"Come, Jingwei, have some too. I can't finish all this by myself," Old Mrs. Qing handed the fruit to Meng Jingwei.
With her grandmother's kind intention, Meng Jingwei couldn't refuse. She picked up a fruit fork, speared a piece of fruit, and took a bite. "It's soft and sweet. Grandmother, please eat."
As they chatted, they completely ignored Qing Muye, who was sitting beside them.
After a long while, Old Mrs. Qing finally looked at Qing Muye. "Yun'er came over this morning and cried to me. She's quite pitiful. Even if you don't marry her, she's carrying a child of the Qing family. You can't be too heartless."
Old Mrs. Qing couldn't interfere too much in the affairs of the young, but she would say what needed to be said.
Mentioning Li Yun'er, Meng Jingwei lowered her head and played with her phone, remaining silent.
Especially regarding Li Yun'er's situation, she didn't want to know, nor did she want to interfere.
"I will handle it myself."
Qing Muye ultimately did not tell Old Mrs. Qing the truth of the matter.
Yesterday's wedding banquet had caused the elderly woman's blood pressure to surge, leading to her fainting on the spot. If she were to be told the truth now, it was feared she wouldn't be able to bear it.
After much deliberation, Qing Muye decided to tell her the truth truthfully after Old Mrs. Qing's birthday.
Old Mrs. Qing snorted and ignored him, instead saying to Meng Jingwei, "The day after tomorrow is my birthday. We're holding a banquet at the Qing family's old residence. You'll come with Muye then."
"Oh, okay, Grandma."
Meng Jingwei thought that after the incident, Old Mrs. Qing wouldn't hold the birthday banquet anymore. She hadn't expected everything to proceed as scheduled.
However, upon reflection, it was quite reasonable.
After the wedding, Qing Muye immediately had the company's public relations department intervene. With his ability to control the situation, he prevented things from spiraling out of control.
Still, this minor fluctuation did cause some losses to Songyu Group.
Songyu Group's annual revenue was trillions. A mere sneeze could cause significant fluctuations in the stock market.
After staying at the hospital for over an hour, Meng Jingwei left. Old Mrs. Qing asked Qing Muye to see her off.
From exiting the ward to entering the elevator, Meng Jingwei did not acknowledge Qing Muye at all.
Only after they walked out of the hospital's inpatient building did the man beside her say, "Wait here for a moment, I'll go get the car."
"Am I an amputee? Do I not have legs? Do I need to ride in your car? How unlucky!"
The young woman retorted sharply, shot him a glare, and with a haughty snort, walked away.
A scumbag without principles or integrity should be kept as far away as possible.
Meng Jingwei walked along, thinking that she must buy a car in a few days; it would make getting around more convenient.
Qing Muye did not chase after her.
However, just as she reached the roadside outside the hospital, a car suddenly stopped beside her. Qing Muye's voice sounded from inside, "Get in."
The commanding tone left no room for negotiation.
Meng Jingwei was utterly fed up with Qing Muye's condescending demeanor. She glanced at a taxi following them, waved her hand, flagged it down, pulled open the door, and got in.
Qing Muye, sitting in his luxury car, watched Meng Jingwei get into the taxi through the rearview mirror. His handsome face instantly darkened.
This damned woman was truly spoiled and arrogant!
Qing Muye started his car and followed the taxi.
They drove until they stopped in front of a hotel.
He watched Meng Jingwei enter the hotel and waited for a few more minutes before getting out to inquire in the hotel lobby.
Ultimately, he confirmed that Meng Jingwei was temporarily staying at the hotel.
There was no place for her to stay in the vast Lan City.
Qing Muye's heart suddenly felt uneasy.
...
Qing family's old residence.
Today was Old Mrs. Qing's sixty-fifth birthday, and invitations had been sent to Lan City's socialites and well-known media personalities.
The day before, Meng Jingwei had gone to pick up a hundred-thousand-yuan car. In the afternoon, she drove around the market, selecting a gift for Old Mrs. Qing.
Early in the morning, as Meng Jingwei was preparing to head to the Qing family's old residence for Old Mrs. Qing's birthday banquet, there was a knock on the hotel suite door.
A crisp knock sounded. She walked to the door, "Who is it?"
As she asked, she opened the door and found Qing Muye standing there.
Seeing the man who seemed to be haunting her, Meng Jingwei's expression darkened, and she immediately reached out to close the door. However, the man stretched his foot forward, blocking the doorway.
The door couldn't be closed. Meng Jingwei looked up, her sharp gaze fixing on Qing Muye. "What's wrong with you? Do you have a fetish for your foot? If you don't move it, believe it or not, I'll cripple your foot!"
Coming to bother her so early in the morning...
How unlucky!
"Change into this."
Qing Muye handed Meng Jingwei a handbag.
"What is this?"
"Clothes."
"You bought them? Get lost, I don't want them!"
"Today is Grandma's birthday. We're inviting business elites, and you'll be introduced to the media with your new identity. Do you think you're suitable to wear what you have on?"
Qing Muye's expression was serious as he pointed at the small suit Meng Jingwei was wearing.
That outfit was her usual professional attire for work.
To save trouble, Meng Jingwei was too lazy to buy new clothes.
Originally, she had thought that after the wedding banquet incident, Old Mrs. Qing would be very hesitant to introduce her to outsiders, perhaps even thinking that Old Mrs. Qing no longer recognized her as her adopted granddaughter. She hadn't expected to be mistaken.
Meng Jingwei looked at the handbag Qing Muye was holding. It had a gilded logo printed on it, a well-known brand from abroad, and was expensive.
"Grandma asked me to give it to you."
Qing Muye saw the expression on her face and, guessing her thoughts, said this.
"Oh, Grandma gave it? Alright then."
Meng Jingwei accepted it readily.
As she took the bag from him, Qing Muye prepared to walk in, when suddenly, the door slammed shut, completely cutting off their line of sight.
Qing Muye stood with his body pressed against the door. In that one second, no, in less than a tenth of a second, he was almost hit in the face by the door.
The man's hand, hanging by his side, clenched slightly. He slowly closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, calming his emotions.
When had he ever been so humiliatingly shut out?
Anger.
A sense of powerlessness, a stark contrast to his intense anger, with nowhere to vent his fury.
Meng Jingwei took the clothes to the bedroom and changed. It was a beautiful dress, but paired with her chin-length short hair and a bare face, it seemed a bit plain.
So, she rummaged through her cosmetics, applied a simple makeup, and then put on a pair of high heels before walking out.
Standing in the hallway, the man who had been playing with his phone, silently waiting for Meng Jingwei to come out, looked up and was stunned.
The woman before him had black, chin-length hair framing a fair, melon-seed-shaped face. Her eyes were large and expressive, her lashes long and curled, her nose aquiline, and her cherry-like lips were naturally red.
A necklace adorned her slender neck, and the one-shoulder strapless long dress made her collarbones appear exquisitely charming.
Her feet in sky-high heels, she was like a proud swan, exuding elegance, grace, and an air of proud independence.