"Song Jiaping's personality is also difficult, and not good. Don't think about him anymore," Mengqi knew that Song Jiaping loved Mengyao very much, but she couldn't figure out why he didn't express it to Mengyao.
But Song Jiaping's behavior was tormenting enough. Mengqi couldn't help but sympathize with Mengyao, wondering why the men she met couldn't give her true happiness!
Mengyao fell silent. Mengqi was right. Song Jiaping had ultimately given up on her and hadn't given her true love. She shouldn't linger on such a person.
Thinking this way, Jiaxi was still good. At least he had been pursuing her, never giving up on her, and his love for her was strong and persistent.
Seeing her silence, Mengqi advised, "Actually, there are many men in this world besides Song Jiaping and Jiaxi. You don't have to always be stuck on them..."
"Sister, I've thought it through. Jiaxi is doing this because he's afraid of losing me again. He's the only one who has always loved me, and I shouldn't miss him again. If I feel he's doing something wrong, I should tell him directly and ask him not to be so insecure."
Mengqi asked, "Are you really going to marry him? I only just found out about his despicable behavior. Such a person is unreliable. I'll help you talk to Mom and Dad. Even if the whole world knows he proposed to you, you can't wrong yourself by marrying him."
"No need," Mengyao decided. "Since the person I love doesn't want to be with me, I'll be happy choosing someone who loves me. Just like you, eldest sister, you didn't love brother-in-law when you first married him, but he liked you, and now you're living so well, aren't you?"
"Are you sure you've thought this through?" Mengqi sighed. "Back then, marrying Yao Feili according to Dad's wishes felt like gambling, with the outcome uncertain. Now it seems my choice was right, but I was just lucky. Are you planning to gamble your marriage too?"
Mengyao nodded and said, "You gambled and won even though you'd only met brother-in-law a few times. Jiaxi and I have feelings for each other, and I will win."
Mengqi was still a little worried about her, but thinking about their childhood sweethearts relationship, it wouldn't be good to force them apart.
"I respect your decision, but if anything happens, don't hide it from me. I will definitely help you and back you up."
"Eldest sister, thank you."
"Why are you thanking me? It's just the two of us sisters now, of course, we should take care of each other."
Mengyao stayed at Mengqi's house for the afternoon. After leaving, she contacted Hong Jiaxi and said she wanted to see him.
Jiaxi immediately agreed and kept asking for her forgiveness over the phone.
"Choose a quiet place for dinner tonight. I don't want the media to photograph us again," Mengyao said, not specifying whether she forgave him.
"Understood. I'll book a table and send you the location. We can talk when we meet."
Mengyao waited in the car for a while before he sent her the restaurant's location.
She followed the navigation to a high-end restaurant. When she entered, she saw no other customers besides Jiaxi and the staff.
Jiaxi stood up to greet her.
Mengyao asked, "Did you book out this entire restaurant?"
"Is it very quiet this way?" Jiaxi said dotingly. "You said you wanted a quiet place without disturbance, so I booked the whole restaurant. No one will bother us."
Mengyao said nothing further. She sat down and looked at him, saying, "I've made up my mind. I won't let you down again. I will wholeheartedly be good to you. Don't scheme anymore. You shouldn't be that kind of person."
"I really didn't expect there to be media around when I proposed to you. It wasn't planned by me. Please believe me," Jiaxi said with a wronged expression.
Mengyao thought about how good he had been to her in the past and said, "Whether you arranged this intentionally or not, I fully understand your feelings now and am willing to spend the rest of my life with you. But I hope you remain the person you were, and don't lose your true self because of me."
"My true self is to love you. As long as you marry me and stay with me forever, I will be content in this life," Jiaxi said, holding her hand affectionately.
At this moment, the lights in the entire restaurant dimmed. Spotlights lit up from the corners, projecting the restaurant's ceiling to resemble a vast starry sky.
Simultaneously, several violinists began playing melodious music. Mengyao gazed at the brilliant stars against the azure background, feeling as if she were in the wilderness, looking up at the night sky.
"Do you feel like you're dining under the cosmic sky? Do you like it?" Jiaxi asked softly. "Don't blame me anymore. I love you more than I love myself."
"I like it," Mengyao said, her head tilted up. It was too surprising, like returning to those days in the wilderness.
Jiaxi, however, kept staring at her. He knew he had succeeded in winning her back and would never let her slip away from him again.
He couldn't help but kiss her affectionately. Mengyao instinctively dodged.
Jiaxi's heart ached. He firmly cupped the back of her head, forcefully parted her lips, and kissed her deeply.
At first, Mengyao resisted in her heart, but she couldn't understand why she was still resisting. Since she had just told him she would be devoted to him from now on, she shouldn't be thinking of anything else. She finally persuaded herself to accept Jiaxi's love again.
...
As night fell, Qin Tianyi quietly left the group alone. He didn't drive and didn't have his driver pick him up.
He wore inconspicuous casual clothes, a hat, and emerged from a cleaning passage in the underground parking lot. He hailed a taxi on the street.
He arrived in front of a building in an old district. There were street vendors selling late-night snacks all around. This area had a large flow of people and was mixed, making it a good hiding place.
Tianyi walked up the narrow staircase and knocked on the door. Someone inside asked, "Who is it?"
"It's me," Tianyi replied.
The door was quickly opened from the inside. He saw that the person who opened the door was Song Jiaping and smiled.
Song Jiaping was also happy and excited to see him, and they hugged.
Tianyi patted Song Jiaping's shoulder and said, "You've changed so much after not seeing you for a few months."
Song Jiaping smiled, invited him in to sit, and said, "I got tanned in Africa."
Tianyi noticed his hair was shaved to the shortest buzz cut, his skin was darker than bronze, but he looked much sturdier.
"You're still so free, able to go wherever you want and do whatever you want," Tianyi said with genuine envy.
Song Jiaping gave a wry smile and said, "It's freedom, but I'm just a rootless duckweed. This time, I only told you I was returning to Lancheng. I don't want anyone else to know."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Tianyi said. He knew Wu Xiufang had been secretly watching him, so when he received Song Jiaping's email, he didn't tell anyone and evaded Wu Xiufang's surveillance to come here.
Song Jiaping nodded in relief, then took out their family's ancestral medical book from his suitcase.
The book was already yellowed and darkened. He carefully wrapped it in a sealed bag.
Tianyi carefully took the book and said, "I had to ask you to come back for this. This book should be important evidence. I'll find professional people to restore and preserve it, and return it to you afterward."