A gentle breeze blew by, and the old lady pondered her words quietly. After a long silence, she slowly smiled.
She was overthinking it.
Suddenly, a hand landed on Meng Jiuyi's shoulder, and a man's lazy voice fell on Meng Jiuyi's head.
"What are you talking about? You don't mind if I join in, do you?"
He pulled up a stool next to him, sat down, and asked someone to bring him a cup of coffee.
The old lady rolled her eyes at him.
"This is a tea party for two; we didn't invite you."
"If I just sit in on this, you might say something bad about me."
Tan Yuchen took a sip of his drink. "I'm practically an old man who just found a wife. What if you send her away with just a few words?"
Meng Jiuyi was slightly embarrassed; how could he be so shameless?
The old lady was speechless. She knew he was afraid that Meng Jiuyi would feel uncomfortable facing her alone.
The wind blew persistently halfway up the mountain, causing the pool next to it to ripple gently. Before long, the maid who was with the old lady brought her a cloak and reminded her that it was time to go back and take her medicine.
The other instigators had already slipped away, and Tan Yuchen drove her home.
As the car drove away from the cliffside greenery and the seamless blend of sea and sky, it entered the bustling city center and deep alleyways. When the old lady got out of the car, she invited Meng Jiuyi to visit Orange Garden again next time.
She was not lonely; as soon as the old lady returned, servants came forward to attend to her.
Meng Jiuyi sat in the passenger seat, watching her back as she walked away. He noticed her slightly trembling legs in the setting sun and her composed, unyielding back.
Her face was suddenly turned around, and Tan Yuchen bent his neck to look at her, his eyebrows and eyes level with hers.
"Such a tender look in your eyes, did you fall in love with my grandma at first sight?"
Meng Jiuyi glared at him, embarrassed.
"If so, is someone willing to step down?"
"Unwilling."
Tan Yuchen chuckled softly and kissed her lips. "Did you enjoy chatting with Grandma?"
Meng Jiuyi nodded. "She is very kind and won't correct me like some people do when they think my afternoon tea-drinking posture is not standard."
Tan Yuchen grunted and scratched his eyebrows.
"What are you trying to hide? I'm talking about you, Tan Yuchen!"
Meng Jiuyi held a grudge. Before, she wasn't used to drinking coffee, and every time she drank a big cup, his disgusted look made her feel like she was from the countryside.
Tan Yuchen pulled her hand away, feeling a bit of a headache. His wife had so many old grievances to dredge up; what was he going to do?
"Yes, it's my fault."
The setting sun streamed in through the window; spring had arrived, and even the sunset was exceptionally beautiful.
Seeing her leaning against the window, gazing contentedly outside with her eyes half-closed, Tan Yuchen spontaneously decided to drive the car up the mountain.
He just hired someone to upgrade the security system at the seaside villa; it may take some time.
After navigating the winding mountain roads, Meng Jiuyi realized he had arrived at the Tan family's villa when a palace resembling the White House came into view.
What are you doing here?
"Watching the sunset."
The villa boasts the best location in Kyushu, built against the mountain. Standing on the terrace, one can overlook the entire city of Kyushu, where the golden rays of the setting sun spread to the horizon.
Meng Jiuyi asked him, "Why is the villa so big?"
It occupies the entire mountain, with banquet halls, leisure areas, and even the lakeside surrounding the water; it could easily be used to build a wildlife park.
Tan Yuchen pulled her into his arms, his breath lingering in her ear. "This place wasn't originally called a villa. Grandma thought Orange Garden was too old, like living in a museum. Before she even married into the family, she said that the Tan family sounded like old scholars. She declared that even if all the men in the world died, she would never favor the Tan family. So, in order to marry her, Grandpa built another mansion in the Baroque style that she liked."
Meng Jiuyi found it very interesting.
"I can't imagine at all that the old lady used to have such a personality."
Now, she remains calm and composed, even when talking about past hurts, she speaks with a gentle smile, as if she has embraced all the storms of life, like a silent, towering tree that supports everything.
Tan Yuchen chuckled softly.
"I heard that she made a pact with her husband before she came, that her personal hobbies would not change in the slightest because of marriage. She likes to have afternoon tea with her girlfriends, go clubbing and partying. She even flew to the United States because of a piece of haute couture. As for being a matriarch, it seems like a side job she took on casually. Her husband was both a husband and a father to her all those years..."
He gradually fell silent as he spoke, wondering how much it would take for a girl who didn't care about reality to transform into what she is now.
Meng Jiuyi is also one of them.
Meng Jiuyi was surprised to hear the old lady talking about her recent studies in arts management and language arts. She was amazed that she was still learning at her age. The old lady smiled and said that she had gotten used to it over the years. In previous years, her classes were scheduled from morning till night, covering everything from interpersonal skills to speech and behavior.
Because the person who could truly support her was gone, leaving behind the Tan family's vast fortune, she couldn't let anyone outside laugh at her.
Meng Jiuyi seemed to be able to sense his emotions, even though his breathing was normal and his fingers were still playing with the ends of her hair.
She turned her head and wrapped her arms around his waist. "The old lady said she really likes who she is now. You know, some people can thrive no matter what kind of environment they're in, and they can even give strength to others. She's that kind of person."
"How can they be so cute?"
Tan Yuchen's lips twitched slightly, and he pinched her cheek.
"Are you going to play the fairy godmother every time someone's in a bad mood?"
His expression was like he was about to find fault indiscriminately again.
Meng Jiuyi: "I only say this to Tan Yuchen."
Tan Yuchen let out a soft chuckle and touched the corner of her lips.
Meng Jiuyi had been to the Tan family's villa before and thought she wouldn't get lost at all, but she was overthinking it. Back then, the servants had guided her, and the car drove directly to the banquet hall.
On the way back, passing pavilions and towers and winding around the lake, Meng Jiuyi was completely disoriented.
"Have you never gotten lost here since you were little?"
"I'm fine, just need to install a GPS. Tan Ni and Tan Sheng are practically directionally challenged, so when we were looking for servants to accompany them, the first thing we considered was their sense of direction."
Tan Yuchen held her hand, pointing his chin to the distance, "When I was little, one thing I always liked to do when I came to the villa was to hide in a tree and watch them look for me."
Meng Jiuyi looked into the distance and saw a lush olive tree on the hillside, a tree rarely seen in the manor.
Just as she was about to look away, she suddenly frowned slightly.
Is there a swing behind that olive tree?
Tan Yuchen raised an eyebrow slightly, "Did President Meng have such foresight?"
Meng Jiuyi couldn't explain why she felt that sudden sense of familiarity. This wasn't the first time she'd had this feeling; she'd felt the same way when she attended a banquet at the Tan family's villa last time.
She followed Tan Yuchen up the hillside and around the swing.
"After passing this stone cave, is there a lakeside stepping stone that looks like a piano, and makes musical sounds when you step on it?"
Before he finished speaking, the steps beneath his feet suddenly lit up, and piano music began to play.
Even Tan Yuchen found this strange. "Have you been here before?"
The banquet hall where guests are received is quite a distance away, and even if someone is attending a banquet, it's unlikely they would walk this far.
Meng Jiuyi shook his head, confirming that he had never been here before.
Tan Yuchen noticed her serious expression. Ever since she learned that someone had broken into the courtyard house, even when she appeared happy, she seemed to be under a dark cloud in her heart.
"It's probably God telling you in a dream that your future husband lives here."
Meng Jiuyi responded with an eye roll and a flying kick, but the lakeside was right next to them, and she thought he would dodge it. Unexpectedly, Tan Yuchen fell into the water directly from her force.
With a "plop," water splashed everywhere.
Meng Jiuyi's face showed both embarrassment at doing something wrong and a hint of schadenfreude.
However, after squatting at the bottom of the stone steps for a long time without any movement from the water, Meng Jiuyi panicked.
"Tan Yuchen! Tan Yuchen! I'm not playing with you anymore!"
She looked around blankly, seeing only her own reflection in the water. At that moment, a memory that wasn't hers suddenly swayed in the gentle breeze, forcibly pressed into her mind—
In the darkness, a large hand forcefully pushed her head into the water. She desperately tried to call for help, but as soon as she opened her mouth, cold water rushed into her nostrils.
The eyes above the lake remained cold and sinister throughout.
--
good evening.
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