Meng Jingwei paused.
Shouldn't he be abroad?
"Why are you here?" she asked coldly, her expression devoid of joy.
"Hey, little pepper, happy new year!" The talkative Tang Si enthusiastically greeted her.
Han Yu merely nodded slightly at Meng Jingwei, acknowledging her presence.
Lu Yanming remained composed, "Happy new year. Forgive my sudden visit, it's rather abrupt."
Qing Muye, carrying a pile of gifts, stood before Meng Jingwei. His gaze was complex as he finally said, "I came to see Uncle and Aunt."
Meng Jingwei stood at the doorway, her hands on the doorframe, showing no intention of opening it. "Are you very familiar with my parents? There's no need for you to visit."
Recalling the day she inadvertently saw Qing Muye intimately with another woman, and how he had lied to her on the phone.
She felt she didn't know Qing Muye well enough.
But it was fine, she wasn't worthy of Qing Muye, and it was better to end it here.
After her statement, the four men wore varied expressions, their gazes eventually falling uniformly on Qing Muye. Only Tang Si, feeling guilty, pouted and dared not speak.
At this moment, he was almost certain that Meng Jingwei had seen the content of the video at the hospital that day.
But her reaction had been too calm. Recalling it now, he found her composure frightening.
"Awei, you... I, I've been quite busy lately and haven't been able to accompany you..."
Qing Muye didn't understand why Meng Jingwei was angry, to the point that she hadn't answered his calls or replied to his messages.
His intuition told him something was wrong, so he immediately flew back.
"Since your brothers are all here, I might as well say it. We agreed to a three-month trial period, but I've now determined that we are not compatible. So, let's break up. You all should head back quickly; I won't be keeping you overnight. There's no place to sleep."
Meng Jingwei stated calmly and composedly.
Just then, from the living room, Du Juan asked, "Daughter, who's outside?"
"Mom, no one."
She replied, glancing at Qing Muye again with cold eyes, and then slammed the door shut, bolting it.
Ruthless and decisive.
Had Qing Muye not retreated in time, his nose would likely have hit the door.
Meng Jingwei turned and went directly to the main hall, ignoring them further.
Sitting in the main hall watching the New Year's gala, Meng Jingwei's mind wandered. She wondered if it was too cruel to turn them away, considering it was New Year's Eve and the four brothers had forsaken spending the holiday with their families to drive over.
*Fwoosh! Bang!*
Suddenly, the sound of fireworks erupted outside.
Meng Jingwei turned and saw streaks of fireworks shooting into the sky from the front yard, blooming spectacularly.
Du Juan frowned and asked, "Daughter, who's setting off fireworks at the door?"
Meng Jingwei touched her nose, knowing she could no longer conceal the truth. "It's Qing Muye and his friends."
"Ah, you child, Qing Gongzi came, and you didn't invite him in? How outrageous." Du Juan chided Meng Jingwei.
Saying this, she went to open the door.
Meng Jingwei grabbed Du Juan's hand and briefly explained the situation, "Mom, Qing Muye and I are not well-matched. We're not suitable to be together. If you open the door and let him in now, does that mean I agree to be with him, or not?"
After hearing Meng Jingwei's explanation, Du Juan nodded and sighed, "Yes, we are just an ordinary family. You being Qing Old Madam's god-granddaughter is already a high climb, how could you marry Qing Muye?"
"I'll handle this myself. Mom, you should go to bed." Meng Jingwei looked at her, her expression unusually serious.
Du Juan hesitated for a moment, then smiled with relief. "My daughter has grown up. You'll have to handle future matters yourself. Alright, I'll go to bed."
How could she sleep?
She was merely making space for Meng Jingwei to handle the situation outside.
"Mom, goodnight."
"Mhm."
Du Juan entered the bedroom and closed the door.
Meng Jingwei stood up and walked to the corridor of the main hall, looking out at the fireworks blooming, her heart heavy.
However, since she had made a decision, she couldn't easily turn back.
She turned and went back into the house to continue staying up for the New Year.
During this time, Qing Muye kept calling and texting her, but Meng Jingwei ignored them, eventually blocking him.
She didn't reply to any of Tang Si's messages either, rejected his voice calls, and finally had him 'invited' into the blacklist.
Meng Jingwei sat for a while longer until the Spring Festival Gala countdown began. She then carried a box of ten-thousand-shot firecrackers into the yard, lit one nervously, and scurried to the corridor to watch them crackle and spark.
After the fireworks were finished and the yard was filled with the thick scent of gunpowder, she softly murmured, "Meng Jingwei, happy new year."
She gave herself a blessing, then turned back into the house without a second glance and went straight to sleep.
According to New Year's custom, the lights were not turned off at night.
Lying in bed, bored and constantly thinking about the people outside, her mood grew increasingly restless. She decided to play games to pass the time until she finally fell asleep around four or five in the morning.
Just as she managed to drift off, her phone rang, waking her up.
She opened her phone to find a flood of New Year's messages.
Zhao Yun Legion Group Chat:
"Boss, wish you prosperity, hand over the red envelopes. @Meng Jingwei."
"President Meng, happy new year, red envelopes, red envelopes."
"What's missing this new year? It's definitely red envelopes. Tagging three bosses here, send red envelopes."
"President Meng, what about the year-end bonus? Is there a year-end bonus?"
...
Chaoyun E-sports Company Group:
"Happy new year, everyone."
"New year, new beginnings, may wealth prosper next year."
"So fast, another year."
"Boss, boss, wish you prosperity, hand over the red envelopes."
"Red envelope rain, get ready."
...
Encounter Wedding Company Group:
"In the new year, wishing President Meng wealth and prosperity."
"Let's get the red envelopes going."
"Bang, red envelope rain, grab them..."
"@President Meng, come out and distribute benefits!"
...
When Meng Jingwei announced the closure of Encounter Wedding Company, many colleagues had left the group. However, Qing Muye had taken over later.
Meng Jingwei had managed to retain some colleagues in the group by offering paid leave, so there were still quite a few of them.
Han Junyan: [happynewyear!]
Chu Xue: [Happy new year! I'll pick you up when you get to Lancheng.]
Lu Sen: [Happy new year. Although you're a newcomer at Huayu Media, according to Huayu Media's rules, everyone gets a red envelope during the New Year.]
Lin Meng: [President Meng, thank you for helping save my son. This is a New Year's red envelope, please accept it. It's a token of my gratitude. I wish you a happy new year, prosperity next year, and good health.]
Shi Ran: ...
Qing Old Madam: ...
Qing Si Huai: ...
Shu Yao: ...
Meng Jingwei clutched her phone, looking at the stream of text messages that threatened to overwhelm it. She felt a headache coming on.
Lying in bed, Meng Jingwei picked up her phone and collected the red envelopes one by one.
Lu Sen's red envelope was one thousand; Han Junyan's was 888; Qing Old Madam's was one hundred thousand; Lin Meng's was five thousand; Qing Muye's was one million.
The money was mainly transferred via WeChat or bank transfer.
Meng Jingwei thanked each sender and personally called Qing Old Madam to offer New Year's greetings.