Chapter 224: Appointment
Cui Mengmeng was speechless after being rebuked by Rong Mei. She opened her mouth but found that she couldn't say a word. Just when she felt a little embarrassed, the waiter came over at the right time, carrying a tray with a cup of coffee and a dessert on it.
The waiter smiled and placed the coffee and dessert in front of Rong Mei, then said politely, "Ma'am, here are your coffee and dessert. The steak and soup will take a while."
Rong Mei smiled and thanked the waiter, "Okay, thank you."
Then he elegantly picked up the spoon in the coffee cup and stirred it gently twice, watching the coffee swirling in the cup, emitting an enticing aroma.
After stirring, Rong Mei put the spoon back to its original place, picked up the coffee cup, and took a sip carefully.
The bitter taste spread across her tongue, but she did not show any discomfort. Instead, she slowly enjoyed the unique taste as if she was tasting a glass of fine wine.
After taking a sip of coffee, Rong Mei put down the cup, and her eyes fell on Cui Mengmeng again. Her eyes were cold and sharp, as if they could penetrate Cui Mengmeng's heart.
"I know what Comrade Cui wanted to talk to me about today. Maybe he wanted to tell me that you had a dream about Nan Xu leaving."
After a pause, she continued, "As Comrade Cui said, Nan Xu is not an object, he is a man with ideas." Rong Mei's voice was calm and firm, "Since he chose me, shouldn't you withdraw?"
Her words pierced Cui Mengmeng's heart.
Cui Mengmeng's face turned pale. She bit her lip and wanted to refute, but found that she couldn't find a suitable reason.
What she didn't expect was that Zhou Nanxu would tell Rong Mei all the conversations between her and him. It was obvious that the man really loved the person in front of him to the core.
Rong Mei didn't seem to intend to give Cui Mengmeng a chance to breathe, and continued, "Whether his mission is dangerous or not is up to the organization to decide, not you and me. So, please don't judge his choice here in a self-righteous way."
Since he has chosen this profession, doesn't he know what kind of danger he will face? Comrade Cui is just an art soldier, but you are also a soldier! All soldiers know that obeying orders and following commands is their duty. Since the organization has assigned him a task, all he can do is to fulfill his mission and do his best to complete it.
Defending the country is his mission.
If he encounters danger during the mission, he will have to bear it and resolve it by himself. After all, this is what he must face as a soldier. Neither you, Comrade Cui, nor I can provide him with any substantial help in this situation..."
Faced with Rong Mei's rare kind words, Cui Mengmeng's anger gradually subsided and her emotions were relieved to a certain extent.
However, although Cui Mengmeng knew all the truths that Rong Mei said, it did not mean that she would fully agree with it.
"So, you're just going to watch him die like this?" Cui Mengmeng's voice trembled slightly, revealing her dissatisfaction and confusion towards Rong Mei. She stared straight at Rong Mei, as if she wanted to see her true thoughts through her eyes.
In Cui Mengmeng's view, nothing is more important than life.
She really couldn't understand why Rong Mei could be so calm and watch him take risks and even lose his life.
You know, as long as he chooses to retire from the army, he can avoid possible disasters in the future and continue to live a stable life.
Moreover, his love for Rong Mei is so deep that it is visible to everyone, and it can even make her crazy jealous.
However, what about Rong Mei?
She knew clearly that he was in danger and might even lose his life, but she chose to remain indifferent and let things develop in the worst direction.
How could she be so heartless and indifferent? Was she just going to watch her lover die in front of her?
"Then can you tell me why he died in your dream?" Faced with Cui Mengmeng's question, Rong Mei did not answer directly, but instead asked a question, as if she wanted to get some key information from Cui Mengmeng.
If Zhou Nanxu really died in the line of duty, then the unit's mission must have been highly confidential.
Although it is impossible to know what mission Zhou Nanxu will receive, if he knew the time of the mission, it might be possible to take measures in advance to avoid tragedy.
This is why Rong Mei did not completely fall out with Cui Mengmeng.
Since it has been confirmed that Cui Mengmeng is a reborn person and knows Zhou Nanxu's ending, Rong Mei naturally hopes to obtain more useful information from Cui Mengmeng.
Even though she was constantly talking about all those big principles and rules at the moment, once she thought that she might lose Zhou Nanxu forever, just imagining that scene, she would feel extremely painful and sad in her heart.
However, the only thing that could bring her some comfort and support was that glimmer of hope - maybe there would be a butterfly effect. After all, she had nothing to do with Zhou Nanxu in her previous life, but in this life, with her presence, many things might change.
But this is still too risky, so the breakthrough point still lies with Cui Mengmeng.
Cui Mengmeng sneered sarcastically and looked at Rong Mei, "I really thought that Comrade Rong really didn't care at all."
Rong Mei sat quietly in the booth, meeting Cui Mengmeng's gaze calmly.
This time, facing Cui Mengmeng's previous slightly provocative words, she did not fight back immediately as she did in the past, but just waited quietly for what Cui Mengmeng would say next.
Cui Mengmeng frowned slightly and pondered for a long time, as if she was having a fierce struggle in her heart.
Finally, she raised her hand, waved to the waiter not far away, and said crisply, "Give me an identical portion of everything she just ordered." There was an unquestionable decisiveness in her voice.
The waiter hurriedly wrote it down and left quickly.
At this time, the background music in the restaurant was playing slowly. Cui Mengmeng slowly closed her eyes, and her thick eyelashes cast a faint shadow on her eyelids.
She took a deep breath, her chest puffed up, and then her shoulders slowly sank as she exhaled. It was as if she had let out the heaviness that had been pent up for a long time, and the tense aura around her also relaxed.
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze fell on Rong Mei's face. For the first time, he smiled at her without any hypocrisy, sincerely and peacefully.
"Excuse me, with my current ability, I cannot treat Comrade Rong to these things, so let's each pay for our own meals." There was a hint of humility in his words, as well as honesty about the current situation.
After saying this, she felt relieved and relaxed like never before.
Upon hearing this, Rong Mei was stunned for a moment, her beautiful eyes wide open, obviously not reacting to Cui Mengmeng's sudden change.
Whenever the two met in the past, the atmosphere was always tense and verbal battles continued. Even just now they were still tit-for-tat, but at this moment Cui Mengmeng's attitude seemed to have made a 180-degree turn.
However, after a brief moment of surprise, Rong Mei quickly came back to her senses, raised the corners of her mouth, and said gently to Cui Mengmeng, "It's okay, I'll treat you to this meal."
This time it was Cui Mengmeng who looked at her in surprise.
Rong Mei seemed to have seen through her surprise and said, "Don't worry, I didn't spend Zhou Nanxu's money. I spent my own money."
Cui Mengmeng had a calm expression just now, but in the blink of an eye, her sharpness returned. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of sarcasm hung on the corners of her mouth, "Your own money? The little salary you get in the military compound every month?"
In her mind, she knew exactly how much Rong Mei earned.
She knew that Rong Mei was not a formal employee in the compound. She had worked in the art troupe for several years, but only received a few dozen yuan in allowance every month. People like Rong Mei earned at least half of hers.
This realization finally made Cui Mengmeng straighten her back unconsciously, with a hint of pride on her face.
As soon as she said this, she didn't give Rong Mei a chance to respond. It was as if she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I forgot. Deputy Head Zhou's mother opened several clothing stores in the county. I guess you are not too short of money now."
Rong Mei sat opposite and just smiled gently. That smile was neither humble nor arrogant. She was neither angry nor trying to please. She just waited quietly for Cui Mengmeng to continue speaking, with an elusive calmness in her eyes.
Cui Mengmeng didn't feel awkward when she saw Rong Mei didn't respond. She cleared her throat and began to talk about her views on the current situation. "It is indeed a good choice to start a business now. It will even get better and better in the future. In the next few years, all places will develop rapidly. If you keep doing it, becoming a millionaire is just around the corner."
In fact, her words concealed her unknown thoughts.
As a person who was reborn, she knew too well the future economic trend. Those who went into business, as long as they were brave enough, would make a lot of money in the future. She had imagined countless times in her mind the scene of leaving the art troupe and diving into the business world. Who doesn't want to have endless money and live a rich life?
However, whenever this thought came up, another figure would emerge in her mind—Zhou Nanxu.
In her eyes, Zhou Nanxu was honest and excellent, and he was the person she cared about most. However, in this special period, the identity of a self-employed person always carried some instability and disgrace. In the eyes of people like Zhou Nanxu, self-employed people might be looked down upon. In contrast, the work of the art troupe sounded good and had a good reputation. Therefore, she put away those ideas about doing business, and instead worked hard in the troupe, striving to become a pillar.
Of course, although she has gained a lot of knowledge from her life, her IQ is still the same. Even if she wants to retire from the army and do business to make a fortune, she needs to have the brains for that.
She has seen people who have made a fortune, but naturally she has also seen many people who lost all their money after going into business, and ended up owing a lot of debts, leaving them with no other options and committing suicide by jumping off buildings.
So, she didn't go into the sea for the sake of stability.
Also, she thinks a woman shouldn't be so strong-willed or aggressive, as this will make men feel that they are useless. A woman only needs a stable job, and ambition and hard work are men's business.
Rong Mei had no idea of the complicated thoughts surging in Cui Mengmeng's heart. To be honest, she had no interest in exploring them. At this moment, the only thing that could stir up her heart was the news about Zhou Nanxu. The only thing she wanted to know from Cui Mengmeng was the clue about Zhou Nanxu.
Fortunately, Cui Mengmeng didn't dwell on the previous topics anymore.
She turned her head and looked straight at Rong Mei, with a look of determination in her eyes, as if she had made a great determination to pour out all the thoughts hidden in the deepest part of her heart.
"Originally, I was really unwilling to accept this."
Cui Mengmeng spoke, her voice filled with emotions that had been suppressed for a long time.
"I've always thought you were just a pretty face with nothing on it. You're just a sharp-tongued person and you can only play the violin. When I saw you so radiant on the stage, I was so jealous and unwilling to accept it. Why can you stand there and be the center of attention while I can only watch from the corner?"
She paused, her expression distorted, and her emotions became more and more agitated as she recalled the past.
"Just five minutes ago, my impression of you was terrible. I could even say I hated you. In my heart, I have always had a deep-rooted idea that Deputy Captain Zhou should be mine."
At this point, Cui Mengmeng's eyes were a little dazed, as if she was trapped in an illusory dream. "For so many years, I have been having the same dream over and over again. His figure in the dream is lingering and has become my obsession. I believe that he is my destiny and I must hold on to him. I have asked myself countless times, why does he like you and not me? I have tried so hard to get close to him, but he doesn't even look at me." Her voice trembled slightly, with a hint of grievance and unwillingness.
"But there's really no logic to feelings."
Cui Mengmeng's tone suddenly became lonely, and the light in her eyes dimmed a little. "He is my obsession, but you are his life. The last time we met, he told you my dream, but did he tell you that you are the whole meaning of his life? If he loses you, he will be like a walking corpse, and his life will be gone."
She smiled bitterly, her smile full of bitterness, "Do you know how jealous I was of you at that moment? I worked so hard for him for so many years, but he was impatient to even listen to a word I said. And you, you didn't do anything for him, but he was devoted to you, holding you in his hands, and wouldn't tolerate anyone saying anything bad about you."
Speaking of this, Cui Mengmeng's eyes were slightly red, that was the pain that was difficult to hide after being severely stung...
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