Chapter 185 So Cute!
The funeral arrangements for Zhang Ma were simple: a tombstone, flowers, and a cypress tree to accompany her for eternity.
She sleeps forever on the mountaintop, bathed in the first rays of the morning sun, where she can see the place where time flies by.
After Meng Jiuyi returned, he became very silent and did not communicate with anyone.
The courtyard house has about ten rooms scattered around its sides. It was cleaned once when the residents moved in, and afterwards only the rooms that were needed for occupancy were cleaned.
Now she wipes and mops the floor several times, and even if there's only a trace of dirt in the grout between the tiles, Meng Jiuyi will mop it again until it's so clean you can see your reflection in it.
There was a large patch of overgrown weeds in the yard. She hadn't had time to look after it before because she was taking care of Aunt Zhang, but now she was weeding, loosening the soil, buying seeds, and taking good care of it.
The yard was already spotless, without a speck of dirt, but her obsessive-compulsive disorder had reached an appalling level. She would even actively seek out dirt, and if she found even a speck, she would clean the entire yard again.
Zhou Ting didn't even dare to sit down, afraid that making even the slightest mess would cause her to be tormented from morning till night.
"That's enough, Jiu Yi. How long are you going to keep cleaning? This yard is already very clean."
Meng Jiuyi lowered his head and remained silent, only wiping the table incessantly.
"Do you think Aunt Zhang can feel at ease seeing you like this?"
No one responded to her.
Tan Yuchen watched as she silently carried the bucket of water to another room.
She was calm, but her eyes were numb, as if her heart had been hollowed out.
Changing and washing the rags, wringing out the water, over and over again, became the only major event in her life.
A figure squatted down in front of her, and Tan Yuchen pulled the bucket to the side.
"Don't take my bucket." She was unusually stubborn.
"I don't want your bucket."
Tan Yuchen tossed a handkerchief inside, saying casually, "Make room for me. From now on, the table is yours and the chair is mine."
He neither stopped her nor comforted her; he simply wiped the cloth with her.
No matter how long it takes her to get over it, he stays by her side.
Meng Jiuyi reacted slowly, blinking blankly after a few seconds before getting lost in her own world again.
When Xu Yanzhi arrived, Tan Yuchen had already helped her clean all the houses, but the bonsai trees hadn't been pruned yet, so she busied herself with the scissors for a while.
She has lost a lot of weight.
It was as if all the anger, laughter, and bluffing he had shown in front of him had been drained from his clothes, all converging into a place called stagnant water.
It felt like a small hammer had struck my heart, with waves of sharp pain.
Rather than the regret and heartache of losing her, he would rather she remain forever as vibrant as she was on New Year's Eve, eagerly rushing towards someone.
With a single glance from Tan Yuchen, the two of them left.
There was a certain distance between them and the courtyard house. These days, Tan Yuchen hadn't smoked a single cigarette for fear that the cigarette ash would disturb her sense of cleanliness. Now, he lit a cigarette while shielding his eyes from the cold wind. The smoke swirled upwards, concealing the loneliness he had never shown to others.
Xu Yanzhi asked, "Has she been like this ever since she came back?"
Tan Yuchen hummed in response, then, as if remembering something, twitched his lips.
"It's been a bit better these past few days. When I first came back, I was so reluctant to even take my shoes off. I wanted to cover the house with layers of vacuum membranes. If a mosquito flew in, I would have wanted to swallow it whole. It's better than leaving a corpse for her to see."
He could still joke around, and Xu Yanzhi didn't know what to say.
Tan Yuchen asked, "Did your father have a long-standing relationship with the Gao family?"
Xu Yanzhi frowned slightly.
"As far as I can remember, he and the Gao family were only nodding acquaintances before he decided to carry out the merger."
The investigation confirmed this: while Chairman Gao was playing the role of a great philanthropist in China, Xu Yungan was busy expanding his business overseas, spending most of his time abroad.
He spent less time in China than he did in the past year, because the vigorous development of the automobile industry required frequent networking and smoothing over government relations.
Tan Yuchen slowly raised his eyes.
"Since you're just nodding acquaintances, and your father has protected the Gao family so many times, even at the cost of the company's interests, don't you find that strange?"
Tan Yuchen had asked Xu Yungan about this matter in person when the car crashed, and Xu Yungan gave a flawless answer, citing the company's reputation and his desire to protect his old friend's daughter.
His father was indeed cold-hearted and only cared about family interests; if one had to justify it, it wouldn't be impossible.
Xu Yanzhi noticed his deeply furrowed brows and the falling smoke making him appear unfathomable.
What are you doubting?
There are many doubts.
For example, after nearly falling from the rooftop, why did another party involved, Wang Ru, die in a car accident at exactly that time? Tan Yuchen once contacted the driver responsible for the accident, and it was confirmed that he was driving while fatigued, which was indeed without any flaws.
For example, if Gao Xian Yue truly possessed such a scheme, she could have manipulated Zhu Lijian to her advantage at the age of seventeen or eighteen, and even ensured that he remained imprisoned for many years without implicating her in any way.
Her subsequent escape to the airport and even her death seemed far too easy, making it impossible to reconcile the events leading up to it.
It's more like the protective umbrella behind her has been removed, and she's been completely abandoned.
Tan Yuchen was so paranoid that he even found the shot fired by the police strange.
Shooting down a criminal is usually the final decision after careful consideration, and sometimes it even requires approval from higher authorities. Moreover, Gao Xian Yue was still some distance away from her when he took the knife, and there were still many suspicious aspects to the case. Arresting and interrogating him was their first choice.
Suspicion lingered in Tan Yuchen's mind like a snake's tongue, but all clues were broken and everything was flawless.
He shook his head. "I hope I'm just overthinking it."
A boy riding a bicycle passed by and rang his bell, causing the crabapple petals on the wall to fall in a flurry.
Xu Yanzhi inexplicably thought of the long alley outside the Xifu Mansion—she caught up with him breathlessly, calling him Mr. Xu amidst the rain of petals.
A slight smile appeared on Xu Yanzhi's face, but his heart was pounding.
"Take her abroad for a trip, to change her environment."
Tan Yuchen said, "This is the place she wants to be."
"As long as she's here, she'll constantly be thinking about the past. Do you intend to let her stay like this forever?"
Tan Yuchen flicked his cigarette. "What's wrong with things being the way they are now?"
Xu Yanzhi was taken aback.
"I can see her when I wake up in the morning, know what she's busy with, and even join in. There's a little dwarf living inside her, isolated from the outside world, with only a cleaning system."
Tan Yuchen chuckled softly, "I've figured out a bit of the ropes these past couple of days and know how to communicate with her. If she really wants to spend her whole life here, I don't see anything wrong with that."
They're just like that, so well-behaved.
She doesn't make demands or cry; she does whatever you ask, and her quietness is heartbreaking.
The man leaned against the wall, gazing in the direction of her courtyard house. The setting sun reflected in his eyes, like a gentle lake.
Xu Yanzhi stared at the hint of satisfaction on his face, as if struck by a sudden enlightenment.
Tan Yuchen stubbed out his cigarette, his eyes as resolute as a rock.
"She is exactly what I want."
--
During this period, Meng Jiuyi usually works until after 10 p.m., because staying any longer would disturb the neighbors.
Then she lay in bed, letting sleepiness surge and overwhelm her repeatedly, but the fatigue she had accumulated during the day, which made her sleepy even while sitting, was now completely gone.
After trying to fall asleep for several hours without any sign of sleepiness, Meng Jiuyi slowly opened his eyes, still unable to drift off.
Darkness surged in, with only a few rays of light seeping through the cracks in the window, but they were far from illuminating her.
The memories she had suppressed during the day were now flooding her mind like a torrent.
Meng Jiuyi blinked, and tears silently rolled down her cheeks.
Hope collapses, candles go out, and ultimately all thoughts converge on one place.
I want to die.
She pulled the blanket up, burying herself in it, and waited as she had for the past few days and nights.
Wait for sleepiness to overcome wakefulness, then give her a helping hand.
Just then, I suddenly smelled the aroma of roasted meat.
Pulling off the blanket, Meng Jiuyi propped herself up on the bed, thinking she had smelled something wrong.
But the smell grew stronger and stronger, spreading throughout the room uncontrollably, as if it were wafting from the yard.
Meng Jiuyi slipped on her slippers, got out of bed, and peeked through the crack in the door—the courtyard was brightly lit by a fire, and chicken wings were grilling on an iron plate.
The man sat by the fire with his back to her, his figure outlined in a deep and three-dimensional way. Burning ashes fell onto his shoulder, and his profile was also scorched red by the firelight.
Tan Yuchen threw a wooden stick into the fire and turned to look at her.
She had intended to close the door, but his gaze was so gentle and calm that it did not disturb her in the slightest.
Can't sleep?
Tan Yuchen patted the seat next to him, "Come sit down."
After he finished speaking, he went to brush honey on the chicken wings. Since there was no one waiting for him, he could decide for himself. Meng Jiuyi stood by the door and watched him for a while before walking towards him.
She didn't notice that when she sat next to him, the man relaxed completely, his Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and even his heart, which had been hanging on a tightrope, settled back down.
After brushing on the honey, I applied some hot sauce.
Tan Yuchen used scissors to remove the bones and placed the meat on a plate. The way he arranged the meat so carefully made people wonder.
But after he finished filling half a plate, he calmly picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
Meng Jiuyi: "......"
She stared at him without blinking.
"What are you looking at?"
Tan Yuchen raised his chin and said in a drawn-out tone, "If you want to eat, grill it yourself. Do you expect to freeload?"
Meng Jiuyi was still looking at her, with eyes like a cat's.
When he looked down, he couldn't help but grin and show his teeth.
They're so damn cute!
--
good evening.
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