When Meng Jiuyi returned to the Meng residence in the evening, the servants she had helped before winked at her. She went to the main hall and saw that, in addition to Feng Ran and Feng Lan, Meng's father was also there.
Everyone else was sitting, but Mo Ruyue stood to the side with her head down.
Feng Lan saw her and mocked her, "So you know how to come back? Brother-in-law, you're not strict with your upbringing. If you dare to come home late today, you might dare to stay out all night tomorrow."
Mo Ruyue quickly said, "She made plans with a friend."
Meng's father knew that Feng Lan had a bad temper, because this sister-in-law came to his house every day and acted bossy.
However, the Tan family's power was deeply entrenched throughout the land, and Meng's father would never be foolish enough to offend them.
He said to Meng Jiuyi, "Come here and apologize to your aunt."
Meng Jiuyi stood still, his expression calm and indifferent. "Why should I apologize? It's my aunt who keeps bringing up staying out all night, sparing no effort to smear her niece and spread rumors. Why haven't I heard her apologize?"
Feng Lan flew into a rage, "You, Meng Jiuyi! You—"
Before she could finish speaking, a head suddenly popped out from the side room, "Fourth Aunt, so you've been here all along."
The group's anger abruptly ceased when Tan Ni suddenly arrived.
Tan Ni and Xi Ni ran in and sat next to her. Feng Lan gently tapped Tan Ni's nose and asked why the little darling had come. Tan Ni said she missed her aunt, and then chatted with the others for a while. When it was time to go back, she insisted on taking Feng Lan with her.
Feng Lan was helpless against her. She was usually spoiled rotten by Tan Yuchen and had no choice but to go with her.
Before leaving, Tan Ni secretly winked at Meng Jiuyi.
Meng Jiuyi responded with a grateful smile. She guessed that a confrontation was waiting for her at the Meng residence, so she called Tan Ni. Tan Ni had already arrived at the Orange Garden and was willing to turn back.
With Feng Lan gone, there was no one left to perform in the opera.
Feng Ran said gently, "Jiuyi, your aunt, as an elder, also made mistakes. It's getting late, so get some rest and don't take it too seriously."
Back in his room, Meng Jiuyi sat on a stool, pondering Feng Ran's words and actions.
In the past, when Feng Lan made things difficult for her, Feng Ran would remain silent and even offer a few words of advice, as if her good sister had dug the pit for her and that she was a good person.
But attempts to reconcile them were futile and only added fuel to the fire.
Could she be the one truly playing the leading role?
Unable to come up with a solution, Meng's father came to her room and gave her a scolding.
“I know you and Feng Lan don’t get along, but if it weren’t for her mediation, I wouldn’t have been able to bring you back. Knowing her pain, you still mocked her. You did the wrong thing.”
Meng Jiuyi didn't think she had done anything wrong. "I was being sarcastic with just a few words? What about Mom? She made Mom a fitting model for those ladies, giving her orders and instructions at will. Did she ever consider my mother's feelings?"
"It's just trying on clothes, it's not like you're going to lose a piece of flesh. Besides, didn't your mother do this before she joined the Meng family?"
Meng Jiuyi looked at him in disbelief.
Knowing he had spoken out of turn, Meng's father also felt it was pointless and told her to apologize to Feng Lan next time.
Just as he was about to leave, Meng Jiuyi called him back.
"Dad, do you remember when you and Mom first met?"
Meng Jiuyi stared at her father's retreating figure with a sense of unfamiliarity. "You fell in love with her at first sight in school, and you would run halfway through the city early in the morning to buy her steamed buns just because she wanted them. You stayed with her all night at the hospital when she had appendicitis. You were the one who said that your marriage to the Feng family was just a favor, and that you would divorce her sooner or later..."
They kept bringing up trivial, old stories, and Meng's father couldn't stand it any longer, so he left long ago.
He will remember her preferences perfectly, knowing that she doesn't like cilantro but likes grapes; he will feel sorry for her, a girl struggling through life, and tell her that with him, she doesn't have to work so hard.
If this isn't love, then what is love?
But if this is love, why did it disappear so quickly, leaving Mo Ruyue alone in the same place?
Meng Jiuyi rested her head on her lap and found it ridiculous.
Her lips curled up, and as she smiled, tears inexplicably streamed down her face, flowing down her chin and into her throat, requiring her to tilt her head back to stop them.
In this blurry vision, Meng Jiuyi saw the magazine lying on the edge of the bookshelf, and she got up and pulled it out.
After so many years of wear and tear, the edges have long been curled up, and the adhesive layer has slowly peeled off.
Magazines are updated monthly; I doubt anyone would keep them for so many years.
She's despicable. Even when he had a girlfriend, she hadn't considered that relationships could end, so it wasn't entirely impossible for her to do so.
But the reality is, regardless of whether he breaks up with his girlfriend or not, that person will never be her.
Until the tears in his eyes subsided, and until he was completely enveloped in the darkness of night, Meng Jiuyi finally put it into the book he was selling.
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