Chapter 22

Originally, Meng Pingting should have gone abroad during high school, but she fell ill at that time. Mother Meng couldn’t bear to see her leave, so she decided to let Meng Pingting study abroad after graduating from high school. However, when Meng Pingting graduated from high school, something happened in City A. The youngest son of the Li family died from a drug overdose abroad. He was originally a very sensible child, but who could have expected such an outcome.

The Meng family held a meeting. Both Mother Meng and Meng Zhengrong felt that Meng Pingting lacked self-control. So, they finally decided to let her study at a university in China first. When she became more sensible, it would be up to her to decide whether to go abroad or not.

Now, Meng Pingting is twenty years old and is in her third year of university. She has two paths ahead of her: to go abroad for further studies after graduation or to pursue a master’s degree. Whether to get married directly after graduation or to work in a company depends on her own choice.

When she first entered university, she thought about going abroad after graduation. But in her third year, she met her current boyfriend. Her boyfriend’s family background is very ordinary, not even reaching the level of moderately well-off. His family cannot afford to send him abroad. When they were dating, he told her that he wouldn’t pursue a master’s degree after graduation and would start working directly, saving some money with the support of his parents so he could make a down payment on a house.

To Meng Pingting, this was simply unbelievable. Is it so difficult to buy a house?

When she was eighteen, her family directly bought her two houses in her name.

If her boyfriend didn’t plan to go abroad, why should she? Long-distance relationships were already unreliable, let alone long-distance and international relationships.

In this way, Meng Pingting had already made up her mind. She would continue her studies after graduation and stay in China.

“Your parents have come all this way, hurry up and let them stay in a decent hotel. This place is so dirty,” Meng Pingting muttered to her boyfriend, Wang Lin, sitting across from her in the cafe.

Wang Lin smiled bitterly, “They can’t get used to expensive hotels. They will say I’m wasting money.”

His parents would only stay for a week. He also wanted them to stay in a good hotel to be comfortable, but could his financial situation afford it?

Even if he booked a budget hotel, his parents would still worry. Wang Lin knew that Meng Pingting’s family was wealthy, with enough money to spend for generations. But was it his? No. He liked Meng Pingting regardless of her family background. Accepting financial assistance from his girlfriend would only make him feel more embarrassed.

Just like now, in this cafe, just her cup of coffee and mousse cake had already cost him the money he earned as a tutor for a week.

When they were together at the beginning, Meng Pingting also insisted that she pay, but the man’s self-esteem did not allow this, so even though being with Meng Pingting would cost a lot of money and he was under great pressure, he never thought about letting her pay for their dates.

Meng Pingting glanced at Wang Lin. They had been dating for almost half a year. She knew exactly what he was thinking most of the time. So, most of the time she would choose the cheapest place possible when she went out with him. “I have a friend who’s studying abroad. Her house is empty. Let your parents stay there. It’ll save some money, and we can take them out to eat nice food later.”

Wang Lin was about to say something when he was interrupted by Meng Pingting, “Stop talking, it’s decided.”

When a woman falls in love, they can become foolish if they really like the person. That’s why there is such a saying that women have zero IQ when they fall in love.

Wang Lin looked at Meng Pingting at this moment and had this thought. What a silly girl.

He took something out of his pocket and put it on the table, looking a bit embarrassed, “Today is our six-month anniversary. I didn’t know what to get, but I heard girls like this lipstick… “

Actually, the lipstick wasn’t expensive, just three or four hundred yuan. He knew Meng Pingting wasn’t interested in such things. But whether she liked it or not was another matter.

Meng Pingting’s face lit up with surprise as she picked up the lipstick and examined it. “I really like it! Thank you, darling!”

Wang Lin could see that she really liked it, and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Sometimes, the value of a gift isn’t the most important thing for women. As long as there’s sincerity and thoughtfulness, it’s enough.

While Meng Pingting was trying on the lipstick in front of a small mirror, she accidentally caught sight of a couple entering the cafe.

The man was Chen Hao, the ex-boyfriend of her sister-in-law, Xu Yuan. The woman was said to be Chen Hao’s former mistress. Meng Pingting didn’t know them personally, but she had heard about their affair from friends. She had even seen them once in a restaurant before. Although Meng Pingting didn’t particularly like Xu Yuan at the moment, she didn’t harbor any ill feelings toward her. Thinking that Xu Yuan had been treating her well lately, Meng Pingting had gotten used to calling her sister-in-law in public. Now, seeing this shameless couple, Meng Pingting felt an urge to speak out for Xu Yuan.

She had seen shameless people before, but she had never seen such shameless ones.

One was Xu Yuan’s boyfriend, the other was Xu Yuan’s friend. These two were secretly having an affair. Just thinking about it made her sick.

She saw the two sitting not far away, and after ordering, the woman got up and headed towards the restroom. Meng Pingting put the lipstick back in her bag and said to Wang Lin, “I’ll go to the restroom and be back soon.”

Wang Lin was perceptive, and he noticed that Meng Pingting had been staring at the other table openly. Since she got up when the woman did, there must be something wrong.

But if Meng Pingting didn’t want to say, he didn’t need to pry. He just said, “If anything happens, call me.”

Meng Pingting absentmindedly nodded, picked up her bag, stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

After entering the restroom, she placed her bag on the counter and started to touch up her makeup. Soon, Sun Zhi came out.

Sun Zhi saw someone in the restroom and walked over to Meng Pingting to wash her hands, subconsciously glancing at the mirror and sizing up Meng Pingting.

This girl’s bag was from a limited edition of a certain brand. It could buy a house in her small hometown.

Sun Zhi then looked at her own bag and felt a pang of sadness for some reason. In the eyes of her colleagues, her bags were already expensive enough, after all, they were from luxury brands. When she was still in school, she had a roommate who owned such bags. When she found out that the bag was worth tens of thousands, she was shocked. She had never thought it would be so expensive. Once, when she had an important interview, she mustered up the courage to ask her roommate to borrow the bag for just one day. Her roommate sarcastically mocked her at the time. 

Now she already has five or six bags like this, but only she knows that her desire cannot be fulfilled. She is the same. One or two years ago, she thought she needed a bag worth twenty or thirty thousand yuan, but now she wants… Sun Zhi’s gaze lingered on Meng Pingting’s bag. Yes, now she wants this kind of bag. What’s the big deal about a bag worth twenty or thirty thousand yuan?

Meng Pingting noticed Sun Zhi sizing up her bag and sneered inwardly. She really exuded an air of poverty.

Being poor is one thing, there are plenty of poor people in this world. But those who are poor and still covet other people’s things are truly disgusting.

At this time, Meng Pingting’s cell phone rang, and she picked it up. Sun Zhi was touching up her makeup.

“You know what, some people think they’ve hooked up with a rich second-generation, but what kind of rich second-generation is that? Their family is just an empty shell. Someone buys them a bag, and they’re overjoyed, thinking they’ve squeezed into the circle of the wealthy. It’s really laughable,” Meng Pingting said as she twirled her hair with her fingers. “They’re full of a sense of poverty. My mom always says, stay away from people like that, so you don’t get splashed with mud.”

Sun Zhi froze, unsure if it was her imagination, but she felt like the girl glanced at her with contempt as she left.

After Meng Pingting returned to her seat, she left with Wang Lin.

She walked hand in hand with Wang Lin on the street, even though her car was nearby. She willingly accompanied Wang Ling to take the subway. She didn’t dislike poor people; some people are born with good fortune, and no one should look down on anyone because of their family background. She just looked down on those who have lofty aspirations but are incapable and envy others.

After Meng Pingting and Wang Lin parted ways, she couldn’t wait to call Xu Yuan to boast.

It was both boasting and a signal of goodwill towards her.

Xu Yuan was already getting ready to get off work when she received a call from Meng Pingting. During this period, she learned very quickly. Not only did she learn how to use a mobile phone and type on a computer, but she also learned some financial things, and she was in a good mood.

She didn’t know why Meng Pingting called her, but she still said cheerfully, “Pingting, what do you want from me?”

Meng Pingting was still a little excited. She coughed twice and cleared her throat, “Sister-in-law, guess who I met today?”

Xu Yuan was flipping through some documents and without even raising her eyelids, she replied, “Who did you meet?”

Seeing that Xu Yuan was interested in continuing the conversation, Meng Pingting deliberately gave it a try and said, “Two of your old acquaintances.”

“Acquaintances? Who?” Xu Yuan was not really interested, but after all, it was rare for Meng Pingting to call her, so no matter what, she had to pretend to be interested.

“Your ex-boyfriend, and his current girlfriend.”

Xu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. From this, it was evident that Meng Pingting had grown up as a carefree little princess. To say it nicely, she was naive and lively, but to be blunt, she lacked emotional maturity.

The person in this body now is not the original owner, but her, so she didn’t feel anything when she heard Meng Pingting’s words. If it was the original owner… ugh.

However, given the wealth of the Meng family, it didn’t matter if Meng Pingting’s emotional intelligence was low. Besides, Meng Pingting’s character wasn’t too bad.

As her sister-in-law, Xu Yuan didn’t need to care about her sister-in-law’s character.

“Well, how did you meet them?” Xu Yuan’s tone was well controlled. On the one hand, she showed her interest, but on the other hand, she was very relaxed.

There was absolutely no hint of annoyance.

Meng Pingting had a tone of boasting, “I ran into them at the café. I even subtly ridiculed that woman without leaving a trace! Next time, if I run into her again, I’ll definitely embarrass her even more than today!”

Xu Yuan pinched the bridge of her nose.

She knew Meng Pingting had good intentions, but…

It’s really hard to describe.

“Thank you, Pingting.” Xu Yuan’s tone was sincere, “If you’re free, come over for dinner sometime. Your room is still there.”

There were several guest rooms in the villa, and they are not reserved for anyone. Anyone can stay there, but it doesn’t cost money to say this anyway.

Meng Pingting was very happy and found Xu Yuan even more pleasing, “Okay, okay, I’ll hang up now, sister-in-law.”

After hanging up the phone, Xu Yuan put down the documents and stared at the green plants on the table. It was good for her eyes.

Previously, she had heard about Sun Zhi from Mrs. Chen, and knew the general situation. The original host was friends with Sun Zhi, regardless of the relationship, they were friends. Then the original host’s ex-boyfriend, Chen Hao, got together with Sun Zhi, which was discovered by the original host. The original host broke up with Chen Hao shortly after and married Meng Zhenrong.

Putting aside Sun Zhi’s actions for now, as fellow women, it wasn’t appropriate to speak too harshly. It was just that Chen Hao’s character was bad. Even if there was no Sun Zhi, maybe there would be another woman. The most shameless one should be the man.

One hand alone can’t clap. If Chen Hao hadn’t acted, who would Sun Zhi applaud for?

Of course, she wasn’t the original host, and the original host was already married, so there was no need to get involved with the past. But if these two people still occasionally tried to assert their presence in front of her, then don’t blame her for not being polite.

After wrapping up her work, Xu Yuan prepared to leave. After hinting to Meng Zhenrong several times, Meng Zhenrong didn’t come to the finance department to wait for her to leave work every day. Today was no exception. He just sent her a WeChat message saying he was waiting for her in the parking lot.

After saying goodbye to her colleagues, Xu Yuan took the elevator to the parking lot. She saw Meng Zhengrong’s car there. Just when she opened the door and was about to get in, Meng Zhengrong said to her, “Xiao Yuan, can you help me get two bottles of water from the trunk? I’m a bit thirsty.”

Xu Yuan had a bad premonition.

What a coincidence. I watched a TV series at home after dinner yesterday. The TV series had such a plot. The male protagonist prepared a large bouquet of flowers and put it in the trunk, and then tricked the heroine into opening the trunk. The heroine was very happy when she saw the flowers. The two hugged each other.

I don’t know what others think, but Xu Yuan feels that if it were her, she would probably be suffocated by embarrassment.

She didn’t want to go, so she hesitated, “You can go get it yourself. I want to rest for a bit.”

Compared to saying such things, facing the possible embarrassment would be even more unbearable for her. After thinking about it, she decided to tactfully refuse.

Meng Zhenrong didn’t expect Xu Yuan to say this and was stunned.

But since she didn’t want to, he couldn’t keep confronting her in the parking lot. He had to force a smile, got out of the car himself, and came to the back of the car. Inside the trunk was a bouquet of flowers and a delicately packaged box containing a diamond necklace.

Meng Zhenrong had never earnestly pursued anyone. His conditions were clear, and he didn’t need to pursue anyone. As long as he showed a little interest in a girl, he didn’t need to chase. Others would be willing to be with him. But those were things of the past. Now, in front of him, was a wife who was on equal footing with him and might not even have feelings for him.

In fact, when it came to pursuing someone, Meng Zhenrong was a complete country bumpkin.

For dates, it was just shopping and dining out, knowing that women liked bags and jewelry.

But was Xu Yuan an ordinary woman? No, even if he gave her these things, she wouldn’t be too happy because she already had them. The so-called luxury items were commonplace for her.

Meng Zhenrong secretly searched online and found that women liked surprises. There were also many suggestions, which he found quite practical. For example, today’s plan, hiding flowers and gifts in the trunk, was something only seen in dramas.

He never expected Xu Yuan to refuse to go to the trunk to get things.

This surprise was completely diminished.

Some of the Meng’s employees saw Meng Zhengrong holding a bouquet of flowers and a box. No one dared to take a second look. After all, he was the big boss.

Meng Zhenrong got into the car, and when Xu Yuan saw the flowers in his hand, she thought it was just as she expected.

It was much better for him to give it to her like this than for her to open the trunk and see it herself.

Meng Zhenrong handed the roses to Xu Yuan, feeling a bit embarrassed but not showing it. “It’s our three-month anniversary since we got married a few days ago. I forgot to prepare a gift. I hope you don’t mind.”

In the eyes of a straight man, three months of marriage wasn’t really an anniversary, and Meng Zhenrong thought the same. But he wanted to give Xu Yuan a gift and wasn’t very skilled at it. He had to find a reason. With no recent holidays or birthdays, he settled on their three-month anniversary.

Xu Yuan’s expression was complicated, but she still accepted the roses. To be honest, these flowers felt more like a bomb to her. She wanted to throw them away.

Originally, the relationship between her and Meng Zhenrong was quite normal. They didn’t disturb each other, and cooperating in acting wasn’t a problem. But now, what was he up to? Buying her flowers and talking about their three-month anniversary, these were all nonsense.

Meng Zhenrong handed her the box, but Xu Yuan didn’t open it. Instead, she put it aside. “Thank you. But I didn’t prepare any gift.”

“It’s nothing…” Meng Zhenrong was about to say that his company was the best gift when he accidentally glanced at Xu Yuan’s hands. He was startled and asked, “Where’s your ring?”

Meng Zhenrong still had his wedding ring on his left ring finger, but Xu Yuan didn’t.

He hadn’t noticed this detail before, but today he did, and it made him feel uneasy.

They hadn’t been married for long, and even if wearing the ring was uncomfortable, shouldn’t she wear it for a few months just for appearances’ sake?

Xu Yuan looked down. Indeed, she wasn’t wearing the ring. Women liked jewelry, and rings were no exception. The original host’s wedding ring was a diamond ring. She wore it a few times, but it was inconvenient, so she took it off and put it in the jewelry box. She didn’t expect Meng Zhenrong to notice it today.

“It’s not convenient to wear it while working,” Xu Yuan swore that, that was the truth.

But Meng Zhenrong felt she was lying.

Her wedding ring was envied by anyone who saw it at the wedding. At that time, although she didn’t like him, she was happy to see the ring and even took several photos wearing it. Why wasn’t she wearing it now? Has the novelty of something she liked already worn off?

Why wasn’t she wearing it?

Overactive imagination wasn’t just a patent for women. In fact, men could do it too, and now Meng Zhenrong couldn’t help but speculate.

He knew that Xu Yuan didn’t like him, and he didn’t delude himself into thinking she had fallen for him.

Come to think of it, why didn’t Xu Yuan like him? On one hand, they hadn’t been together for long, so it was too early to talk about liking each other. On the other hand, wasn’t it because she had just broken up not long ago? Wasn’t there someone she liked before?

He wasn’t clueless. Whether it was a man or a woman, getting over the hurt from a previous relationship wasn’t something that could be done in just one or two months. Although he didn’t want to admit it, from what he understood, Xu Yuan had truly liked Chen Hao before. So, she was probably still recovering from the breakup.

Can Chen Hao compare with him? Can it be compared?

From any perspective, he was far superior to that scumbag. If his wife liked that scumbag but couldn’t like such a high-quality him, just thinking about it made Meng Zhenrong feel frustrated and impatient.

Forgetting the hurt from a previous relationship, apart from time, there was also a new love.

Meng Zhengrong still knows this truth. On the one hand, it is out of a man’s self-esteem, and on the other hand, he had set his heart on Xu Yuan. So, no matter what, he had to make Xu Yuan like him now.

He thought it shouldn’t be difficult to make Xu Yuan fall in love with him.

Thinking of this, Meng Zhengrong smiled and said warmly: “Is it uncomfortable to wear? Then do you want to change it to something more comfortable?”

In situations like this, he couldn’t show his emotions.

Xu Yuan glanced at Meng Zhengrong and said, “No, I’ll wear it tomorrow. I’ll probably get used to it after wearing it for a while.”

Meng Zhenrong was quite satisfied with this answer.

Wearing a wedding ring was not only a reminder to others but also a reminder to oneself of one’s married status.

First, he had to let her know that she was his wife now, Mrs. Meng.

“It’s almost Saturday. Do you want to go somewhere else for a walk?” Meng Zhenrong thought using the two-day weekend to visit the neighboring city was a good idea to promote their relationship.

Xu Yuan shook her head. “I don’t have time.”

Meng Zhengrong felt depressed for a while. Fortunately, he was no longer the person he was when he was young. Now he has learned to be tolerant and patient with others. “What do you want to do on Saturday? Are you having a party with friends or spending time with mom and dad?”

If that’s the case, he can come along too.

“Madam Wang asked me to participate in a charity event together. I’ll be joining her on the weekend. We’re leaving on Friday night and probably won’t be back until Sunday night.”

Many companies were involved in charity work, and Xu Yuan had joined Madam Wang’s team.

Most of the charity activities that Madam Wang does are for children and the elderly, and this time is no exception. She wants to provide help to sick orphans.

The more impoverished the area, the more people needed help. Madam Wang had prepared Xu Yuan in advance. Charity work wasn’t as glamorous and easy as attending banquets; they had to visit poor areas, where resources were scarce, and there might not even be decent hotels.

Meng Zhengrong heard this, thought for a while and said, “I’ll go with you.”

When it comes to pursuing someone, time is of the essence. Since the decision had been made, not a moment could be wasted, not even a single opportunity.