Chapter 48.1

Although Meng Zhengrong was flirtatious, he still remembered they were in the office during the day, so he only dared to tease Xu Yuan verbally. As employees started returning one after another from the cafeteria, both Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan sat up straight on the sofa, eating their lunch and fruit.

“By the way, do you have any plans after work?” Meng Zhengrong casually asked, recalling something.

Xu Yuan had already gotten her work on track and could leave on time every day. “Hmm, is there something going on?”

“Could you accompany me to the hospital after work? Song Yu has broken his leg.” Despite all the teasing and sarcasm aimed at Song Yu, it wouldn’t be appropriate not to visit a good friend in the hospital.

Song Yu had been quite well-behaved lately, not asking her out for meals or talking to her, which made Xu Yuan feel a bit awkward when she thought of him, but not to the point of discomfort.

“How did he break his bone?” Xu Yuan asked, surprised. She had seen him just a few days ago; how had he ended up hospitalized?

Meng Zhengrong looked at her in surprise. “You don’t know?”

It was Yu Yu who had kicked Song Yu down the stairs. Given the relationship between Yu Yu and Xu Yuan, it was strange that Yu Yu hadn’t mentioned it to her.

“Why would I know?” Xu Yuan found Meng Zhengrong’s question puzzling. She wasn’t close to Song Yu, so why would she need to know about his broken bone?

“I thought Yu Yu would tell you,” Meng Zhengrong said casually.

Xu Yuan was taken aback. “Why would Yu Yu tell me?”

As soon as she finished speaking, memories of previous events flashed through her mind.

Once, when Yu Yu was in the midst of a rumor scandal, Song Yu had appeared at her place. Meng Zhengrong had subtly asked her for the truth…

That time, Song Yu had inexplicably given her a box of cherries and some bird’s nest. She thought they were meant for her, but actually, she was supposed to meet Yu Yu that day, and the gifts were indeed meant for Yu Yu…

At the time, Song Yu’s words had sounded strange, but when considering the involvement of Yu Yu, everything began to make sense.

Thinking back, given Song Yu’s close relationship with Meng Zhengrong, having grown up together, it was impossible for him to have feelings for her. Right, she had even asked Yu Yu about it, and the way Yu Yu spoke of Meng Zhengrong was not unfamiliar.

Could it mean that Yu Yu and Song Yu had some sort of past? If so, there should be some traces left behind. Why, then, did she find no mention of Song Yu in any of the chat records between the original owner and Yu Yu?

Moreover, it seemed that Yu Yu had never brought up Song Yu again?

Seeing Xu Yuan’s expression change, Meng Zhengrong nudged her. “Didn’t Yu Yu tell you? I can understand why—this is a bit awkward to mention.”

Xu Yuan quickly regained her composure and felt relieved that she had been suspicious in the past and hadn’t acted on anything. Otherwise, if Song Yu and Meng Zhengrong found out about her assumptions, it would be incredibly embarrassing.

“I’ll call Yu Yu and ask her,” Xu Yuan decided.

She had originally been reluctant to pry into Yu Yu’s personal matters, but her curiosity about this situation was hard to resist.

Fortunately, nothing significant had occurred; otherwise, Xu Yuan would have likely been exposed.

Meng Zhengrong glanced at Xu Yuan and said, “It’s good to ask, but I think Yu Yu is probably right.”

“If it weren’t for Song Yu’s persistent pestering, Yu Yu might not have kicked him so hard.”

“Trying to win over my best friend?” Xu Yuan looked at Meng Zhengrong.

She was just teasing him, but Meng Zhengrong nodded seriously. “Yes, exactly. So you can let Yu Yu know that I’m on her side.”

He knew that a best friend’s words could carry a lot of weight, enough to keep him on his toes.

“Are you not going to take a break?” Xu Yuan had a habit of napping and had even set up a small folding bed in the office. It was now her nap time, and she was subtly hinting for him to leave.

Meng Zhengrong glanced at the folding bed beside her, his tone full of disdain. “You sleep on that during lunch? Aren’t you afraid of straining your back?”

The saying “You are who you associate with” was indeed true. Xu Yuan, who used to blush at inappropriate comments, replied unreservedly, “You don’t need to worry about that. You should care more about your own back.”

A man’s back… well, that’s important.

Meng Zhengrong was almost laughing in frustration. He did something he would find embarrassing later: he tried to twist his waist. “This isn’t my back; it’s a motor.”

Xu Yuan: “…”

Only then did Meng Zhengrong realize how ridiculous he sounded. He calmly buttoned up his suit and said to Xu Yuan, “I still have some work to do, so I’ll head back. You should rest.”

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Xu Yuan stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

How could the difference between someone familiar and unfamiliar be so great?

Xu Yuan decisively pulled out her phone and changed Meng Zhengrong’s contact name from “Stinky Pervert” to “Meng Motor.”

Meng Zhengrong quickly returned to his office, closed the door, and stood in front of the mirror in the restroom to reflect on himself.

Had he gotten a bit too carried away?

How could he have been so unconcerned about his image?

What silly things had he just done?

Meng Zhengrong splashed cold water on his face, feeling a bit better afterward. Whatever; he was just going to be himself.

However, he still wanted to gauge Xu Yuan’s feelings.

Sitting in his office chair, Meng Zhengrong took out his phone and transferred some money to Xu Yuan on WeChat, with the note “i.”

When Xu Yuan received the transfer, she was a bit confused. What was this for?

Immediately after, Meng Zhengrong sent another transfer, with the note “fancy.”

Xu Yuan: “??? ”

Before she could ask, another transfer came in, this time with the note “u.”

Xu Yuan had been actively learning English recently, but she was still a beginner, only familiar with phonetics. She recognized this was likely part of a sentence but didn’t know its meaning.

So, she opened her computer and started typing with her fair fingers on the keyboard.

Before long, search results appeared, and Xu Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle.

In this life and her previous one, she had only experienced this kind of feeling once. She had to admit it was quite nice. While she didn’t want her thoughts to be dominated by emotions, she had to acknowledge that her slowly budding feelings for Meng Zhengrong made her life more interesting. Despite the routine of working, eating, and sleeping, things felt different.

If she had to explain what was different, she couldn’t quite put it into words. Xu Yuan took a sip of water, and it felt as if there was a subtle sweetness in plain water.

Meanwhile, Meng Zhengrong sat in his office chair, nervously awaiting Xu Yuan’s reply. He hoped this would cover up his earlier awkwardness and silliness.

After all, this was quite romantic, wasn’t it?

Xu Yuan eventually responded by sending a red envelope with the note, “Hmm, got it.”

Meng Zhengrong opened the envelope and couldn’t believe his eyes.

There was only 5.20.

Not even ten yuan! But then, he thought about it and realized that Xu Yuan’s response was quite warm; although it was only five yuan and twenty cents, the implication was “I love you!”

Xu Yuan had no plans in the afternoon, and after reading for a bit, she remembered Yu Yu. After some hesitation, she called her.

Yu Yu was still on vacation and picked up the phone quickly. “Xiao Yuan?”

Xu Yuan noticed that Yu Yu’s tone was less lively than before, even somewhat low. Could it be related to Song Yu?

“Is Song Yu’s broken bone related to you?” Xu Yuan had chatted with Yu Yu for a while and met her in person, knowing that Yu Yu was straightforward. They had a good relationship, so she could skip the small talk and get straight to the point, making it easier for Yu Yu.

Yu Yu was silent for a few seconds. “Yes, I kicked him down the stairs. I did it on purpose, but I didn’t mean for him to… well, you get the idea.”

Xu Yuan understood. Yu Yu had indeed kicked Song Yu down the stairs, but she hadn’t intended for him to break a bone. Yu Yu probably hadn’t anticipated that Song Yu would be so fragile as to end up hospitalized.

“What exactly is going on between you and Song Yu?” Xu Yuan asked skillfully. Even if the original owner knew about Yu Yu and Song Yu, this question wasn’t intrusive since it was about the current situation.