She certainly wanted to cherish Tang Si, but would Tang Si really be with her?
Would the Tang family accept it?
Bang, clang clang—
As Shi Ran was lost in thought, holding her phone, the kitchen erupted with a series of crashing sounds.
Startled, she quickly got up, bracing her trembling legs as she rushed to the kitchen. Then she saw…
In the kitchen, Tang Si stood before the stove. In front of his feet was a frying pan, and on the floor lay broken eggs, softened noodles, and a mess of water stains, all still steaming.
Shi Ran stared at him blankly. After a moment, she asked, "Are you okay?"
"Hehehe…"
Tang Si gave an embarrassed smile, reaching up to scratch his head. "It's fine, it's fine. I accidentally knocked over the pan."
"What breakfast were you trying to make?"
Shi Ran walked over and awkwardly squatted down to clean up the frying pan, asking Tang Si in confusion.
Tang Si honestly replied, "I wanted to make you a bowl of egg noodles. But when I was tapping the eggshell against the edge of the frying pan, I used too much force and knocked the pan over."
"Breaking eggs?"
Meng Jingwei frowned, staring at Tang Si incredulously.
Their eyes met, and Tang Si didn't understand why Shi Ran kept staring at him.
Then she covered her mouth and chuckled, "You put the noodles and eggs in after the water just got hot?"
"What, is there a problem?"
Didn't one always put noodles in hot water? Was his method wrong?
"Pfft… No, no problem, no problem."
Shi Ran suppressed her smile, shook her head, and continued to squat down to clean up the mess on the floor.
But Tang Si grabbed her arm, pulled her up, and said with a cold face, "Are you laughing at me?"
Shi Ran: "…"
Was it that obvious?
"No, I'm really not laughing at you." She denied it again.
Tang Si raised his hand and slapped her backside hard. "You're getting bolder. I didn't laugh at you for not being able to walk, and yet you dare to laugh at me for not knowing how to cook."
Shi Ran pursed her lips, unsure how to respond.
"Forget it, I'm not doing it anymore. This is so annoying." Tang Si waved his hand, turned off the gas, and carried Shi Ran out of the kitchen. "Let's go back to the room, I'll order takeout."
Thus, for the entire day, Tang Si stayed in bed with Shi Ran, watching dramas, chatting, eating, or 'sleeping.'
He didn't mention anything about being drugged by his mother the night before.
Perhaps he didn't want Shi Ran to overthink it, or perhaps he felt such a matter was too embarrassing and would make him lose face.
Imperial Villa.
After waking up in the morning, Meng Jingwei had breakfast with Qing Muyi. Afterwards, Qing Muyi went to work, and she, bored, lay on the swing in the yard reading a script.
Her phone suddenly rang.
She placed the script on herself, took out her phone, and glanced at it. The screen displayed an unknown phone number.
"Hello, who is this?"
Meng Jingwei asked.
There was a brief silence on the other end, then a familiar voice replied, "I've arrived in Lan City. Are you free for lunch? Let's grab a meal."
It was Xiao Cheng.
She had already received news that Xiao Cheng and Han Junyan had returned from the Hidden Clan, but she hadn't contacted him proactively.
She hadn't expected Xiao Cheng to actually return to the Hidden Clan.
"Where are you? I'll come find you."
In the Hidden Clan, Xiao Cheng had helped Meng Jingwei many times. She was grateful and had always considered Xiao Cheng a friend.
However, when it came to the matters between him and Qing Muyi, she truly felt powerless.
Xiao Cheng gave an address. Meng Jingwei tidied herself up briefly, then drove her inexpensive Chevrolet sedan away from the villa.
An hour later, she arrived at the coffee shop.
The coffee shop was on the 36th floor of the City Center Building, and sitting there, one could overlook half of Lan City.