After returning home, Meng Jiuyi was exhausted and tense all night, and didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day.
The living room was filled with the smells of pots and pans clattering. When she opened the door, she saw Wen Qi making braised fish in the kitchen.
Wen Qi turned her head and saw her. "Jiu Yi, you're awake. Did I wake you up?"
Meng Jiuyi shook his head and laughed, "I was woken up by cravings."
"Go wash your hands quickly, dinner is almost ready."
Meng Jiuyi went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and chopsticks. Wen Qi was busy chopping vegetables and the braised fish in the iron pot was boiling and about to splash out.
A slender hand slowly reached for the fire control knob.
Wen Qi was terrified. "Don't touch it, I'll do it—"
Before she could finish speaking, Meng Jiuyi had already turned down the heat and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Wen Qi stared in disbelief, "You...you...aren't you most afraid of this..."
Meng Jiuyi asked, "How did you know?"
Meng Jiuyi had never told her this, and Wen Qi initially believed her that she didn't like using the gas stove. But details were everywhere; for example, every time Wen Qi turned on the stove, she would lock herself in her room, she never used hot water to wash dishes, and the moment the gas stove was lit, she would always freeze.
Wen Qi was a little embarrassed, "I just... figured it out by observation. I'm an excellent salesperson, okay?"
Meng Jiuyi smiled and said, "I was scared before, but I'm not so scared now, you see—"
She brought her hand close to the blue flames on the stove, feeling the heat without pulling it back. "...It seems like fire isn't so scary after all, is it? A lot of things are just the demons in our hearts causing trouble."
The bright red flames illuminated her small face, and the wisps of hair on her cheeks shimmered with golden light.
Wen Qi was genuinely happy for her.
When the food was served, Wen Qi kept piling food into her bowl, but Meng Jiuyi kept saying that it was enough.
"This is not enough. Don't think I can't tell. You usually don't eat properly. My goal now is to fatten you up."
After she finished speaking, she noticed that Meng Jiuyi was looking at her, his eyes shining like a tender seedling.
"What's the matter?"
"At once..."
Meng Jiuyi lowered his head, took a bite of food, and said softly, "Suddenly I feel very happy."
She hadn't had this kind of perception in a long time.
As the years passed, she lived like a walking corpse. Mo Ruyue's situation troubled her. Her godmother's recurring illness kept her tossing and turning all night. Later, when Tan Yuchen got hold of something against her, she was even more indignant and would angrily punch the wall whenever she thought about it.
It seems that everything can become a reason for her to be upset, and she forgets to pay attention to the happiness that life gives her.
Wen Qi laughed and called her silly.
After washing the dishes, Meng Jiuyi picked up her phone and found Tan Yuchen's WeChat.
Essential chat software is dispensable to this person. Meng Jiuyi has spent so many time with him and has never seen him have the leisure to chat with anyone. If there is anything, he can just make a phone call to the other party, or at the very least, someone will relay the message for him.
Meng Jiuyi stared at his WeChat and blinked lightly. She decided to lighten her load; hatred and resentment were too tiring.
She didn't have the confidence to confront him about what happened that night. She felt resentful and wronged, but if she really brought it up, she would only be the one who suffered more embarrassment.
Their worlds were worlds apart, and they should never have crossed paths in this lifetime, but a deal brought them together.
Unless something unexpected happens, I won't encounter it again.
Meng Jiuyi tapped the top right corner and deleted his WeChat account.
--
In the evening, Meng Jiuyi would go to the convenience store to buy snacks and drinks, specifically picking out what Wen Qi liked. Meng Jiuyi would usually compensate Wen Qi for the meal expenses in other ways.
Meng Jiuyi's phone suddenly vibrated. He picked it up and saw that it was Wang Ru calling.
She held it to her ear.
“Jiuyi, I have set up an alumni gathering as you instructed, and I have also tried my best to contact Gao Xianyue and invite her here.”
Meng Jiuyi said, "Tell me the specific details you know."
"At the party, she mentioned that since she's back in China, she'll likely be developing her career here long-term. She's considering starting a music training institution, but with all her money, she could just be a full-time daughter."
Wang Ru said, "Also, it seems that her father passed away during her senior year of high school, and over the years, the group has been declining under her mother's management."
Meng Jiuyi asked, "How did her father die?"
"This... she said it was heart failure."
Heart failure? Meng Jiuyi did not answer her.
"By the way, I also took the photos as you requested and sent them to you. So now there's nothing more for me to do, right?"
Wang Ru was still preoccupied with the fact that Meng Jiuyi had threatened her with surrogacy. With such leverage in Meng Jiuyi's hands, Wang Ru was constantly on edge.
Meng Jiuyi opened the photos and scrolled through them one by one. Suddenly, her gaze stopped on a certain photo—the class reunion was over, and a Mercedes came to pick her up. The person who opened the door for her was Xu Yanzhi's butler.
Uncle Zhuang.
Last time, Xu Yanzhi came to pick her up.
Meng Jiuyi lowered her eyelashes and pushed the shopping cart to the checkout.
What is the relationship between Gao Xian Yue and the Xu family?
The Xu Group's business spans the globe, which Wang Ru naturally knew.
"Haven't you been watching the recent political news?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Jiuyi glanced at the newspaper while paying the bill, then paused, and pulled out a copy.
The bolded title above is in extra-large font.
[A 350 billion yuan capital increase! Behind the "marriage" between two powerful companies, is it a genuine alliance of strength, or an ambition for capital takeover?]
At the same time, Wang Ru said, "Her mother and Xu Yungan, the chairman of the Xu Group, are getting engaged soon. I heard that her mother was bullied quite a bit by the board of directors before, so she should have found a backer now."
If the Gaoye Group, which made its fortune in textiles, can be considered an evergreen vine, then the Xu family, which has existed for centuries, is a towering tree.
The two groups were so disparate in strength that everyone suspected Xu Yungan's eyesight had deteriorated due to his late-life romance.
So Gao Xianyue is about to become Xu Yanzhi's stepsister?
If she succeeds, her wealth and social status will be inexhaustible.
Meng Jiuyi suddenly realized that her previous understanding was flawed. She was eager to hone Gao Xianyue's sharpness, but she never considered that the orchestra itself was dispensable to her.
Her actions were too minor and did not cause her any harm.
The most urgent task now is to sever her family and social status and drag her down from her current social class.
Meng Jiuyi told Wang Ru to continue contacting Gao Xianyue. Wang Ru cursed inwardly, but still smiled and agreed.
As soon as the call ended, Tan Sheng sent her more than a dozen messages, requesting to meet her.
Last night, after the engagement party, Meng Jiuyi fled to the airport and casually sent him a text message that sounded like a breakup message. Who would have thought that he would bombard him with hundreds of messages all night long.
[Xiao Jiu, please, please let me see you just once, okay?]
Did something happen that made you treat me like this all of a sudden? I can't accept that we're breaking up like this.
It's because of my mom, right? I promise you I can solve it!
Come out and see me, anywhere is fine, otherwise I'll go crazy and I'll have no choice but to go to the Meng residence to find you.
Meng Jiuyi was completely baffled; there was no way she could understand this person.
They've only seen each other a handful of times in the past few months; they haven't had time to cultivate a relationship.
Meng Jiuyi wanted to explain things to him, and just as she finished editing the text and was about to send it, her finger stopped.
The lamplight illuminated her thoughtful face.
She recalled what Tan Ni had said about Xu Yanzhi's previous relationship, which was forcibly stopped by Xu's father because of their unequal social status.
She recalled that afternoon when she bumped into Xu Yanzhi and Tan Sheng at Ruijin Mansion, and Xu Yanzhi, who misunderstood her and Tan Sheng's unrequited love, remembered that Ruijin Mansion was the Garden Hotel under the Xu family, and Uncle Zhuang said that Xu Yanzhi liked to go there to read in the evening.
Because the tree on the lawn was planted by his mother herself.
Would someone who is used to helping others and lending a helping hand when they see others in distress easily change their personality?
He was the most gentlemanly person Meng Jiuyi had ever met. A person who grows up in love and happiness will give back to others in an invisible way.
Xu Yanzhi is that kind of person.
And this time, she was destined to use him.
Meng Jiuyi and Tan Sheng agreed to meet at Ruijin Mansion the next afternoon, and at the same time anonymously sent the message to Feng Lan.
*
"Xiao Jiu, what did I do wrong?"
The privacy of the coffee table behind the screen was quite good. Before they even sat down, Tan Sheng grabbed Meng Jiuyi's hand and said, "If there's anything I did wrong, you can tell me, and I can change. Don't say 'break up' so easily, okay?"
In just one day, Tan Sheng looked much more haggard. He had such high hopes for their future, while she was already doomed.
"Cousin, please listen to me first."
Meng Jiuyi suddenly felt that she was utterly wicked, and she would never again provoke a man who had never been in a relationship.
Looking at Tan Yuchen's rich romantic history and his sharp tongue, and then looking at this innocent boy in front of her, she really felt like she had done something unforgivable.
She pulled her hand away and said tactfully, "We're really not a good match."
"You can tell me what's wrong with it. If you feel a lot of pressure in China, then we can go abroad, and I don't have to come back—"
Before he could finish speaking, a glass of water was suddenly splashed on Meng Jiuyi's face. The two looked up and saw Feng Lan staring at them, furious.
"You shameless hussy, Meng Jiuyi, how dare you seduce my son!"
Meng Jiuyi wiped the water off her face, lowered her eyes and shed tears of grievance, but her eyes remained calm.
"Have you lost your conscience? If it weren't for me, you and your vixen mother would be long gone. Is this how you repay kindness with enmity?"
Enraged, Feng Lan lunged forward to slap her, but Tan Sheng immediately stood up and stopped her.
"Mom, what are you doing?!"
"Get out of my way, I'll settle this score with you when we get back."
Feng Lan was furious, and Tan Sheng couldn't stop her by himself. He could only protect Meng Jiuyi and step back to prevent her from getting hurt.
If he couldn't slap Feng Lan, he would grab Meng Jiuyi's arm and pull her hair; he was not going to let her off so easily.
People around looked on, wondering if this was a scene of catching a mistress or something else.
"Auntie, please don't do this!"
Meng Jiuyi lowered his eyes and wept, being forced to stagger backward by her.
Suddenly, she bumped into a warm wall behind her, and her arm was pulled up. Through her teary eyes, she looked up.
Standing a head taller than her, Xu Yanzhi was looking down at her intently, his eyes as dark as clouds.
With his path blocked from behind, Meng Jiuyi could only close his eyes and wait for the slap to fall.
The imagined pain did not come—Xu Yanzhi stopped Feng Lan's hand, his tone calm but unquestionable.
"Mrs. Tan, this is not the place for you to throw a tantrum."
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