Chapter 23

Xu Yuan really didn’t want Meng Zhengrong to go with her.

She said with some reluctance: “Madam Wang said that it is a poor town, the economy and communication are not developed, and there is only a guest house in the town.”

Meng Zhengrong replied without hesitation, “Then you’ll definitely be uncomfortable there. You haven’t experienced such hardships before. Madam Wang, too, should have thought twice before assigning you such an activity right after you joined.”

He had never participated in any charity activities. The Meng family had charity projects, but they were usually attended by other high-ranking leaders. Just thinking about it made him realize that the conditions wouldn’t be very good.

“That’s how charity works,” Xu Yuan said, looking at him. “Madam Wang has been doing this for over a decade. She’s in her fifties now, and if she can do it, then someone as young as me certainly can.”

She can do anything that others can do in this world.

From Meng Zhengrong and Madam Wang’s attitudes, it’s clear that engaging in such charity work is absolutely beneficial with no harm. The road to success is always difficult at first, and she had never expected to live an easy life. Since there are benefits, why wouldn’t she do it?

Meng Zhengrong nodded, “That’s why I must accompany you.”

“What a strange conversation…” Xu Yuan muttered to herself.

“You just said it yourself, that poor town only has guest houses. Without me saying it, I already know how bad the conditions in guest houses can be. I’ve seen it in movies before, whether it’s thirty or fifty a night, and guest houses in poor towns are definitely cheaper, with probably unwashed sheets.” Meng Zhengrong had made up his mind. “We happen to have a nice RV at home. Although it won’t be as comfortable as home, it’s much better than staying outside. I’m worried about you going to such remote places alone, so I must go with you.”

Seeing Meng Zhengrong’s firm attitude, Xu Yuan knew it was useless to say more and had to agree, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Meng Zhengrong didn’t feel this way before, but now, hearing Xu Yuan being so polite, he felt a bit disappointed. Was she used to talking like this with Chen Hao, that scumbag? Definitely not.

“There’s no need for a husband and wife to talk about whether something is troublesome or not. Don’t say such things in the future. It’s only natural for me to accompany you no matter what we do.”

Meng Zhengrong had never said such things to anyone before. He had thought Xu Yuan would be touched, but looking at her expression, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Apart from calmness, there was nothing on her face that hinted at any emotion.

Xu Yuan now felt that Meng Zhengrong was getting a bit clingy.

They were together last weekend, and now they couldn’t escape each other this weekend either.

Meng Zhengrong was very happy, feeling that he was getting closer to his goal step by step. Feelings need to be cultivated through interaction. Upon careful calculation, he realized that they hadn’t spent much time together. Although she was also at the Meng Corporation, they only had lunch together. Sometimes he had meetings or dinners, so they couldn’t eat together.

When he thought about it carefully, the time they spent together might be more than that of people in a relationship, but without a past between them, it would still take a lot of time and effort to create feelings.

Even if the conditions in the poor town were bad, he still had to go with her.

Moreover, if she could go, why couldn’t he?

For this trip to the poor town, Meng Zhengrong prepared a lot, and a good SLR camera was definitely indispensable.

Song Yu sat on the sofa playing with his own lens. “You’re just going to a poor town. A regular camera will do. Don’t waste things.”

“You don’t understand,” Meng Zhengrong replied. He had thought it over; this time, he must take some photos. First, for corporate promotion, and then some online publicity. He didn’t need to make a big deal out of it; that would seem like annoying hype.

Even Lei Feng, who did good deeds without leaving a name, still wanted to record them in his diary. If he and his wife did a good deed, at least others should know, right?

“A heartless entrepreneur wants to go to a poor town to spread warmth. Hmm, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me,” Song Yu said, looking at Meng Zhengrong jokingly. “You know, it might be that your wife is sent by heaven to reform you. Look, it’s only been two or three months since you got married, and you’re already being influenced to do charity work yourself.”

There aren’t many businessmen who are philanthropists. Although Meng Zhengrong hadn’t violated any laws or regulations in his business, he wasn’t really a conscientious businessman either. Today, he was actually going to the countryside himself, and the thought of it was unbelievable.

Meng Zhengrong ignored Song Yu. He was thinking about something else. “Ah, you know, the countryside is definitely not as clean as the city. I can’t just go there in a suit, can I?”

“So what?”

“So, as soon as we finish work on Thursday, I’m taking Xu Yuan shopping.”

The transportation in the poor town must not be developed, and the road conditions must not be very good. They couldn’t both go in formal wear. It would be very inconvenient. They needed to prepare to buy casual clothes, sportswear, and sneakers.

At first, Xu Yuan was unwilling, but when she heard Meng Zhengrong’s reasoning, she thought it made sense, so she followed along.

They arrived at a sports brand store. It wasn’t Friday or the weekend, and there were no promotions going on, so there weren’t many people in the store. When the salesperson saw Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan, she quickly greeted them. However, it’s worth mentioning that the salesperson didn’t rush to introduce new styles; instead, she silently followed them and only answered their questions when they had any.

In recent years, retro styles have become popular. Meng Zhengrong immediately spotted a pair of sneakers in the store. Actually, he didn’t have many opportunities to wear sneakers. He did have a pair because he went to the gym several times a month, but Xu Yuan didn’t have the habit of exercising, so almost all her shoes were high heels.

“What do you think of this pair?” Meng Zhengrong asked, picking up a pair of sneakers.

Xu Yuan glanced at them. To be honest, she didn’t find any of these sneakers attractive. But Meng Zhengrong was right; wearing sneakers in the countryside would be more convenient and comfortable for walking. “Hmm, they’re okay,” she replied.

Looking around the store, Meng Zhengrong picked out a pair that was relatively less ugly among the options.

“Do you have size 42?” Meng Zhengrong turned to the salesperson and asked.

The salesperson quickly went to fetch a pair of size 42 for Meng Zhengrong to try on.

Standing in front of the mirror, Meng Zhengrong thought they looked pretty good, but he wanted to hear Xu Yuan praise him. “How do I look? Ugly or not?”

Xu Yuan’s aesthetic sense at the moment was limited to thinking that women looked beautiful in dresses and high heels. She thought the sneakers looked average, but she didn’t want to say anything to discourage Meng Zhengrong. It was getting late, and she just wanted to buy them and go home. She couldn’t imagine how much longer Meng Zhengrong would take if she said they didn’t look good.

“Not ugly,” Xu Yuan said. After a moment’s thought, she added, “They’re okay.”

Originally, Meng Zhengrong felt a slight emotion when he heard her say “not ugly.” But not ugly? Then he shouldn’t buy them. Maybe he should look for another pair. However, before his emotions could escalate, Xu Yuan added, “They’re okay.” Suddenly, Meng Zhengrong felt much better. As he looked in the mirror again, he felt that his taste wasn’t bad at all.

Seeing that Meng Zhengrong was satisfied, Xu Yuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Little did she know, Meng Zhengrong turned to the salesperson and said, “There should be a women’s version of these shoes, right?”

The salesperson replied, “Yes, there is.”

“You should try it too, if you think it’s good.” Meng Zhengrong said to Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan had no choice but to try on the women’s version. She didn’t care if they looked good or not; they were comfortable to wear.

Meng Zhengrong happily paid for their purchases with his credit card.

Yes, why did he drag Xu Yuan out to shop together? It was precisely for this purpose.

Couple outfits, couple shoes, couple watches… Aren’t these things that young couples in love have? When he was young, his girlfriend at the time also had such intentions. She wanted to assert her dominance. At the time, he felt it was awkward and not meaningful to wear the same clothes or shoes as his girlfriend. So, in over thirty years of life, this was the first time he had engaged in such couple activities.

He had to admit, it felt pretty good.

As long as they both wore these shoes, as long as their eyes weren’t blind and their minds weren’t muddled, everyone would know they were a couple.

With that, his goal was achieved.

He couldn’t accept a couple outfits yet, but a couple shoes were a must.

Finally, the two returned home with their arms full. Xu Yuan stood under the shower, feeling strange. If she were to go shopping for the dresses and high heels she liked, she wouldn’t get tired or bored all day. Today, although they were buying clothes and shoes, after just over an hour of shopping, she felt very tired.

Perhaps it was because summer was approaching, Xu Yuan’s pajamas were getting thinner, and Meng Zhengrong was getting more and more irritable.

Before getting married, Meng Zhengrong had been single for over a year. Sleeping alone was fine; even if there were any reactions, he could handle it himself. But now, with Xu Yuan sleeping next to him, everything was different. He couldn’t just go to the bathroom to take care of himself every time he felt something. That would be embarrassing. But she was lying there beside him, emitting a pleasant fragrance. The more he felt this way, the more Meng Zhengrong felt that if he were in ancient times, he might have become Liu Xiahui…, a man of great self-restraint…

Now that he had made up his mind to pursue her, Meng Zhengrong couldn’t possibly make such a request for them to share a room before she even liked him. That would be embarrassing.

Glancing at Xu Yuan, who was currently lying on her side playing with her phone, her sleeping attire was quite conservative, but her posture barely covered her thighs. Xu Yuan’s skin was fair, like white porcelain, and coupled with her well-proportioned figure…

Sigh.

It was truly agonizing.

Meng Zhengrong couldn’t bear it any longer. He turned to face away from her, pulled the blanket up over himself, reached for his phone on the bedside table, and directly opened the music app, playing Buddhist chants.

“Sariputra, form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form…”

Suddenly playing the Heart Sutra on the speakers, Xu Yuan was startled. She turned around and asked, “What are you doing? Is something wrong?”

Why would he play this kind of music at night? It’s strange.

Meng Zhengrong continued silently chanting the words “form is emptiness, emptiness is form” in his mind. He wasn’t sure if listening to this kind of music would be effective but chanting along seemed to make him feel less restless.

“Just listening to some songs.”

His answer was brief. Xu Yuan felt a little panicked listening to this music. She really wanted Meng Zhengrong to turn it off, but since it wasn’t bedtime yet, and he could do whatever he wanted, she felt her request would be too demanding. She gritted her teeth and endured it.

Listening to this kind of music at this time of night was really absurd!

Meng Zhengrong listened to it several times in a row, finally suppressing the urges in his body, and then happily turned off the music and fell asleep without any distractions.

But Xu Yuan wasn’t feeling so happy.

After all, the strange occurrences that happened to her last night were a bit supernatural. Hearing this kind of music didn’t calm her down. Instead, it made her feel uneasy.

The next morning, Meng Zhengrong slept soundly and felt refreshed all day.

He decided to listen to the Heart Sutra every night before going to bed before talking to Xu Yuan about anything romantic. Sitting on the sofa, Meng Zhengrong suddenly realized how bitter he felt. He wasn’t single anymore; he had a wife. Why was he living like a monk?

He blamed himself for being too upright and too much of a gentleman.

Xu Yuan is very busy with work now. She has a feeling that she always comes to work in the morning and then leaves shortly after. Initially, sister Zhou didn’t give her much work, probably just observing. Somehow, starting from last week, sister Zhou began assigning her some tasks. Xu Yuan suspects that sister Zhou genuinely wants to teach her.

In most companies, especially those with connections to the big boss, when someone new is brought in, everyone will observe for a while. If the person is just trying to kill time, the higher-ups naturally won’t assign them much work, treating them as someone the company is supporting without contribution. However, if the person genuinely wants to work, the leaders will naturally be pleased.

Xu Yuan had requested leave in advance from sister Zhou. Madam Wang’s assistant had informed her that they were expected to arrive on Sunday evening, but there might be delays in case of special circumstances.

Upon hearing that Xu Yuan and Meng Zhengrong were going to a poverty-stricken town to help sick and orphaned children, sister Zhou couldn’t help but feel respect. “When I was your age, I also thought about helping children in impoverished mountainous areas, but it was just a thought all along.”

Speaking of this, Sister Zhou laughed at herself: “Because of work and life, I feel that I am too busy anyway. I really don’t have time. The most I can do is donate money online. You and President Meng are really serious. If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know. Although I’m not as wealthy as you both, apart from living a peaceful life, I still have some money that I can donate to those in need.”

Xu Yuan nodded with a smile, “I don’t have sister Zhou’s high-mindedness now. Even if it’s charity, I still have my selfish motives.”

It’s not ruled out that there are indeed many people who are wholeheartedly devoted to public welfare without any selfish motives, but she has never been such a person. She can only guarantee not to do anything outrageous, but as for doing good deeds, unless she feels there will be a return, she probably won’t do them.

No matter how you look at it, she can’t be considered a good person.

After all, sister Zhou is also a high-level leader in the Meng Corporation. She naturally understands why Xu Yuan and Meng Zhengrong are doing this. “Whether there are selfish motives or not, at least you two are doing these things. It’s much better than those who talk about benevolence and morality without doing anything.”

So, she couldn’t understand why there are so many people online who, when they see companies or celebrities doing charity work, still criticize them. No matter what others are doing it for, at least they are really doing something and spending money. Some people haven’t done anything, haven’t donated a penny, and yet have the nerve to accuse others of publicity stunts?

Xu Yuan nodded in agreement with these words, “I think so too, so even if there are selfish motives, I don’t feel burdened.”

After work, Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan finished dinner at home and then packed their bags to get ready to leave.

Madam Wang has a team specifically dedicated to charity work. Some people fly over first to pave the way, while others drive.

There’s a man in the team in his thirties who will be driving Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan, with another car leading the way.

If they depart at eight, they won’t arrive until eight or nine the next morning.

Meng Zhengrong used to smoke in his earlier years, but later he felt that smoking for a long time would affect his white teeth and besides, smoking isn’t good for health, so he quit. This time, he brought a pack of cigarettes and politely handed it to the man driving. “We’ll take turns driving at night. Don’t push yourself too hard. Fatigue driving is unacceptable.”

Knowing Meng Zhengrong’s identity, the man was inevitably a little cautious when he spoke, “Okay, okay, Mr. Meng, when I’m tired, I’ll take a nap in the passenger seat for a while. It was common for me to work overtime during holidays and festivals, and this is still bearable.”

Meng Zhengrong smiled and patted his shoulder, “I’m sorry to trouble you, so be it.” He glanced at his watch, “I’ll set an alarm at one o’clock, and I can drive for two or three hours without any problem. You’ll take over for the rest.”

Xu Yuan watched from the side. During this period, she had a thorough understanding of Meng Zhengrong. His status inevitably carried a certain arrogance in his personality. In fact, he was indeed arrogant. However, he was also quite adept at handling interpersonal relationships. For example, now he actively engaged in conversation with the driver.

Putting aside everything else, Meng Zhengrong is not a bad person.

Meng Zhengrong’s RV was very luxurious. It had a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a sofa bed where two people could comfortably sleep.

Xu Yuan opened the mini fridge, stocked with beverages and snacks prepared by the housekeeper. She took a drink and handed it to the driver, “Thank you for your hard work.”

Meng Zhengrong wanted to tell Xu Yuan, “What about me? I’ll be driving later too. Isn’t that hard?” But in front of outsiders, Meng Zhengrong wouldn’t say such things to his wife. it lacked sophistication.

For Xu Yuan, this was a very novel experience. It was her first time sleeping in such an RV and her first time going to such a faraway place.

Meng Zhengrong also found it strange. He had never thought about doing charity work himself before, but he always put it aside or asked people around him to do it. This was the first time he did it himself.

The most important thing is that this is the first time for him to go to such a poor place.

He had seen news reports before, but always found it unbelievable. Are there really people so poor? Are there really people who can’t even solve their food and clothing problems?

He knew there were, but he hadn’t seen it for himself yet.

There was a kind side to Meng Zhengrong as well. Even though he came with Xu Yuan this time entirely out of selfishness, he genuinely wanted to spend money to help those in need that he saw.

The Meng family spends a lot of money on charity every year, but most of it ends up in someone else’s pockets, even Meng Zhengrong himself couldn’t keep track. But even if he knew, he had to do it because the Meng family needed to.

Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan didn’t chat much because there was an outsider.

The reason the poverty-stricken town was poor was because the transportation was underdeveloped, and they were all winding mountain roads. Xu Yuan lying on the bed felt very uncomfortable, feeling nauseous but unable to vomit, with a dizzy head.

Meng Zhengrong’s condition wasn’t much better. He had flown for more than twenty hours before, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as this. Originally, he was supposed to drive, but in the end, he couldn’t, and the two of them sat in the RV without saying a word.

The housekeeper knew that they would have to sit in the car for such a long time and prepared motion sickness pills, but they were completely useless. They had taken several pills each, but still felt dizzy.

When one is uncomfortable, other negative emotions follow.

“If only we had taken the plane, at least it wouldn’t be this uncomfortable,” Meng Zhengrong tried to divert attention and said to Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan was already furious. At this moment, she felt like nothing was her decision. She rolled her eyes in her heart, “If I had come alone, I would have taken the plane.”

It means that if you weren’t so shameless and insisted on coming along, she wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

“Do you think it’s better to just take a plane? I checked. It takes six or seven hours to get from the nearest airport to that town. It’s not too uncomfortable for you to lie down in this RV. If you take an ordinary car, you’d probably vomit directly,” Xu Yuan retorted.

Just now someone said it would have been better to take the plane, and now they’re saying this, contradicting themselves. What a self-inflicted slap in the face.

Now Xu Yuan didn’t bother to hide her irritation anymore and rolled her eyes directly. “I’d rather throw up and feel better than endure this silently.”

“Why don’t you use your hand to stimulate vomiting?” Meng Zhengrong, usually a high and mighty CEO, was already feeling uncomfortable. Being retorted by Xu Yuan, he felt some resentment in his heart and didn’t bother to pretend anymore. “Stimulate vomiting and get it over with.”

The driver wanted to laugh when he heard it, but he kept holding it in. He was used to winding mountain roads like this, so he was in good spirits along the way.

Xu Yuan glanced at Meng Zhengrong, full of disgust.

Disgusting.

Isn’t it? Isn’t this suggestion disgusting?

Meng Zhengrong was extremely sensitive to this disdainful look, but at the moment, he didn’t have the energy to argue with her. He could only quietly note it in his heart.

Xu Yuan glanced at Meng Zhengrong, full of disdain.

Disgusting.

Isn’t it? Isn’t this suggestion disgusting?

Meng Zhengrong was extremely sensitive to this disdainful look, but at the moment, he didn’t have the energy to argue with her. He could only quietly note it in his heart.

It’s unclear how long had passed, but they finally arrived at the small town. As soon as Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan got out of the car, they started vomiting. Both of them were vomiting while silently disdaining each other for being dirty at this moment.

Xu Yuan was on the verge of tears from vomiting. Nausea was the worst feeling.

Being a man, Meng Zhengrong’s condition was slightly better than hers. However, having lived a comfortable life for many years, after traversing winding mountain roads and sitting in the car for so long, he was also feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

While they were vomiting, the companions who had arrived early were already taking photos with their cameras.

Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan caught sight of the camera, thinking it was aimed at them. They almost simultaneously exclaimed, “Don’t take photos!!”

They were definitely going to take photos during this trip, but they had to be taken beautifully. They absolutely couldn’t be photographed in such a disheveled state!