who was coming upstairs.
Seeing her standing at the door of the master bedroom, the man's eyebrows rose slightly.
Meng Ran: "I..."
She didn't know why she was so nervous that she couldn't even come up with a decent excuse.
Chen Sulin: "Want to change rooms to sleep in?"
Meng Ran: "..."
"I suddenly remembered I need to contact Jiang Yuqing about something," she said curtly. "I have to talk to you now."
Chen Sulin: "..."
The man watched her departing figure thoughtfully.
After a while, Chen Sulin walked into the bedroom.
He loosened his tie, his gaze pausing as he looked at the head of the bed.
Chen Sulin bent down and picked up the teddy bear from the bedside table.
He has always had a keen eye for detail and can easily tell that a doll has been tampered with.
Judging from her expression when she stood at the bedroom door, it's not hard to imagine what happened.
The man's fingertips slowly caressed the plush doll's ears, and after a while, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
It looked like a smile, but also like a sigh.
...
Back in her room, Meng Ran's heart was still pounding.
She couldn't even understand why she didn't just ask Chen Sulin directly, but instead pretended that nothing had happened.
Something seemed to be welling up inside her, but it was forcibly suppressed by a fear that came from nowhere.
What am I afraid of? And what am I running away from?
Meng Ran stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling her mind in complete chaos.
After a moment, she forced herself to stop thinking nonsense.
There's still a little while before dinner.
Meng Ran went downstairs and found Chen Miaoying running around like crazy.
"Sweetie, Mommy has prepared a surprise for you."
Chen Miaoying opened her eyes wide and, very politely, let out a long "Wow!"
"What surprise is it?!"
Meng Ran smiled and said, "Baby, come with me."
The assembled cat tree is placed in the pet room.
Meng Ran opened the door and let Chen Miaoying go in first.
Upon seeing the things in the room, Chen Miaoying exclaimed, "Wow! Mom, it's a cat castle!"
Meng Ran smiled and repeated, "Yes, it's Cat Castle."
It seems she did a good job of recreating it; the person who provided the idea recognized it immediately.
Chen Miaoying had already run to the bottom of the cat tree.
The cat tree was a full two meters tall, much taller than Meng Ran, let alone a five-year-old child.
Chen Miaoying had to crane her neck to see the entire cat tree, and she was so excited that she meowed and jumped around.
After running a lap, she didn't forget to come back and hug Meng Ran: "Mom! You're so amazing! I love you so much!"
Meng Ran was overjoyed to hear this.
Even if her business plan ultimately fails, the fact that her daughter is so happy makes all her efforts over the past few days worthwhile.
...
Jiang Yuqing worked quickly, and the video was roughly edited by the next day.
Meng Ran dubbed the script according to what she had written, and then sent the recorded material to Jiang Yuqing.
After all the post-production work was completed, Meng Ran released the video on the evening of the third day.
The response was even better than she had expected. In just one night, Meng Ran received thousands of comments on various platforms.
Most of the comments were praises from various angles, some were curious about the production details, and quite a few asked if they could buy it for money.
However, Meng Ran wasn't blinded by greed. Of those comments saying they wanted to buy it, only a small fraction would actually be willing to accept the price and wait for the production period.
If she wants to make money, she can't rely solely on the traffic generated by this one video; she needs to operate in the long term.
Meng Ran didn't rush to reply to the comments saying they wanted to buy. Instead, she called Jiang Yuqing to discuss the follow-up and made an appointment at the beauty salon.
It's important to relax appropriately after work.
The following afternoon, Meng Ran and Jiang Yuqing appeared at the entrance of the beauty salon.
The receptionist was very friendly, smiling even at the two unfamiliar faces.
Upon seeing the membership card presented by Meng Ran, the receptionist paused slightly, revealing a look of surprise.
Meng Ran: "Is there something wrong with the card?"
The receptionist quickly replied, "No, no, you just said that you and your friend wanted to do some routine skincare services today, right?"
Meng Ran: "Yes."
The receptionist led the two to sit on the sofa: "Please wait in the VIP area for two minutes while I get you a glass of water. Someone will escort you and your friend in shortly."
After the receptionist left, Jiang Yuqing gave Meng Ran a look and whispered, "Does that receptionist know you?"
Meng Ran replied softly, "No way, she looks to be only in her early twenties. And even if we had met, it's been six or seven years, how could she remember?"
Jiang Yuqing: "Could it be that she saw your membership information? And knows you're Chen Sulin's wife?"
Meng Ran: "Maybe."
The two whispered a few words to each other, and soon uniformed staff members came over.
Judging from the style of the uniform, it seems to be of a much higher rank than the receptionist from before.
Staff member: "Mrs. Chen, and this lady—"
Jiang Yuqing: "My surname is Jiang."
"Mrs. Chen, Ms. Jiang, this way please."
The two followed the staff inside.
Jiang Yuqing whispered in Meng Ran's ear: "See? She calls you Mrs. Chen, so she knows you."
Meng Ran nodded.
The woman she used to be might have visited this beauty salon a few times, but for the woman she is now, it's her first time, just like Jiang Yuqing's.
They followed the staff to the nursing room, and after listening to the introduction, they each chose a treatment.
The nurse's technique was professional, and the whole process was a pleasure.
After finishing the last activity, the two changed their clothes and sat in the tea room eating complimentary snacks.
Jiang Yuqing took a sip of her flower tea and exclaimed, "It's good to be rich! This beauty salon is so much better than the ones I've been to before, both in terms of environment and service. The key is that there's no messy sales pitches."
Meng Ran: "We still have a lot of money left in our card, so we can come together again next time."
Jiang Yuqing waved her hands repeatedly: "No, thank you! I think I should come less often, otherwise I'll be corrupted by money!"
Meng Ran was amused by her.
Just as I was about to say something, a staff member knocked on the door.
Upon entering, the staff member said, "Mrs. Chen, there is a lady outside looking for you."
Meng Ran and Jiang Yuqing exchanged a glance.
Meng Ran: "What's that lady's name?"
Staff member: "He said he's Mrs. Chen's friend, surnamed Shang."
Jiang Yuqing asked softly, "You know him?"
Meng Ran shook her head.
The surname "Shang" is not common, and she doesn't remember knowing anyone with that surname.
Jiang Yuqing: "Then are you going to see him?"
Meng Ran pondered for a moment: "Go."
If it were someone she knew before, it would be strange to insist on avoiding them.
Jiang Yuqing quietly leaned closer: "Do you want me to come with you?"
Meng Ran: "It's okay, I can manage on my own."
Jiang Yuqing: "...Okay, then call me if you need anything."
Meng Ran nodded and said to the staff member, "Please take me there."
Following the staff to the adjacent rest area, I pushed open the door and was greeted by a woman who looked to be in her twenties.
Her clothes were very expensive, and her makeup was exquisite, showing that she came from a wealthy family.
Upon seeing Meng Ran, the woman's expression became somewhat tense, yet she forced a smile: "Hello, Mrs. Chen, I am Shang Yue."
Meng Ran shook hands with her without making a sound.
The other party's opening remarks suggest that even if it's not the first time they've met, they are at least not familiar with each other.
This is a good thing for her.
The staff member gently closed the door and left.
Shang Yue: "Mrs. Chen, I think you should have heard of my name, right?"
Meng Ran: "Sorry, I don't really remember."
Shang Yue's brows twitched as she looked at her, as if trying to determine the truth of her words.
Finally, Shang Yue said again, "Okay, it's okay if you don't remember, it's not important. I came here today because I want to ask you for a favor."
Meng Ran raised her eyebrows slightly.
Ms. Shang's demeanor and tone did not suggest that she was asking for a favor.
Meng Ran: "What is it?"
Shang Yue clenched her fingers, speaking with some difficulty: "I want... to ask you to help me persuade someone to tell him that you have forgiven me."
Meng Ran: "..."
Shang Yue's words were incoherent, yet a strange intuition told Meng Ran that she seemed to know who Shang Yue was referring to.
Meng Ran: "Miss Shang, I can't understand you unless you explain yourself clearly."
Shang Yue clenched her fingers again.
She grew up being pampered and adored, and the number of times she said "I'm sorry" could be counted on one hand, let alone to someone she didn't like.
But things had come to this point, and Zhao Yanzhou refused to forgive her no matter what; this was the only solution she could think of.
Shang Yue closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she seemed to have made up her mind: "Seven years ago, the person who complained to Zhao Yanzhou's grandfather... was me."
Meng Ran frowned slightly.
Shang Yue took a deep breath: "I admit that at that time I was jealous of you, so I went to Zhao Yanzhou's grandfather and said: You are a materialistic and vain girl who only got together with Zhao Yanzhou to climb the social ladder and made Zhao Yanzhou spend a lot of money on you."
Meng Ran: "..."
Shang Yue: "I was only twenty years old back then, too naive and impulsive. I... I can accept that Yan Zhou doesn't like me, but when I heard that he likes a girl from such an ordinary family, I really, really felt terrible..."
"Besides, all I wanted was for you two to break up. I didn't expect what would happen to you afterwards!"
"Anyway," Shang Yue composed herself, "this matter...I'm sorry. I apologize to you now, and I hope, I hope you can forgive me, okay?"
Clearly, this Ms. Shang was very uncomfortable apologizing to people; her words were hesitant and her expression was stiff.
However, Meng Ran still managed to piece together what she had done back then.
A few days ago, Zhao Yanzhou said that they broke up seven years ago because his grandfather listened to others' instigation and the family forced them to separate.
It seems that the person who stirred up trouble was none other than Miss Shang, who was standing in front of her right now.
Seeing that Meng Ran didn't answer for a long time, Shang Yue bit her lip and said, "I know you must hate me a lot. Because of me, you couldn't be with Yan Zhou, and later you lost your job, were kicked out by your landlord, and had nowhere to live..."
"But, but you're doing pretty well now, aren't you?"
"And I sincerely apologize! If you want any compensation, just tell me, and I will... I will try my best to see if I can do it!"
After she finished speaking, Meng Ran replied, "Miss Shang, I don't hate you."
Shang Yue's face lit up with joy: "Then—"
Meng Ran: "But I will not accept your apology."
Shang Yue's smile froze on her face: "Why?"
Meng Ran said calmly, "Because I cannot forgive you for the helpless and painful version of myself that I once was; that would be a betrayal of myself."
Shang Yue stared blankly at her.
Meng Ran: "So you don't need to say anything more. I don't care whether Zhao Yanzhou is with you or not, but it's absolutely impossible for me to help you persuade Zhao Yanzhou as you hope."
Shang Yue: "But—"
Meng Ran: "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
Shang Yue: "Wait!"
"Why?" Shang Yue's voice trembled. "My request is very simple. All you need to do is say one sentence to Brother Yanzhou, tell him that you have forgiven me. Nothing else is required!"
"You're doing so well right now, helping me is just a small favor, it won't affect you at all!"
"Besides, I won't let you help me for nothing. You can tell me what you want!"
Meng Ran: "I have already made my reasons very clear."
Shang Yue exclaimed excitedly, "But I don't understand!"
She was trembling all over, as if nothing else mattered at that moment; she just wanted to vent all her confusion and questions at once.
“I know that your parents hurt you terribly back then. You lost your job and almost ended up on the streets. The trigger for all of this was me, who made you break up with Zhao Yanzhou.”
"But don't you have Chen Sulin?"
"He took care of everything for you: finding a house, clarifying the rumors, and even personally smoothing things over with your parents!"
"You broke up with Zhao Yanzhou, but you also benefited from this misfortune and became Mrs. Chen!"
"Chen Sulin loves you to death, and he'd rather be called a treacherous and untrustworthy person than not marry you! Isn't that enough?"
"After you disappeared, he searched for you like a madman, never giving up for five whole years. He even begged my father to use his connections!"
"That's Chen Sulin! He went to beg someone for your sake!"
"You've received so much, and now I'm just asking you for a small favor, why won't you do it!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Shang Yue: I'm the one who's best at shipping couples in this book.
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