Chapter 30.1

Meng Zhengrong quickly showered and lay on the bed, watching as Xu Yuan had already fallen asleep. He couldn’t help but think, she really is attractive, isn’t she? Beautiful when crying, smiling, or even angry. Even sleeping, she looks good.

Alcohol emboldens the timid. Tonight it was Xu Yuan who was drunk, while it was Meng Zhengrong who found his courage.

Since she was already asleep, Meng Zhengrong did something he had been wanting to do for a while now.

He reached out with his large hand and pulled Xu Yuan into his arms, placing his hand on her waist and gently resting her head on his chest.

Her body was soft and fragrant. Meng Zhengrong sighed contentedly.

This feeling—it was just right.

He decided then that he would see if he could find a way to have her drink a few glasses like this every night. For a man who had been single and abstinent for too long, suddenly holding a girl he was interested in his arms, what would that feel like?

Meng Zhengrong pondered this and concluded that this moment was irreplaceable, even if he could trade the whole world for it.

Of course, at the same time, he felt a bit pathetic. He surprisingly didn’t want to sleep, wanting to savor this moment. With his eyes open, he thought about many things—about company matters, about his uncle, but mostly about his hopeful anticipation for the future, until he eventually drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

In the early morning, when Xu Yuan woke up, her mind remained blank for a few seconds. She blinked, gradually regaining her awareness. Shortly after, she discovered that she was resting her head on someone’s chest.

Looking down, she saw a large hand gently stroking her waist.

In any type of TV drama, her reaction probably wouldn’t have been calm. However, when Xu Yuan was fully conscious, even if she wanted to scream, she couldn’t bring herself to act that way.

Experiences from her previous life were etched deep in her bones. No matter how tumultuous her emotions were inside, she always maintained a very calm exterior.

Calmly and composedly, Xu Yuan pushed away Meng Zhengrong’s hand, sat up, and moved to the side.

After doing all this, she glanced at Meng Zhengrong and found that he was already awake, staring at her intently.

The two locked eyes without any awkwardness.

I don’t know if this is a progress or an improvement?

Meng Zhengrong had quite thick skin. He sat up as if nothing had happened, pulled the blanket, and calmly stated, “Last night, you drank too much, got a bit rowdy for a while. I don’t know if you had a nightmare, but then you held onto me and wouldn’t let go.”

Xu Yuan didn’t remember anything that happened after getting drunk last night.

With only the two of them involved and no witnesses, if she didn’t remember, Meng Zhengrong could say whatever he wanted.

Fortunately, although Xu Yuan felt a bit awkward, those feelings didn’t linger long. She just nodded and replied in the same tone, “Oh, sorry about that, I took advantage of you.”

Little did she know that what she said was actually a slap in the face to Meng Zhengrong.

Meng Zhengrong felt a bit stifled, but he didn’t say anything. He stiffly responded, “What taking advantage? We are husband and wife.”

Xu Yuan nodded in acknowledgment and got out of bed to head to the bathroom.

Meng Zhengrong wanted to clench his fist and punch the bed, but suddenly, he thought of her posture last night and felt there was no need to be angry. After all, he had seen that lovely side of her—it wasn’t a loss.

Xu Yuan stood in front of the mirror, brushing her teeth until they were clean and shiny. Looking at herself in the mirror, she initially wanted to sigh, but then she realized there was nothing to feel awkward about.

Wasn’t this current situation good?

She had slowly started to differentiate between Meng Zhengrong and the emperor, although they had the exact same face, their personalities were completely different.

Wasn’t this the power of habit? Over these days, they had been sleeping together, with physical contact as well. So this morning, waking up in his arms, she only felt a brief moment of awkwardness and surprise.

Wasn’t this a good sign?

At least she was getting closer to being willing to have a child with him.

In fact, Xu Yuan’s desire to have a child came not from her identity as Mrs. Meng, but from her impulse to have her own family and to be a mother.

However, regardless of the perspective, now wasn’t the best time to have a child. She and Meng Zhengrong still had matters to attend to in the company. They would consider these matters after the turmoil in the company had subsided.

To Xu Yuan, she had a very practical idea. In the past, Meng Zhengrong was her partner in this marriage, but now in addition to this identity, he also had the role of providing sperm.

Although very practical and very cruel, Xu Yuan thought about it and felt that in Meng Zhengrong’s heart, she might also be the provider of eggs.

The two of them were equally matched, and neither of them owed the other anything.

In the dining room, Xu Yuan and Meng Zhengrong were having breakfast. The butler and other servants were busy, and seeing that there was no one around, Xu Yuan looked at Meng Zhengrong and hesitated for a moment before speaking, “Yesterday, mom came over so early. It must be because uncle said something to her. Although mom temporarily believes my explanation, I still think, if it’s convenient for you, you should talk to her yourself. Otherwise, uncle will go to her to complain and stir up trouble.”

In fact, as long as Mother Meng was on their side, or if she didn’t care about this matter, Shen Ming would resign from Meng Corporation within a month.

Meng Zhengrong probably had concerns about Mother Meng’s influence, so he hesitated to take action.

This matter must be handled delicately. It was okay to offend Shen Ming, but they couldn’t offend Mother Meng. Mother Meng would naturally not argue with her son, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t argue with her daughter-in-law. Without the golden medallion, she didn’t have the patience for the company, so she had to let Meng Zhengrong cooperate well.

Meng Zhengrong also understood Xu Yuan’s meaning. “Wait for the driver to take you to the company, I’ll go to accompany my mom to have some morning tea.”

He is a man, and this matter has been planned by him for a long time. Naturally, he cannot let his wife bear it all alone.

The issue between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is more important than the uncle issue.

If he didn’t have confidence, he wouldn’t let Xu Yuan come to intervene in this matter.

His wife suffered complaints from his own mother, and the whole family will not have peace in the future. He also wants to live a good life.

Seeing Meng Zhengrong’s insight, Xu Yuan was also relieved.

“Oh, what do you think of yesterday’s red wine?” Meng Zhengrong thought of this matter before leaving, and asked.

Xu Yuan still remembered the taste of red wine yesterday and nodded, “It’s not bad.”

“Did you sleep well last night?” Meng Zhengrong asked again.

“Not bad.”

Meng Zhengrong breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but remained calm on the surface, “That’s good. I heard before that drinking red wine before bed helps with sleep and is also good for the skin. I think you can drink a little every night in the future.”

“No need, I slept well before.”

Meng Zhengrong had already expected that she would say that, but was not disappointed. “In the future, you will inevitably attend various banquets and dinners. Your alcohol tolerance doesn’t seem to be very good. It’s good to practice a little. What do you think?”

This is completely nonsense. With Xu Yuan’s dual identity as Mrs. Meng and a member of the Xu family, if she didn’t want to drink, who would be so clueless as to persuade her? 

It’s just that Meng Zhengrong really wants to relive the feeling of holding her to sleep, so he can only say such nonsense.

Xu Yuan looked at Meng Zhengrong, “Let’s talk about it later, I have to go to work now.”

Meng Zhengrong shrugged and walked out of the house ahead of her.

She did not miss the disappointed look in his eyes. She knew that this guy was up to no good…

Meng Zhengrong drove to Meng’s residence and said he would take Mother Meng out for morning tea. Mother Meng was very happy and hurried to the bedroom to change clothes and dress up. She hadn’t gone out for morning tea with her son for a long time.

During the time when Mother Meng was dressing up, Meng Zhengrong followed Father Meng to the study. When the study door was closed, Father Meng had a stern face and said, “Yesterday your mother told me that you let Xiao Yuan take over the company’s charity project. Is that true?”

“Yes.” Meng Zhengrong nodded without hesitation.

“So how do you plan to arrange your uncle?” Father Meng continued with a furrowed brow.

Meng Zhengrong glanced at his father and sneered, “Arrange? With what he has taken from the Meng family over the years, it’s enough to ensure that his whole family lives comfortably for a lifetime.”

He didn’t let him spit it out and leave, which is already out of consideration for relatives.

Father Meng stared at him, “What are you talking about?”

“Dad, you’ve endured it for so long, and I’ve endured it for several years. I won’t endure it any longer in the future.” Meng Zhengrong sat in his chair and looked seriously at his father, “When you retired, you didn’t clean this all up. I can understand your position and understand you. Now I hope you understand me, at least for the future development of the company. I haven’t done anything wrong, and parasites must die when they’re full.”

In fact, he had no real affection for some greedy relatives in the family, and he believed they felt the same way about him.

If it weren’t for his mother, he would have kicked this whole bunch of them out a long time ago.

Now the time is ripe, and Xu Yuan is willing to cooperate with him. Why should he continue to endure?

Father Meng remained silent for a long time, sighing heavily, “You can handle this matter however you want, but there are only two points to emphasize: first, don’t let your mother be too embarrassed in the middle, and second, don’t let your mother have any opinions on Xiao Yuan.”

“I know this.” Meng Zhengrong paused, “Dad, I also ask you to keep an eye on it. Those relatives over there will definitely come to make trouble.”

“I plan to take your mother out for a walk. You just need to handle the company’s affairs.” Father Meng’s words made Meng Zhengrong completely relieved.

Whether it’s him, Dad, or Xu Yuan, they are now standing on the same side.

Meng Zhengrong took Mother Meng to a Cantonese restaurant they used to frequent.

For the convenience of conversation, Meng Zhengrong specially chose a private room. When Mother Meng walked into the private room, she muttered, “Are there other people? Why book a private room?”

“I haven’t had a good chat with you for a long time, haven’t I? I don’t want to be disturbed by others.” Meng Zhengrong smiled at Mother Meng and carefully pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

After ordering morning tea and snacks, the private room returned to quiet.

“Why don’t you call Xiao Yuan to join us? Your father is really something. He can’t even be called now. He’s too lazy to even come out for morning tea.”

Meng Zhengrong picked up a crystal shrimp dumpling for Mother Meng and smiled, “Mom, are you annoyed by me? Don’t want to chat with me alone?”

“Nonsense.” Mother Meng laughed and said, “I’m so happy that you took the time to have morning tea with me.”

“Mom, Xiao Yuan is still unwilling to participate in the company’s charity projects now. If you have time, help me persuade her.” Meng Zhengrong sighed helplessly, “She was probably scared a few days ago when she went to the poor town. She’s reluctant now.”

Mother Meng took a sip of tea and gave Meng Zhengrong a glance. “Isn’t that nonsense? She’s a pampered young lady who’s never known hardship since childhood. Sending her to those places now, let alone her, even Pingting would probably throw a fit.”

“But some matters require her personal involvement.”

“Is your uncle not doing well?” Mother Meng asked.

She wasn’t completely clueless. She could guess some things, so she had been pondering over this since she returned home last night.

She contemplated her son’s position and decision in this matter, as well as the role Xu Yuan played.

“It’s not that my uncle isn’t doing well, Mom. Think about my uncle’s age, he’s over fifty now. These charity projects aren’t easy. I’ve been thinking recently about getting him to retire early.” Meng Zhengrong paused and added, “Zeng Shikun and Lin Jianxiang, who I have good relations with, their wives are both involved in charity work. In this day and age, which company doesn’t engage in charity? Xu Yuan is the most suitable candidate, and it’s about time for my uncle to retire.”

Mother Meng hesitated. “But your uncle mentioned before that he wanted Xiaocheng to take over.”

This was why Mother Meng could be easily led into such conversations by Meng Zhengrong.

Meng Zhengrong couldn’t bear it anymore. A nameless anger surged within him, but he managed not to show his true emotions on his face. “Mom, Xiaocheng has great potential. He’s definitely going to study abroad in the future. He can’t just start working right after finishing his undergraduate degree, right? At the very least, he should come back with a master’s degree.”

“You’re right, but Xiaocheng himself doesn’t want to continue studying. What should we do about that?” Mother Meng was still concerned about her nephew.

“It’s not a matter of whether he wants to study or not. For his own good, he must continue. I even want him to pursue a PhD and start his own business later.”

Mother Meng felt more reassured upon hearing this. “Then let him continue studying. You know, the ordinary employees in the company now all graduated from top domestic universities.”

“You know this too. If he doesn’t have the capability, others in the Meng family won’t respect him. It’s better to let him gain some experience outside, I’ll have him go out alone and create something for the Shen family. What’s wrong with that? Mom, for the future development of the Shen family, we can’t spoil Xiaocheng anymore. He has to learn to grow up.”

If Mother Meng were really an idiot, she wouldn’t have married Father Meng.

She also knew that some relatives from her natal family had been causing trouble for the Meng family all along, but what could she say?

She could only console herself. At least no one in the family had made a big mistake in the company.

She just hoped that her son could get along better with the people from her natal family, not for the sake of interest.

“Alright.” Mother Meng smiled and nodded. For a mother, siblings were important, but they really couldn’t compare to her own children. Since her son had made up his mind, what else could she say? She could only support him.

“Mom, your relatives will always be my relatives. It’s just that my uncle is getting old, and many things are beyond his capabilities now. For the company’s image and development, Xu Yuan must also personally take charge of these matters. I hope you understand. I will also arrange things properly for my uncle.”

He couldn’t bear it anymore and hoped his uncle would be more sensible and not make things too ugly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t just let it go. Since he had already started this, there was no reason to stop.

“Alright.”