Chapter 27

As soon as these words were spoken, the other two people present froze, but Meng Xuan’s attention was all on Meng Yinyin at the moment, so he didn’t pay attention to Lu Chen next to him.

“Uh, that… Brother, are you tired? Do you want to go rest in my room for a while…?”

Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Meng Yinyin could only lower her head and stammer, the guilt revealed in her voice was simply unconcealable.

Meng Xuan coldly smiled.

You’ve become more capable and even learned to hide things?

Although he couldn’t help but scold Meng Yinyin a few times in his mind, Meng Xuan did agree to her suggestion.

After all, this clearly wasn’t a trivial matter. It would be better to talk about it in a more secure place.

“Why don’t you lead the way?” He spoke expressionlessly.

Meng Yinyin, feeling nervous, could only tremble as she led him to her room.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen frowned, his expression filled with concern. He wanted to follow them, but Meng Yinyin quickly stopped him with a glance.

He was joking, wasn’t he?

If Lu Chen came in with them, what would happen then?

Besides, dealing with her brother was already difficult enough. She didn’t have the energy to entertain both of them.

Sigh, the more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. How did she end up in such a situation? She felt so pitiful.

Lu Chen understood the unspoken message in Meng Yinyin’s eyes. He stopped in his tracks, but his worry didn’t dissipate.

He stood there, helpless, watching as Meng Xuan and Meng Yinyin entered the room and shut the door.

In the end, he could only stand still for a moment, before lowering his gaze anxiously and walking away.

Inside the room.

After entering Meng Yinyin’s room, Meng Xuan glanced around at the spacious and clean space, especially the bed in the corner and the clothes hanging in the wardrobe. His eyes narrowed, and he quickly confirmed one fact:

His sister is the only one living in this room.

“The room the brigade allocated to you is quite large.” Meng Xuan said, his tone neutral.

However, Meng Yinyin’s heart was racing.

After a long internal struggle, she finally braced herself and decided to tell the truth.

“Brother… actually, this isn’t the Educated Youth point…”

She glanced at Meng Xuan as she spoke, trying to gauge his reaction and adjust her words accordingly.

But, to her disappointment, she couldn’t read his expression at all—whether it was because her observation skills weren’t good enough or because her brother was too skilled at hiding his emotions, she couldn’t tell.

Seeing this, Meng Yinyin felt even more nervous.

“Oh? Then where is this?”

Meng Xuan’s tone and expression were unexpectedly calm, too calm, which made Meng Yinyin even more anxious.

She nervously twisted her fingers, forcing a smile that was barely recognizable.

“Heh, haha, this is actually Lu Chen’s place. Brother, are you surprised…?”

Her voice trailed off as she saw Meng Xuan’s expression darkening.

Even though Meng Xuan had already suspected something, he had tried to suppress his anger, constantly reminding himself that his sister couldn’t be bold enough to live alone in a man’s house. There was no way.

But in the end, Meng Yinyin had just given him a “surprise”!

She had actually had the audacity to move into another man’s home!

“Meng, Yin, Yin! You’d better give me a reasonable explanation!”

These words were practically squeezed out of Meng Xuan’s gritted teeth.

Meng Yinyin was so scared by his tone that she felt like she was shrinking into her neck. Her little body trembled uncontrollably.

Weak, pitiful, and helpless—she felt it perfectly described her current state.

Unfortunately, the person in front of her, Meng Xuan, was a cold, unfeeling “big devil.” His expression remained unmoved by her pleading gaze. He simply knocked on the table with a stern face and ordered coldly.

“Stop playing the victim and explain things to me honestly!”

Meng Yinyin pouted, realizing that pretending to be pitiful wasn’t going to solve anything. She could only tell Meng Xuan everything.

She explained how she had obediently listened to her parents about finding a partner, how she had selected Lu Chen from among many people, and how she started dating him and even moved into his house.

“… I didn’t have a choice, Brother. Please don’t be angry,” she said, her voice small as she finished explaining.

Seeing that Meng Xuan’s face had turned as dark as a bottom of a pot, she dared not raise her voice.

Meng Xuan, on the other hand, was shocked by the sheer amount of information he had just received. He was left speechless, not even knowing how to respond.

Especially when he thought about how the idea had come from his parents, suggesting it to Meng Yinyin—he was completely lost for words.

He couldn’t possibly scold his parents along with her, could he?

In the end, he could only curse inwardly at his parents for such a terrible idea, while his gaze turned sharp as he looked at Meng Yinyin. “Has he bullied you?”

He had seen what Lu Chen was like earlier. With his build and strength, he was definitely not someone easy to handle. Plus, he looked mature enough to be fully aware of his actions.

Meng Yinyin wasn’t particularly sharp, but she was definitely pretty, with a face that could easily deceive most men. He knew men often found it hard to resist such a face.

So with the two of them living alone in the same courtyard, and being “officially” a couple, there were plenty of opportunities for Lu Chen to take advantage of the situation. What if, one day, he lost control and tried to “take advantage” of Meng Yinyin?

The thought of it worried Meng Xuan greatly. If Lu Chen really tried anything, Meng Yinyin, with her tiny strength, wouldn’t be able to defend herself.

He couldn’t help but feel a mix of frustration and concern for his foolish sister.

Bully?

Meng Yinyin immediately shook her head vigorously, not even considering the possibility. She proudly responded, “How could I possibly be bullied? Brother, you really underestimate me!”

And if anyone was bullying anyone, it was her bullying Lu Chen, not the other way around.

With that, she eagerly pulled out the fruits from the table and some dried meat snacks she kept in the cabinet, proudly presenting them to Meng Xuan.

“Look, I got all of these from Lu Chen. He listens to me now, and I’ve got him wrapped around my finger. If anyone’s doing the bullying, it’s me!”

Meng Xuan’s gaze shifted from the food to her face. When he saw the expression of “I’m such a genius!” on her face, he was left completely speechless.

Meng Xuan: “…”

If God wanted to punish him, there are many ways to do it instead of letting him have such a silly and ignorant sister. The key is how can he, a grown man, explain to a young girl like her that this kind of “bullying” is not that kind of bullying?

In the end, he could only force a smile and say, “It’s truly a miracle that you’ve grown up this far.”

Meng Yinyin: “…!”

She puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and shot him a glare, furious but unable to argue back.

In the end, she could only make a note of this little grievance in her mind, planning to complain to their parents the next time she saw them.

After the teasing, Meng Xuan felt a bit relieved. Considering Meng Yinyin’s cluelessness, it seemed unlikely that she had actually been “bullied”—if she had, she wouldn’t have answered such a nonsensical question.

Now, he felt a bit more at ease about Lu Chen. But that relief didn’t last long.

Though Meng Yinyin insisted that she and Lu Chen were just pretending to be a couple and temporarily staying at his house, who would believe that? Did other people believe it?

I’m afraid only a fool like her would believe it.

“Brother, how long can you stay this time? Have you found a place to stay? If not…”

Meng Xuan cut her off, “What, you want to kick me out after just meeting?”

“No, I just meant if you don’t have a place to stay, you can sleep on the floor in my room. My room is so spacious and it’s so hot right now, sleeping on the floor won’t be a problem!”

Meng Xuan: “…”

She really was his sister.

“Fine, you stay in your own room. Who would want to stay with you?” he said, casting her a disdainful glance. But in his heart, he already had a plan for where to stay.

Although he refused to sleep on the floor in Meng Yinyin’s room, he didn’t plan to stay somewhere else either.

Lu Chen’s house was spacious, and considering that he was technically his brother-in-law, it wouldn’t be a problem to stay there. Would Lu Chen dare say no?

Besides, he had his own agenda—he was there to help solve some issues for Lu Chen. It was only right for him to be treated well.

At the same time, this was a chance to observe Lu Chen closely.

Things like “pretending to be in a relationship”, “temporarily staying at his house”, and “not interfering with each other”, they are all men, and everyone knows what men are thinking.

Such naïve words could only be believed by someone like Meng Yinyin.

Lu Chen definitely had feelings for Meng Yinyin, but the question was: did he genuinely like her, or was it just her looks?

From what Meng Yinyin had mentioned, Lu Chen didn’t seem to have openly expressed his feelings. After all, it was Meng Yinyin who had brought up the relationship, and Lu Chen had seemed surprised.

Meng Xuan was determined to figure out Lu Chen’s true intentions, and if necessary, he might subtly inform him of their family’s situation and Meng Yinyin’s “plans,” perhaps even offering some compensation.

As long as that Lu Chen kid doesn’t really think he can bully Meng Yinyin just because she’s naive.

The matter was temporarily settled, and Meng Xuan, no longer in the mood to stay angry, put his luggage in Meng Yinyin’s room before calling her to go find the brigade leader.

Meng Yinyin understood that her brother was probably still upset, so she had no choice but to keep a low profile. Even though she didn’t want to go out, she knew she had to follow him.

On their way to find the brigade leader, Meng Yinyin asked about their parents. Meng Xuan didn’t reveal much to her, simply saying that they were settled for now and there were no major problems.

“Then when can we visit Mom and Dad?” she asked.

Meng Xuan paused for a moment, then answered calmly, “We’ll see. You think I have time like you? My vacation is limited. Let’s see when the next break comes around, and then we’ll go.”

“Alright, brother, you have to come pick me up when the time comes. I want to see them too!”

“Got it.”

He answered impatiently, but deep down, Meng Xuan knew that it could be a long time before they would be able to visit.

He was in the military, and while he didn’t have many opportunities to interact with the outside world, it was still far more than Meng Yinyin had living in the mountain area. He knew their parents were in a very remote and difficult place, and the key point was they probably didn’t want him, their child, to see their current conditions.

However, seeing how naïve Meng Yinyin was, believing everything he said, Meng Xuan decided not to tell her the truth.

Luckily, Meng Yinyin was in a good mood because she had finally seen her brother. She quickly started chattering about other things.

“By the way, brother, why are you going to find the brigade leader?”

She wondered if he was going to ask the brigade leader whether she had been obedient in the brigade and if she had caused trouble.

Thinking about this made Meng Yinyin feel a little guilty.

Although she really wasn’t very good at doing task, it was still embarrassing for others to see those odd work points. Especially if her brother saw it, he would definitely take the chance to educate her!

Meng Yinyin felt uneasy.

It was clear she was overthinking, but Meng Xuan didn’t bother to respond to her question. He couldn’t help but reflect on how miraculous it was that she hadn’t been deceived on the journey from their home to the unfamiliar Nanjiao Brigade.

“Just lead the way,” Meng Xuan said, snapping back to his thoughts.

“Okay…” Meng Yinyin huffed, no longer wanting to speak to him.

Silence led to them quickly finding the brigade leader.

At that moment, the brigade leader was working in the field. When he saw Meng Yinyin waving at him from the shore and noticed a stranger in military uniform standing beside her, he quickly walked over.

“Educated Youth Meng, this must be your relative?”

Someone had already informed him that a strange soldier was present, so he wasn’t as surprised to see Meng Xuan.

Meng Yinyin nodded, still upset, but obediently introduced her brother.

“Yes, brigade leader, this is my brother, Meng Xuan.”

Her brother?

“Ah, Comrade Meng Xuan, hello! Are you here to ask about Educated Youth Meng?” The brigade leader greeted him and assumed he was there to inquire about Meng Yinyin’s situation in the brigade.

However, Meng Xuan shook his head and explained.

“Brigade leader, I’m not here for her. I’m here to ask about Lu Chen.”