Meng Ting’s eyes curved into a smile at the words. He knelt on the bed, leaned forward, and hugged Yan Sui, rubbing his face against him again and again.
Just now, the door was suddenly opened. According to reason, even if he wasn’t angry, he should have been scared. But he wasn’t. Facing Yan Sui, he couldn’t get angry or scared. He even wished that Yan Sui could be the same as him.
When Yan Sui agreed, his heart felt as sweet as drinking honey tea, sweet and delightful. He leaned forward again, resting his chin on Yan Sui’s shoulder. He felt that every second they spent like this, close together, was pure joy.
Yan Sui’s expression gradually softened. His hand moved from Meng Ting’s hair, slid down his back, and then clasped onto Meng Ting’s hand.
Meng Ting straightened up and got off the bed. Yan Sui fixed his clothes again before leading him out of the room.
Only Zhen Han was still guarding the door, while He Wan had disappeared.
“How did she get the key? Have Uncle Xiao investigate it thoroughly.”
Yan Sui’s expression was no longer as ugly as before after Meng Ting’s intervention, but when he said these words, the coldness in his eyes still overflowed again, but it was not directed at Zhen Han and Meng Ting beside him, “In addition, have someone watch the bridal chamber and the study room.”
Even with a large number of guests coming and going, they wouldn’t dare to go up to the second or third floor without permission. At most, they would only wander around the living room downstairs. The lawn in front of the Yan’s residence had already been arranged for rest and entertainment. However, He Wan, who was still considered a member of the Yan family, was a different story.
“I think Auntie wants to come and talk to Sister-in-law.”
The place where Yan Sui puts important documents has a password lock as well as a fingerprint lock. He Wan should be clear about this. She couldn’t be so rash just because of those things. But in order to find Meng Ting, she deliberately broke into the bridal chamber with the key. This behavior is also quite incredible.
As Zhen Han spoke, he looked at Meng Ting, and then with keen eyes, he discovered the little marks on the side of his neck. He gave an inaudible ‘cough’ and then turned his face away. No wonder Yan Sui was so angry, he was actually doing unspeakable things with Meng Ting.
However, couples in love couldn’t help themselves. Moreover, they were in their own room, so they weren’t bothering anyone. Unless one was a voyeur, why would they mind?
Yan Sui was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, “You have to work harder today and help pay attention to the situation. You don’t have to be polite to those who want to cause trouble. I will ask Zhao Bing to lead people to cooperate with you.”
As one of the newlyweds, Yan Sui himself naturally couldn’t spare any energy for this. Although Zhen Han was also busy, he was much more relaxed and free compared to him.
“Okay,” Zhen Han did not make excuses. Based on his relationship with Yan Sui, he naturally hoped that his wedding would be a success. Yan Sui and Uncle Xiao had already made arrangements in this regard before today. It’s just that now Yan Sui feels that he needs to pay more attention to it.
“Cousin, thank you.”
When Zhen Han nodded and was about to leave, Meng Ting thanked him softly. Although Zhen Han liked to say bad things about Yan Sui to him, at the critical moment, he was still Yan Sui’s cousin and a good younger brother.
When Zhen Han heard this, a little smile slipped into his eyes, and he nodded again, then turned around and left.
While Yan Sui also led Meng Ting down the stairs. Uncle Xiao appeared at the top of the stairs with a guilty look on his face. He didn’t know how He Wan got the key from him. The surveillance team was already investigating, but his dereliction of duty could not be denied.
“Are everyone from the Meng family here?” Yan Sui didn’t ask much about that matter in front of others, but he also had something he needed to ask Uncle Xiao about.
Meng Ting didn’t marry from the Meng family’s old residence. When he went to see Old Master Meng that day, they agreed to hold a joint banquet. The guests each side could invite were of different levels, clearly benefiting the Meng family. How could Old Master Meng, a man so experienced in the ways of the world, disagree?
“They’ve arrived. The Eldest Miss is greeting guests in front. I’m here to see you and your wife.”
“Mm,” Yan Sui responded, then lowered his eyes and glanced at Meng Ting. Seeing that there was nothing unusual about his expression, he continued to lead him towards the small hall reserved for the Meng family.
Old Master Meng had arrived, and his two wives, Feng Zejiao and Li Yifei, naturally also came, as well as their children and grandchildren.
Naturally, Meng Ting’s nominal father and mother, Meng Yide and Han Xuejun, as well as their two biological sons, an illegitimate son and an illegitimate daughter, were also present.
But as soon as he entered the hall, Meng Ting’s eyes fell on an old woman in her fifties or sixties.
She was wearing a dress, but the air of a woman of the world1風塵 (fēng chén): (literally) windblown dust; wind and dust—fatigue (from travel); (figurative) hardships of travel; travel fatigue; (figurative, literary) hardships and uncertainties of unstable society; vicissitudes of life; (figurative) prostitution; chaos (caused by war). could be smelled from afar. She was talking to He Wan, with a flattering and obsequious demeanor. No one in the room spoke to point her out, but the disdain in their eyes occasionally overflowed.
Yan Sui’s eyes followed Meng Ting and landed on the old woman. Then, his grip on Meng Ting got tighter, and his expression turned colder. No wonder his people couldn’t find her in Donglin Town, it turned out that she had been brought to Haicheng long ago.
Meng Ting pursed his lips and didn’t greet the person. When facing Yan Sui, he could call her grandmother, but seeing her so suddenly, he couldn’t call her out. However, when she and He Wan quieted down in the small hall room, they looked over together and saw Yan Sui and Meng Ting.
When the old woman saw Meng Ting, her eyes shifted and landed on Yan Sui. Her gaze was like looking at a gold nugget that suddenly fell from the sky, both rare and joyful. She walked over with what she thought was a graceful gait, forming a stark contrast to He Wan, who stood beside her with true elegance. The effect was comparable to Xi Shi and Dong Shi2西施和東施 (Xī Shī hé Dōng Shī): Based on a story in “The Circling Sky”, in Zhuangzi (《莊子·天運》). Xishi (西施), a famous beauty in Chinese history, often frowned because of her heart disease. An ugly woman of the same village, who was later known as Dongshi (東施), imitated Xishi to try to be as beautiful as her, but in turn made herself uglier and scared away the villagers. 西施病心而矉其里，其里之醜人見而美之，歸亦捧心而矉其里。其里之富人見之，堅閉門而不出；貧人見之，挈妻子而去之走。彼知矉美而不知矉之所以美。惜乎！而夫子其窮哉！, When Xishi was having heart disease, she would knit her brows and frown on all in her neighbourhood. An ugly woman of the neighbourhood, seeing and admiring her beauty, went home, and also laying her hands on her heart proceeded to stare and frown on all around her. When the rich people of the village saw her, they shut fast their doors and would not go out; when the poor people saw her, they took their wives and children and ran away from her. The woman knew how to admire the frowning beauty, but she did not know how it was that she, though frowning, was beautiful. Alas! It is indeed all over with your Master! Learn more here. strolling together.
Meng Qin let out a ‘Pfft’ and laughed, and then Meng Xiao also laughed. They lowered their heads slightly, feeling a little embarrassed because of their rudeness, but the mocking meaning was self-evident.
Although they were also illegitimate children, they didn’t have such an embarrassing grandmother as Meng Ting.
Right now, it’s not just Meng Ting who’s losing face, but Yan Sui as well. How could he still like Meng Ting after this? There were quite a few people in the hall who thought this way, each of them were shrewd individuals, so they thought they could see through others.
Since childhood, Meng Ting could ignore most people’s gazes, but not those from the Meng family. They left too many shadows on him, their every frown and smile was naturally clear in his eyes.
But if it were any other time, he may really feel overwhelmed, afraid, overwhelmed by these emotions, and at a loss for what to do.
But now, there is Yan Sui standing next to him. He shouldn’t be weak and cannot be weak. He promised that he would treat Yan Sui well, so how could he push all the trouble onto him?
He took a deep breath and looked at the old woman, “Grandma is here.”
Meng Ting’s voice was as cold as ice, but he was already trying his best to control his emotions.
Wu Fengjiao swept a glance at Meng Ting, then glanced at Yan Sui again. The smile on her face was even more exaggerated, “Ting Ting, isn’t this my…”
“He is Yan Sui, my husband, but it has nothing to do with you.”
Meng Ting interrupted Wu Fengjiao’s words. The smile at the corner of his mouth disappeared when he saw her, and his expression became more cold. This was the expression Meng Ting used to have in the past, but now it was a little colder than in those times.
He gently broke away from Yan Sui’s hand, then grabbed Wu Fengjiao’s arm with one hand, and directly dragged her out of the small hall, not giving the person a chance to stay there.
“This… this child,” He Wan wanted to say something, but suddenly she met Yan Sui’s gaze, and all her words were frozen in her throat.
“Meng Ting is reminiscing with his grandma, so you don’t need to go over and disturb them.” It’s not that Yan Sui didn’t worry about Meng Ting, but after hesitating, he still chose not to stop him. This is the Yan family, and there is no way he would let anyone bully Meng Ting here.
Yan Sui’s words were calm and unruffled, and it was impossible to tell whether he was angry or not. Even Old Master Meng didn’t have any objections to his words, so there was even less room for the others to open their mouths.
At this time, Meng Qi patted Feng Zejiao’s hand. When passing by Yan Sui, he nodded slightly and left the small hall. It seemed that he was going to see Meng Ting. Yan Sui’s expression suddenly turned a little colder.
Yan Manjia, who came over after talking to Feng Zejiao and Li Yifei, met Yan Sui’s eyes and looked puzzled for a moment, then laughed and said, “What are you doing here? Bring your wife back. There’s your Auntie and mother here.”
Yan Sui nodded gently, but he didn’t look at He Wan and the others’ faces and just followed them out.
Meng Ting grabbed Wu Fengjiao and dragged her to the back door of the house, in front of Dahuang’s kennel. Dahuang raised its head and saw that it was Meng Ting, then continued to lie back.
No one came to this place today, so it was still relatively quiet.
It’s not that Wu Fengjiao didn’t want to yell at Meng Ting to let her go along the way, but as long as she had this thought, Meng Ting would look at her with even colder eyes.
This kind of look is not unfamiliar to her. That day, when she opened the door, the strong smell of blood made her dizzy, and the scene that greeted her eyes made her scream uncontrollably.
Dark red bloodstains covered the small room. An old man who was half-clothed and suspected to be dead, and a young man sitting in the corner holding a fruit knife and looking straight over. This picture had appeared in her dreams many times over the years, and every time it would make her curse for days.
But there was no doubt that since then, she had been a little afraid of Meng Ting. She didn’t see Meng Ting as her grandson, nor did she think that Meng Ting would see her as her grandma. When she learned that Meng Ting was sent to a closed high school, she was relieved. If possible, she never wanted to see him again in her life.
But now, she’s here again because she’s at her wit’s end again.
She had already lost all the money that the Meng family had left to her back then. In the past two years, her life has been getting worse day by day. So, when the Meng family asked her to come here, she agreed without thinking.
List of Idiom in Chapter 036.1
一顰一笑 (yī pín yī xiào): every frown and smile; every facial expression; every twinkle and smile; the slightest facial expression.走投無路 (zǒu tóu wú lù): to be very desperate; to have no way out; to be back to the wall; to be at an impasse (idiom); in a tight spot; at the end of one’s rope; come to a dead end; be driven from pillar to post; being in a desperate situation with no way out.
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