Meng Ting’s straightforwardness in emotions made Yan Sui somewhat at a loss. Even through the mobile phone, he could feel Meng Ting’s determination at the moment, like a moth to a flame, that intense determination to like him.
“I must have made it difficult for you…”
Yan Sui didn’t say anything for a long time, which made Meng Ting a little depressed, but he did make this call with sincerity. He negotiated again, “Then, can you not like others until you’re sure that there’s no way for you to like me?”
Meng Ting was still quite concerned about that Su Siyu, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere to confess his love to Yan Sui and let the whole city know about it. He didn’t remember the name before, but now he remembered it.
“Okay.” In fact, Yan Sui wanted to answer this okay to Meng Ting’s previous question, but the various emotions brought about by Meng Ting’s words fermented within his heart, making him forget to answer back for a while.
“Um,” Meng Ting nodded gently, that’s enough. Being too greedy will make people annoyed. However, now he has secured a chance for himself and Yan Sui, a chance for them to fall in love with each other.
“What made you want to ask this?”
After Meng Ting’s questioning without any transition or cause and effect, Yan Sui also finally had the opportunity to ask the question he should have asked long ago.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Meng Ting sold Meng Qi to him. He repeated Meng Qi’s words to Yan Sui, but he wasn’t as panicked as when he first heard them. Compared to Meng Qi’s words, he was more willing to believe what Yan Sui told him.
“Yan Sui, you didn’t accept his confession, did you?” If he had accepted it, Yan Sui would definitely tell him that he had someone he liked.
“I don’t like him.”
Yan Sui told Meng Ting to be more certain. He has no feelings for Su Siyu and has no possibility of developing feelings.
Su Siyu’s emotional world is too rich, and what he wants is not what Yan Sui wants. Not only do their life trajectories resemble two parallel lines, but so do their emotional concepts.
Meng Ting looked no different from Su Siyu, but they were actually different. At least his feelings towards Meng Ting were completely different from those towards Su Siyu. As for how far they could go, even Yan Sui couldn’t guarantee it now.
“I remember,” Meng Ting felt completely relieved, and all the worry in his voice dispersed.
Yan Sui also breathed a sigh of relief. He kept his voice calm and continued to speak to Meng Ting, “In the future, just like this time, if you have any questions, call me directly.”
If he could tell Meng Ting, he would tell him. If he couldn’t tell, he would also tell him directly that he couldn’t tell him. Without a third person to pass the message, there would be fewer misunderstandings between them.
“Um,” Meng Ting agreed. He also felt that this was good, “You too, whatever you ask, I will also tell you.”
Meng Ting said this sentence very slowly, with a hint of contemplation and afterthought. He thought about his rebirth. Everything else is easy to talk about, but he probably won’t talk about this matter. He doesn’t want to be looked at as a monster, especially not by Yan Sui.
Yan Sui, however, took this slowness as a solemnity, his brows softened, and so did his tone, “As for the Zhong family banquet, you can go too, I will come.”
“Okay,” Meng Ting continued to nod. He thought for a moment and added, “I’ll wait for you.”
Yan Sui paused again before answering with an ‘Um’. This waiting also included waiting for him to like him, right?
“It won’t take long.”
“It doesn’t matter to me, I can wait.” It doesn’t matter if Yan Sui has something to do and doesn’t come. Anyway, he will be married soon. There are still thirteen days, so he can wait.
The two people’s brainwaves suddenly diverged again, and they continued to chat for a few more moments. Meng Ting turned off the phone, had dinner, picked out a black suit from the closet, put it on, and came downstairs. It was almost seven o’clock in the evening.
Not only Meng Qi is in the living room on the first floor, but also Meng Xiao. As for Meng Jiang and Meng Bo, they left because they had something to do in the morning. Meng Qin also had her own appointment and left before five o’clock in the afternoon. The next time they came back would be next Saturday night.
Meng Xiao celebrated his 20th birthday in March. He was three years older than Meng Ting, but he was obviously not as tall as the other men in the Meng family. Even Meng Ting, who was still growing, was a little taller than him. However, clothes maketh the man, with well-fitting branded clothes, he was also a handsome young man.
When he walked beside Meng Qi and Meng Ting, he was completely reduced to a foil. Meng Qi has the bearing of the Eldest Young Master of the Meng family. That kind of nobility is not something that he, who only recognized back to the family for a few years, can cultivate. While Meng Ting is naturally good-looking, and black is more suitable for his temperament than white. His melancholy has turned into mystery, making him stand out even more.
The contrast was so obvious that even Meng Xiao himself felt it, and his face naturally didn’t look good.
After leaving the gate, Meng Qi took Meng Ting into his car, but let Meng Xiao drive by himself. His expression became even worse. He winked at Meng Ting, but unfortunately, Meng Ting didn’t even give him a glance.
With the experience of the last time, Meng Ting just didn’t want to sit with Meng Qi, but he didn’t make any more struggles. Meng Qi made a decision, so he got into the car by himself.
“It’s good enough that I’m willing to take him there, but he’s still trying to show off to me. He doesn’t even think about his identity.”
After Meng Qi got in the car, he muttered something. Thinking that Meng Ting was still sitting next to him, he then remedied the situation by saying, “You’re not the same as him, you’re a member of my main house, my biological brother.”
He has never said such words to other brothers of the Meng family. However, Meng Ting didn’t even glance at him when he said these words. But he was so beautiful that even if he wanted to be angry, he couldn’t get angry.
Thinking of Meng Zhong and Uncle Wen’s neglect of duty, he decided to say a few more words to Meng Ting himself.
“You are going to marry the patriarch of the Yan family, Yan Sui, so there are some things you should know.”
Meng Ting originally didn’t intend to pay attention to Meng Qi, but when he heard the word Yan Sui, he listened attentively.
Meng Qi also felt a pang of toothache when he found that he was treated differently, but he still continued with what he wanted to say.
“There are many rich people in Haicheng, but not so many of them can truly be considered a rich and powerful noble family. Our Meng family counts as one, there’s also the Gu family that you went to last time, and then there are the third aunt’s Han family, as well as the Su family, the Lin family, and so on. The old and the new ones add up to twenty to thirty or so families.”
Meng Qi swept another glance at Meng Ting and saw that he had a dull face and no special reaction at all. He would have found it boring last night, but now he knows that his beautiful brother is still digesting it, and it will take at least ten minutes to wait for his reaction.
Anyway, he was bored, so he could wait.
Thirteen minutes later, Meng Ting frowned slightly and glanced at Meng Qi, “Oh.”
Meng Qi, who had been waiting for this reaction for so long, couldn’t take a breath and almost suffocated himself to death. The so-called the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment, is nothing more than this.
He ‘hummed’ softly before continuing, “Didn’t you hear that? I didn’t mention the Yan family just now.”
“The Yan family is different from these old or new rich and powerful noble families. The Yan family and the Zhong family in Haicheng, the Xu family in Licheng, and the Xiao family in Beicheng are the only four top wealthy and influential families in our Xia Country. We are now going to one of the top four wealthy and influential families, the Zhong family.”
They are an existence that is at the same level as the Yan family. Furthermore, the other nobles in Haicheng are undoubtedly attached to or want to be attached to these two families. Even their younger generations also have obvious factions.
The Meng family was originally in the Zhong family’s faction, but now because of Meng Ting, they could be considered to be changing factions into the Yan family’s side, but there is nothing wrong with this. Originally, the Meng family wasn’t that much respected on the Zhong family’s side either. It’s no wonder for Old Master Meng to have such thoughts.
Moreover, the Zhong family and the Yan family are not irreconcilable enemies who will never have dealings with each other. The connections and causes between the top four wealthy and influential families are much more complex than outsiders can imagine. Yan Sui’s grandmother is the biological younger sister of the current patriarch of the Xu family in Licheng. When she married into Haicheng back then, the grandeur and spectacle of the occasion are still admired and talked about by many people to this day. There have been even more intermarriages among the collateral branches.
“Oh,” Meng Ting responded quickly to Meng Qi this time. Seeing that Meng Qi had nothing to say, he nodded again, “Thank you.”
He didn’t know about any of these things, and he really should know them. And Meng Qi was able to tell him these things, so he deserved a thank you.
Meng Qi felt better after receiving this thank you from him. He was finally not a ‘thankless ingrate’. He tilted his head, looked out the window, and said, “Our main house and second house are not the same. If you really become close to them, you will understand how formidable they can be.”
Even if they squeezed all the value out of Meng Ting, they might not let him go.
Meng Ting still agreed with this statement. His experiences in his previous life prove exactly this. That’s why he wants to be treated as a ‘waste’ that is useless no matter how much he is ‘squeezed’.
Meng Ting’s obedient nod was reflected in the car window. Meng Qi’s paws felt a little itchy again, but thinking of the pain in his abdomen that had not subsided, he silently endured this urge.
This time, it was closer than last time. Half an hour later, they arrived and got out of the car.
When they got out of the car, Meng Xiao arrived as well, he didn’t make them wait, and the three of them entered the Zhong’s residence together. After walking for a while, Meng Qi turned his head back. Meng Xiao’s eyes were full of calculations, while Meng Ting followed him with his head lowered to the ground. It was quite surprising to see him stop.
Meng Qi’s gaze slid past Meng Ting and fell on Meng Xiao, “You can go and play by yourself. It’s Meng Ting’s first time here. I’ll take him for a walk.”
“Okay,” although Meng Xiao was upset, being able to come in was his biggest gain today. He didn’t necessarily have to follow Meng Qi either.
“You still have a lot to learn in order to take the position of the wife of the Yan family’s patriarch.”
He Wan’s intentions are obvious to everyone, and she can’t be dissatisfied with Meng Ting. He was born in an orphanage, treated harshly by his grandmother, and spent three years in a closed high school. Even a normal person would become abnormal, not to mention Meng Ting, who was obviously lacking in many ways.
Allowing such a person to occupy the position of the family patriarch’s wife, how could Yan Sui take pride in it, and how could it be beneficial? If Meng Ting could not let Yan Sui be laughed at along with him because of himself, it would be considered an extraordinary performance.
As Meng Qi said, if he really wants to be this ‘wife’, he has a lot to learn.
Meng Ting followed Meng Qi for a walk, and those feverish emotions before were completely cooled down by a basin of cold water called ‘reality’.
Meng Qi looked down at him. Meng Ting’s sense of loss was extremely obvious, but this is reality. There was not only a gap in status between him and Yan Sui, but also a gap in education and ability. Moreover, for ordinary people, this distance was like a gulf between heaven and earth, difficult to cross, let alone for Meng Ting.
It was rare for Meng Qi to be ‘kind’, he didn’t want to push too hard.
“Take a walk with me in the garden. The Zhong family’s garden was remodeled on the site of the old palace.”
Before Meng Ting could nod, the bustling hall suddenly went silent. Usually at this time, either the patriarch of the Zhong family came out or Yan Sui came.
He had actually been here for a while, but he had been in the study of the patriarch of the Zhong family. On the way from his study, there were many people exchanging pleasantries and chatting, which delayed him again and again, otherwise, Meng Ting should have seen him long ago.
In this hall, there are mostly young gentlemen and noble ladies conversing, each one dressed in fine attire, displaying elegance in every gesture. The only one who seems out of place is Meng Ting.
Yan Sui and the people beside him nodded gently, and he walked towards Meng Ting. The crowd naturally made way for him. He stopped in front of Meng Ping and reached out to pat his head.
“What’s wrong? Have you been waiting for a long time?”
The author has something to say:
Please collect, please collect~~
Gosh, Meng Qi is such a face con… or no… there is a better term for him I think. He is a face dog [顏狗 (yán gǒu), (Internet slang) someone who treats good-looking people especially well.] Similar, but not quite the same as face-con [顔控 (yán kòng), (neologism) one who is “appearance-obsessed”; “face-judger”; face control.]; something I learned from my previous translation. *wink wink*
List of Idiom in Chapter 012
飛蛾撲火 (fēi é pū huǒ): lit. a moth flies into the flame; (figurative) to court self-destruction; to look for someone’s own demise; fatal attraction; a moth darting into a flame—incur destruction upon oneself; seek one’s own doom; a metaphor for seeking death and self-destruction.老死不相往來 (lǎo sǐ bù xiāng wǎng lái): grow old and die without having had any dealings with each other―never be in contact with each other; (of two entities) to never have contact with each other; to never interact; be completely isolated from each other all their lives; not visit each other all their lives; Refers to not contacting each other or communicating the situation.
先天不足 (xiān tiān bù zú): congenital deficiency; inherent weakness; the foundation of things is poor.
格格不入 (gé gé bù rù): (idiom) inharmonious; incompatible; be incompatible (with); be out of line/step (with); be like oil and water; be like a square peg in a round hole.
Check out my completed & current project at my carrd. If you like my translation, you can buy me coffee at Ko-fi~ Thank you.
