It was all an act, but the fall was real. So after the Rolls-Royce drove away, the car behind it didn't leave.
Both of them were in the back seat, and Xu Yanzhi held her ankle and slowly twisted it.
Does it hurt?
Meng Jiuyi shook his head.
He said in a flat tone, "If a big pit were dug there today, would you be prepared to fall in too?"
She muttered something under her breath, but Xu Yanzhi didn't hear her and looked up, staring intently at her.
"What?"
“I said…” Meng Jiuyi lowered her head, her eyelashes trembling slightly, “I wouldn’t do this in front of other people, it depends on who you’re talking to, okay?”
Does she know what she's saying?
Xu Yanzhi paused for a moment, staring intently at her until the dampness on the skin behind her ears returned once again.
That red color is like pomegranate pulp; you can suck out its juice if you put it in your mouth.
An itch spread up his throat, but his expression remained uncertain.
"You say things like that to other people too?"
"Never!"
She said with a hint of arrogance, "Others don't need me to do this at all."
Xu Yanzhi remembered.
Yes, she didn't need to go to great lengths to do anything.
As long as you just pretend to cry, plenty of people will take the bait. Tan Sheng is a perfect example.
Years ago at school, Xu Yanzhi had seen many boys fight for him. The key point was that the people involved were nowhere to be seen, but the suitors would fight to the death.
"Are you proud?"
The man's words were devoid of emotion, but the grip on her ankle tightened heavily, as if binding her so tightly that she could not move.
Meng Jiuyi quickly shook his head, realizing the situation was dire.
"Since Miss Meng is so energetic today, why don't you explain what happened on the day of the car accident?"
He has a pretty good memory, especially for things that haven't been properly resolved.
With so many surveillance cameras around, why make such a big deal out of it? But Xu Yanzhi just wanted to wait for her to tell him herself.
Meng Jiuyi looked up at him, her eyes brimming with a dazzling galaxy, yet staring straight ahead, "Mr. Xu, gratitude cannot buy secrets; secrets must be exchanged for secrets."
Xu Yanzhi asked, "Do you want to know my secret?"
The car was spacious but dark, and the dim light and shadows fell on his dark eyes. When he wasn't smiling, he seemed extremely aloof and oppressive.
But she still nodded fearlessly.
What kind of scoundrel is this?
Xu Yanzhi's eyebrows twitched slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
Finally, she raised her hand and said, "Miss Meng, please speak."
That means he agrees to the exchange.
Meng Jiuyi smiled and said, "The high-sounding reason is to selflessly rescue a friend and risk one's life for justice."
Helping Li Zhen that night was indeed a major aspect.
On the other hand, Meng Jiuyi still harbored resentment at that time. She originally thought that by drugging Tan Yuchen, she could settle her scores and clear up any grudges, but instead, she ended up getting herself into trouble.
Her resentment from nearly losing her life still lingered, so she wanted to drag Tan Yuchen down with her.
"Going deeper, Tan Yue's brother had wronged me before his death. With the thought of helping a friend, I wanted Tan Yue to find the person I resented but didn't dare to take action against and get revenge."
Xu Yanzhi asked, "Who?"
Her eyelashes curved slightly. "That's another issue. If we're going to make a deal, that'll have to be calculated separately. It's your turn now!"
If she studies business properly, she will surely be very successful.
Xu Yanzhi stared at her for a long time, then chuckled helplessly.
The car window rolled down, and the wind carried his voice as he drifted into memories.
"I once had a knife cut into my ribs."
Meng Jiuyi suddenly opened his eyes wide.
That was the period when things were at their worst with Xu Yungan. His mother had only been gone for less than a year, and this man, who had always been so affectionate in front of others, had completely changed his personality. He had a constant stream of female companions, and even his female secretary wanted to get into his bed.
Faced with Xu Yanzhi's accusations, Xu Yungan only said that he had no choice and that if he didn't try to distract himself, he would leave with his mother.
What a high-sounding reason.
That year, Xu Yanzhi went to the Middle East to find some peace and quiet, but he never expected to encounter riots. The days of border closures allowed him to heal his wounds alone, unknown to anyone.
Meng Jiuyi was surprised and puzzled. "Uncle Zhuang didn't know either? He's been taking care of you all along."
Xu Yanzhi said solemnly, "He doesn't know either."
"I...can I take a look?"
Xu Yan stared at her intently, his eyes deep and intense, until Meng Jiuyi's face turned red and she began to argue illogically.
"...If I haven't seen him, Mr. Xu might just be trying to mislead me. This matter is not completely over yet."
She always had a variety of reasons and tricks to get him to agree.
If this one doesn't work, there's always another one waiting.
Xu Yanzhi was somewhat puzzled as to whether it was easy to lower one's bottom line again after compromising once.
He never imagined that one day he would unbutton his shirt and let a girl see his scars that no one else knew about.
The man was very stingy, only unbuttoning a few buttons in the middle, requiring Meng Jiuyi to get very close to see them.
She knew why Uncle Zhuang had never noticed it: the tattoo was covering it up—it was a pair of wings wrapped around a scepter.
She spoke softly, "Mr. Xu, it must have hurt a lot that day, right?"
".....fine."
He sounded fine, but if you listened closely, his voice was a little hoarse.
Her attention was entirely focused on his tattoos, and she didn't notice her hot breath spraying onto his abdomen, causing his Adam's apple to bob more than once.
**
After arriving at the residential area, Xu Yanzhi drove her for a while longer.
The warm yellow streetlights illuminated the narrow path, casting their shadows diagonally across the ground. The autumn night was cool, and the man's suit jacket was draped over her shoulders.
When he saw her into the elevator, Xu Yanzhi held the open button for her.
The stairwell door slowly closed, reflecting his nodding farewell face, but just as it was about to close, a sudden "ding" sound rang out.
The door opened again.
Meng Jiuyi raised her face, and Xu Yanzhi looked at her with some confusion.
"Actually, you don't really like talking about promotion, do you?"
Meng Jiuyi's eyes were wide open.
This was the answer he came up with in his spare time. He had been deceived by her before and hadn't thought about it deeply, but at the Meng residence, he saw it clearly: the look in her eyes when she looked at Tan Sheng was only gratitude, not love.
But if that's the case, where did the marks all over his body that night come from?
He was far more perceptive than she had imagined, and Meng Jiuyi was so shocked that she didn't know what to say.
Xu Yanzhi smiled and said, "Go back and think about what you need me to exchange next time."
Even so, he didn't let her leave, his gaze lingering on her for so long that she felt anxious, trapped in her four-walled cage.
The elevator doors closed this time.
However, just a few minutes later, before Xu Yanzhi had even left the residential area, his phone rang. She waved to him from the window upstairs.
"Mr. Xu, the suit is still with me, wait a moment and I'll get it to you—"
"I know."
Xu Yanzhi looked up at her, as if he could see her anxious face in the dim light. "Keep it and return it to me next time we meet."
After he left, the heavy night also took away the shyness in Meng Jiuyi's eyes, and she regained her clarity.
She held the soft fabric in her arms, a fabric she had never touched before, and carefully folded it on her arms, as if it were a dream that would shatter sooner or later.
--
There's another one with pickled cabbage coming up, but I'm stuck on it. I'll check back tomorrow.
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