"What are you daydreaming about all day?" Meng Jingwei shot her a sideways glance. "If you want to go back, go back by yourself. Banking on me bringing your ashes back to the hidden clan is too inauspicious."
She deliberately said this for Shen Liannuo to hear.
"Wherever there are people, there is the martial world. Alas..." She let out a long sigh, leaned back on the sofa, and looked up at the ceiling. "I thought I could live a peaceful life after leaving the hidden clan, but I never imagined it would be even more perilous here."
Accustomed to having her way in the hidden clan, she felt like a lone soldier in Lancheng, despite having friends like Meng Jingwei.
That sense of being utterly alone made her inexplicably feel insecure.
Meng Jingwei didn't respond. Her gaze shifted to Qing Muye, watching his handsome face display a rare expression of worry as he held Yihang in one arm and Madam Qing in the other.
This time, their fate was uncertain.
Even more dangerous was that they still didn't know the identity of the manipulator behind the scenes.
Qing Muye took Madam Qing upstairs to rest, then came back down and exchanged pleasantries with his in-laws. He said, "I have to go on a business trip. I won't be in the country for a while. You two stay here with peace of mind."
Meng Tianhua and his wife exchanged glances. The two elders were visibly worried, sighing deeply. They wanted to ask more but didn't know where to begin.
They only knew that Qing Muye was a man of great affairs, and there were many things they couldn't interfere with.
Meng Tianhua nodded, "Take good care of yourself out there. Jingwei and I will look after the children. You don't need to worry about things at home."
Shen Liannuo, sitting on the opposite sofa, glanced at Qing Muye, then at Meng Jingwei, and asked softly, "What's going on? Where is my master going?"
"I'll tell you later." Some things couldn't be explained in a few words.
Shen Liannuo didn't press further.
An hour later, Qing Muye left.
Standing on the corridor by the hall entrance, Meng Jingwei reluctantly watched Qing Muye walk to the car, holding a black umbrella. Her red lips parted, but the words caught in her throat.
The sky had been overcast in the morning, but now a torrential downpour had begun. The rain pounded the ground, hitting Qing Muye's umbrella with a crisp sound.
The sound struck Meng Jingwei's heart with each beat, causing it to clench involuntarily.
The pouring rain, mixed with the spring breeze, felt slightly chilly.
Qing Muye, dressed in a black trench coat, reached the car door, holding the door with one hand and the umbrella with the other. His gaze pierced through the curtain of rain, landing on Meng Jingwei.
They looked at each other across the distance, their affection evident. Beyond their deep reluctance to part, there was a greater worry for each other.
Suddenly, Meng Jingwei ran out from the steps into the rain.
"A Ye!"
She called out.
Seeing her running into the rain, Qing Muye strode forward and held up the umbrella to shield her.
Meng Jingwei threw herself into his arms. Qing Muye embraced her with his left arm and then gently stroked her hair. "Are you foolish? It's raining so heavily, and your clothes are soaked. Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"
His tone was doting, filled with deep and profound love.
"Promise me you'll come back safely," Meng Jingwei wrapped her arms tightly around Qing Muye's waist, standing on tiptoe. Her rain-splashed cheek pressed against his, moistening his face as well.
"I will," Qing Muye whispered, comforting her. "You have to trust your husband's abilities."
Under the black umbrella, the two embraced tightly, as if shutting out everything around them. Everything seemed to stand still.
Under the eaves outside the hall, Meng Tianhua and his wife, Shen Liannuo, and Qiao Ziqian, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, stood watching the couple in the rain. Their expressions were all somber.