Meng Jingwei watched the man's retreating back, her face flushing as she recalled the 'madness' in the mountain cave earlier. A sense of pleasure even bloomed in her heart.
She walked over, and Tang Si handed her a bottle of beer. "Here, here, drink three bottles as a penalty."
"Okay, okay, okay, my fault."
The young woman took the can of beer and drank it down in gulps.
As she drank, she pondered…
Didn't Qing Muyie like Yun Shasha very much? Why did he get involved with her?
Was this the fabled 'grass outside the fence is greener'?
Even though he had Yun Shasha, did Qing Muyie still crave the pleasure of being with her, which led to such frantic and passionate moments earlier?
After much thought, this seemed to be the only possibility.
Meng Jingwei considered it and decided it was acceptable. After all, they were all adults, and it could be considered a physical need.
She didn't have a boyfriend anyway, so doing this… shouldn't be too shameful.
With this self-consolation, Meng Jingwei let it go.
"Wow, Sister Wei has such great stamina."
"Little Pepper's drinking capacity is awesome."
"Amazing, truly bold."
"Mother Yaksha, your drinking capacity is truly… a thousand cups of wine without getting drunk."
"Oh wow, amazing, amazing, Sister Wei is so cool."
…
The group jeered.
After drinking three bottles of beer, Meng Jingwei sat on the ground beside Ji Lanfeng. He handed her some skewers. "Here, try my handiwork."
Grilled fish tofu, gluten, small yellow croakers, and squid skewers.
These four were Meng Jingwei's favorites, and Ji Lanfeng actually remembered.
She took the skewers, pursed her lips, and smiled. "It's been so many years since I've had your grilled skewers. I wonder if they still taste the same."
After speaking, Meng Jingwei took a bite, chewed slowly, and couldn't help but praise, "You're truly a skewer boss who's been sidetracked by an acting career, hahaha…"
"Eat more if you like them. I'll grill some more for you later."
"Okay," Meng Jingwei smiled. To make her lie more convincing, she added, "Compared to the skewers my middle school classmate grills, it's a world of difference."
"That's for sure," Ji Lanfeng smiled, tilting his head back, and handed a few more skewers to Meng Jingwei.
Qing Muyie, sitting opposite them, kept glancing at Meng Jingwei. Especially when he saw Ji Lanfeng being so attentive to her, his expression soured. But he just buried his head in eating skewers, saying nothing.
The group sat together, eating and drinking, and then gathered to play Big Two.
Considering the different family backgrounds of the girls, Lin Meng, Shi Ran, and Cheng Xiaorui played Big Two together.
Ji Lanfeng, Qing Muyie, Meng Jingwei, Han Yu, Tang Si, and Steve played Big Two and had a blast.
By evening, the gathering concluded, and everyone went home.
After Meng Jingwei dropped Lin Meng and Shi Ran off, she returned home. As soon as she changed her shoes at the entrance, Shu Yao's call came through.
"Shu Yao?"
"Weiwei, I've thought about it. I think… the child can be handed over to Qing Muyie. After all… compared to Qing Sihui, I'm more willing to trust him."
Shu Yao had interacted with Qing Muyie many times and had a good impression of him.
Especially since Qing Muyie had promised her that she could see the child once every three months and would be informed of the child's whereabouts.
Shu Yao was wary of Qing Sihui and even more fearful of Anthony. Therefore, the best option was to hand the child over to Qing Muyie and let him find a way to hide the child.
She would be responsible for all the expenses.
"Have you thought it through?" Meng Jingwei hadn't expected Shu Yao to agree to Qing Muyie in the end.
"My mom just called me and said Anthony has been harassing them. I think… Anthony will probably get impatient and force me to hand over the child."
Shu Yao's voice on the phone was filled with a sense of loss and helplessness.
Meng Jingwei knew that Shu Yao must have made this choice out of desperation.
"Okay, wait for me. I'll contact him."
After hanging up, Meng Jingwei changed her shoes again at the entrance and went downstairs.
She walked out of the apartment building, got into her car in the parking lot, and called Qing Muyie.
"Beep, beep, beep…"
The phone rang three times before the other party answered.
The call connected, but Qing Muyie didn't speak.
Meng Jingwei involuntarily recalled what had happened on the mountain earlier that day, and her face flushed.
Fortunately, the cave on Mount Qiming was rarely visited, and people rarely went inside.
And although Mount Qiming was a good place for barbecues, it was too far from the city and fewer people went there. Otherwise, if someone had stumbled upon them, it would have been truly embarrassing.
"Shu Yao just called me and said she… agreed to your proposal."
Meng Jingwei got straight to the point.
She spoke about Shu Yao's matter concisely and directly, as if the events that transpired between her and Qing Muyie in the cave that day didn't exist.
Qing Muyie understood the unspoken implication and didn't mention it at all. He only said in a calm tone, "Alright, tell her to bring the child to the underground parking lot of the mall. I'll send someone to pick them up. No need to bring anything."
"Understood."
Meng Jingwei replied.
After that, there was a few seconds of silence.
Meng Jingwei hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Are… you really trustworthy?"
Qing Sihui would use Shu Yao's child to contend for the position of heir to the Qing family, so would Qing Muyie use this child to threaten Sheng Sihui?
After asking, she suddenly felt a bit foolish.
Given Qing Muyie's capabilities, there was no need for him to deal with Qing Sihui in such a manner.
He wasn't worthy.
So, before Qing Muyie could speak, Meng Jingwei added, "I believe you wouldn't be so despicable."
With that, she directly hung up the phone.
Afterwards, she went to Shu Yao's house and chatted with Shu Yao for a long time, but they both avoided the nanny at home.
In the evening, the two of them went out to the mall designated by Qing Muyie and handed the child over to a stranger in the underground parking garage.
The other person brought a nanny and directly took the child away.
Even though Shu Yao was reluctant in every way, she dared not take the child home.
The child was put into the car by the nanny, and a man in a suit got in and drove away.
Shu Yao watched the child leave, and tears immediately streamed down her face.
She raised her hand to cover her mouth and wept silently.
Seeing her grief-stricken, Meng Jingwei immediately walked over, patted her shoulder, and comforted her, "Don't worry too much. The child's departure is only temporary. This is for his protection, it's your love. You still have many things to do next, so you need to pull yourself together, understand?"
After today's events, Shu Yao should understand something…
That is, the same experience she had with Meng Jingwei back then meant she had to become stronger herself so as not to be threatened.
"Yes, yes, I understand. I will definitely work hard and won't be threatened again."
"Keep going."
Meng Jingwei sighed and added, "Qing Muyie said he would video you after the child is settled, and then you'll know how the child is doing."
"Oh, right, can you ask him how much money I need to give him?" Shu Yao was worried that if she didn't pay, the child wouldn't be well taken care of.
Meng Jingwei smiled and said, "Entrusting the child to Qing Muyie will save him a lot of trouble. Do you think these things can be compared to money?"
It was just a matter of taking what each other needed.