Meng Jiuyi's mind went blank. Under that gaze, his whole body felt like a withered leaf burned by fire, and he involuntarily curled up into a ball.
She shoved Tan Sheng away abruptly.
Having a beautiful woman in his arms was enough to erode his mind. Tan Sheng was still unaware of the situation and asked her what was wrong.
"No...it's nothing."
Her voice was weak, "I want to leave, let's go."
Meng Jiuyi tried his best to avoid looking at the other side of the screen, his mind filled with the thought of leaving quickly. Tan Sheng's car was parked outside the mansion, and he gentlemanly opened the car door.
Meng Jiuyi didn't move, her brown eyes looking at him, but they seemed somewhat empty.
"cousin."
"Um?"
"You go first?"
She said she had made plans with a friend that evening, and she was so busy having afternoon tea with him that she almost forgot about it. Her friend would be picking her up soon.
Although he wished he could be with her every moment, Tan Sheng understood the importance of taking things one step at a time. As Tan Sheng drove away, Meng Jiuyi bent down, smiled, and waved goodbye to him.
After the car drove away from the fountain roundabout, she turned around and ran back to the mansion. A waiter came up to ask her if she had left anything behind, but she shook her head and remained silent, heading straight to the balcony corridor.
He left with only half a cup of unfinished coffee on the table.
Meng Jiuyi felt as if her heart had emptied, and she strode towards the other side of the corridor.
The mansion's side gate leads to a narrow alley paved with bluestone slabs, where roses meander along the bamboo fence that winds along the winding path. The alley is eerily quiet, save for a single extended Rolls-Royce parked there.
When Uncle Zhuang opened the door for Xu Yanzhi, he wondered why he was so early today, as Xu usually didn't come out until after nine o'clock.
"The coffee isn't to your liking?"
Xu Yanzhi didn't answer, but it was clear that he was indeed losing interest. Before he even got into the car, someone called out to him from behind.
"Mr. Xu!"
The surroundings were so quiet that even such a soft voice was penetrating enough.
Xu Yanzhi stopped in her tracks, turned around, and saw the bougainvillea on the wall fluttering down in the wind, carpeting the ground with a thick layer. She stood in the sea of flowers, her breathing slightly rapid, her face tinged with a faint pink.
Meng Jiuyi breathed steadily, met his gaze, and slowly approached.
Xu Yanzhi nodded: "Miss Meng."
He has a natural ability to control the situation; with a casual address, he can define the appropriate social distance between himself and others.
Meng Jiuyi keenly sensed that the "Miss Meng" he mentioned seemed different from the one in the hospital room that day.
Was it because it disrupted his schedule?
"...I'd like to bother you for two minutes."
Xu Yanzhi was very perceptive, because she glanced at Uncle Zhuang after only a few seconds of hesitation.
The other party understood and went to wait in the car.
Only he and she remained on the long bluestone slab.
Xu Yanzhi walked a short distance with her and asked, "What would Miss Meng like to say?"
I want to explain.
She wanted to ask him why he was there, and how he could have made such an embarrassing scene for her, but she had no reason to blame him.
She underestimated the man's composure; even the flower petals were easier to understand than him. It was as if the one who had given that meaningful glance from behind the screen just now wasn't him.
"It's weekdays, so I assumed Mr. Xu would be at the company."
She thought she had expressed herself tactfully, but little did she know that Xu Yanzhi could hear the resentment in her voice about him eavesdropping. His tone carried a faint smile, "It's because I wasn't observant enough that I didn't speak up when Miss Meng arrived."
Meng Jiuyi: "..."
This person has actually learned to be sarcastic.
She gave an awkward smile. "We shouldn't talk about these things in public. I've spoiled your fun. Actually, I was thinking—"
Someone rode past on a motorcycle behind them. Meng Jiuyi was on the outside, and Xu Yanzhi reached out and put his arm around her shoulder. Only the base of his palm touched her lightly, and with a forceful pull, he brought her inside.
"Feel sorry."
He apologized for his touch with a single sentence, then waited quietly for her to continue.
Meng Jiuyi suddenly forgot what he was going to say.
It didn't actually touch her skin, but that slight sensation felt like it was constantly pressing on her heart.
Carving through mountains and digging through the sea, time flows backward, returning to a thought-provoking era many years ago—
He's always been a good person, a gentleman, he just doesn't like you.
But she's not eighteen anymore.
Meng Jiuyi suppressed what he was about to say, "I have a favor to ask, Mr. Xu, could you please keep this a secret?"
Xu Yanzhi remained calm and asked, "What secrets?"
How outrageous of him! He clearly knows everything, yet he deliberately asks questions he already knows the answers to.
She lowered her eyes, deciding to give up entirely. "No one else knows about Tan Sheng and me. Because of my family's special circumstances, Tan Sheng's mother would not approve if she found out."
"Could you please keep this a secret for now, Mr. Xu? I'd like to wait until our relationship is more stable before coming here."
Xu Yanzhi replied calmly, "Do you think I would tell anyone?"
Meng Jiuyi was startled.
"Or do you think I would have the leisure to discuss such a thing as a topic of conversation after dinner?"
Although his lips were curved in a smile, his cold, misty eyes inexplicably made people feel breathless.
"no..."
Meng Jiuyi's real concern was Tan Yuchen.
His relationship with Tan Yuchen was clearly unusual; they visited each other frequently. If she accidentally let slip a word, she would definitely end up losing more than she gained.
Meng Jiuyi replied in a low voice, "I feel that he and I have just started, and we are as fragile as tender seedlings, so I want to protect it as much as possible."
She went all out with her act; her constantly fluttering eyelashes and tightly clenched lips didn't seem fake at all.
Xu Yanzhi felt that this appearance was familiar.
As the sun sinks below the horizon and the twilight slowly descends, a sudden loss of interest arises.
"Miss Meng, please rest assured."
Xu Yanzhi curled his lips, seeing through all her thoughts, "I have no interest in other people's feelings."
The conversation ended there, and he glanced at her as he got into the car.
Should I send you home by car?
"No need, I have other plans."
Meng Jiuyi smiled slightly and said politely, "Thank you, Mr. Xu."
He could tell she was just making excuses, but he didn't investigate further.
Or perhaps they're too lazy to investigate further.
The Rolls-Royce slowly drove away. Night fell, and the sky grew dim, making Meng Jiuyi feel as if he had been transported back to that rainy day many years ago when he carried Su Yan into the car.
In truth, regardless of whether there are other people around, she and he are two lines that can never intersect.
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