Her affairs were hers to decide.
On the contrary, Ivan, seeing Meng Jingwei’s slightly furrowed brow and contemplative expression, as if she were unwilling to agree, immediately said, “Actually, if you’re not willing, I can…”
And pay more!
However, before she could finish speaking, Meng Jingwei immediately interrupted her, “Agree, of course I agree! Let’s settle it happily, do we have a contract? Let’s sign the contract now.”
She was afraid that if she didn't sign the contract now, the thirty thousand yuan that was almost in her grasp would disappear.
Ivan couldn't help but be stunned.
As expected, the older the ginger, the spicier it is.
His boss was indeed his boss, predicting everything.
He said that thirty thousand yuan would be enough to make Meng Jingwei agree, and it really did.
“You agreed for thirty thousand? Tch, Meng Jingwei, are you stupid? Since their company is looking for you as a spokesperson, they must be interested in you. You should at least raise the price. You’re really dumb.”
Shu Yao, sitting on the edge of the bed, couldn’t stand it anymore and felt Meng Jingwei was too straightforward.
“Can I add more?”
Meng Jingwei didn’t ask Ivan because she knew her place. As someone who had never walked a fashion show in public, she felt that receiving a 50,000 yuan appearance fee and a 300,000 yuan endorsement was reasonable, even exceeding her value, so she didn't haggle.
Hearing Shu Yao’s words now, she felt they made sense.
“Probably… yes,” Ivan answered reluctantly and asked, “How much do you want to add?”
He was so hesitant because he didn’t know how much to increase Meng Jingwei’s price at once.
If he increased it too much, he was afraid she would keep demanding more, asking for the sky; if he increased it too little, he was afraid it wouldn’t be reasonable.
“At least add five hundred thousand!” Shu Yao extended her left hand, opened five fingers, then tilted her head to look at Qing Muye, who was sitting beside her, and gave Ivan a meaningful look.
As if to say: Meng Jingwei is now part of the Qing family. Would the Qing family agree to just thirty thousand yuan?
“Thirty thousand is fine, it’s settled.”
After Shu Yao finished speaking, Meng Jingwei immediately added.
She had clearly seen Shu Yao’s meaningful glance at Ivan.
And what Meng Jingwei wanted least at the moment was to be constantly associated with Qing Muye, to the point where people would deny her personal capabilities.
Just like at Encounter Wedding Company.
Although the clients were ‘brought’ by the Qing family, she also put in her own effort and hard work.
Countless days and nights, working with the team on planning, delivering the most satisfactory ‘answers’ to clients, and arranging work, didn't she have any strength?
“Hey, Meng Jingwei, you’re acting crazy…”
“I’m a bit tired and want to sleep. It’s getting late, you should go back now.”
Meng Jingwei didn't want to hear Shu Yao continue to fuss about this matter.
Shu Yao was somewhat helpless and left the ward with Ivan.
After they left, Meng Jingwei lay on the bed and fell into deep thought.
Initially, she was willing to be Madam Qing’s god-granddaughter precisely because she wanted to rely on the Qing family’s influence to protect herself. She hadn't expected this ‘influence’ would backfire and bring a series of repercussions.
She couldn't help but wonder if her decision back then was truly right.
“What are you thinking about?”
Beside her, Qing Muye walked over. Seeing her lying with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling in a daze, he knew she had something on her mind.
“Nothing.”
Meng Jingwei shook her head, “You should leave quickly too.”
She issued him an eviction notice.
The little woman’s repeated attempts to distance herself from him made Qing Muye clearly feel Meng Jingwei’s desire to create emotional distance.
His heart suddenly sank, inexplicably making him restless.
“Do you… despise me that much?”
Qing Muye recalled a sentence he had read in the “Girl-Chasing Manual”: ‘When a woman becomes somewhat cold towards you, you can directly ask her if she dislikes you. This is to test her feelings.’
For Qing Muye, who had no experience in love, this was indeed something worth trying.
Meng Jingwei was startled. She raised her eyelids, her beautiful eyes, with a lustrous sheen, looking up at the man standing tall and straight. A struggle ensued in her heart.
After a few seconds of eye contact, each lost in their own thoughts.
She had initially wanted to use the Qing family’s name to protect herself, and now, Meng Jingwei’s objective had been achieved.
Those people knew she was now Madam Qing’s god-daughter, so they wouldn’t act rashly against her. Now, it was better to directly sever ties with Qing Muye and extinguish any unwarranted thoughts he might have.
“Do you know what ‘merits and demerits cannot offset each other’ means?” she asked.
Qing Muye’s brows furrowed, quite perplexed.
But Meng Jingwei’s sudden serious demeanor made his heart tighten, and a bad premonition arose.
As expected, the next moment, he heard her speak…
“You saved me, and I’m very grateful. But even so, it doesn’t change the fact that you forcibly had relations with me multiple times, and even on the day you were supposed to get engaged to your fiancée; nor does it erase the matter of you causing the death of the child in my womb.”
She spoke the most unpleasant words directly, intending to make Qing Muye completely abandon any thoughts of her.
Then she added, “Even when I was staying at Ye Se Apartment, you used ‘sleeping pills’ on me and then did some despicable and lowly things that are best left unseen. These things, let alone me, anyone else would never forgive you!”
Before Meng Jingwei knew she had insomnia, she truly believed that the sleeping pills in Ye Se Apartment were administered by Qing Muye. However, she later learned it was a misunderstanding.
Now, this ‘misunderstanding’ could become a sharp blade, directly severing the relationship between them.
Every word Meng Jingwei spoke was like a dagger piercing Qing Muye’s heart. The sudden suffocating blockage in his chest made him both angry and helpless, ultimately leaving him only able to bear it powerlessly.
“Oh, right. I forgot to tell you, the reason I agreed to be Grandma’s god-granddaughter wasn’t because I liked Grandma that much, but because I wanted to use Grandma’s affection for me as my umbrella of protection. As you can see, everyone now knows I’m Grandma’s god-granddaughter. Everyone bows and scrapes to me, treating me with utmost respect. Even a fashion show can boost sales and lead to endorsement contracts.”
“Speaking of which, all of this was given to me by your Qing family.”
Meng Jingwei said this with a faint smile on her exquisite face, “However, this is what you owe me, Meng Jingwei! Also, don’t think that just because I’ve gained a lot of benefits from my status as the Qing family’s god-granddaughter, I can forgive you. At most, it can be considered compensation for not reporting you to the police after I was forced. Finally, listen carefully…”
She paused deliberately, speaking with utmost seriousness, “Rapists, will never! Never! Be forgiven!”
The speech was piercing and soul-destroying!
But the words spoken were half true and half false.
She did indeed utilize the Qing family’s influence, but she also genuinely liked Grandma Qing.
She was grateful to Qing Muye for saving her multiple times, but she truly resented Qing Muye’s despicable methods towards her back then.
Although Meng Jingwei always greeted people with a smile, beneath her facade of feigned pleasantness lay a heart covered in wounds.
To heal, it would likely take a lifetime.
These words, which would have remained hidden in her heart, became the last straw that broke Meng Jingwei’s mental support, all because of Shu Yao’s meaningful glance at Ivan today. This made the usually strong Meng Jingwei unwilling to have her abilities overlooked simply because she was backed by the ‘Qing family,’ leading her to speak these words in the harshest way possible, deeply stinging Qing Muye’s heart.
It was equivalent to a psychological execution, severing any possibility of further interaction between them!