Hong Jiaxi, seeing that it was Huangfu Shaohua's joyous occasion, suppressed his anger and followed Shaohua to the changing room.
On the venue, only Mengqi and Mengyao remained, along with Song Jiaping. Daisy's father and staff had gone to the entrance to handle guest reception and discuss details.
Mengqi looked at them and said to Mengyao, "If I don't tell you beforehand, will you be angry?"
Mengyao shook her head and looked at Song Jiaping with confusion, asking, "Jiaping, why didn't you continue to be a doctor? Why are you working in my sister's department?"
"I got tired of looking at those patients all day, so I wanted to change careers," Song Jiaping replied indifferently, without meeting her gaze.
Mengyao didn't believe him. "That's impossible. Have you forgotten your original intention, that you wanted to use your medical skills to help more people..."
"What original intention? I was too naive back then. I'm not a god or Buddha, I can't save everyone. I can only take care of myself first," Song Jiaping said with a smile.
"Is it because my family looked down on you before and hurt your dignity that you changed careers?" Mengyao asked anxiously.
Song Jiaping chuckled lightly. "It has nothing to do with that. I want to achieve something for myself."
"You are not this kind of person!" Mengyao stated firmly.
Song Jiaping sneered. "Do you think you know me very well? In fact, you don't understand who I am at all. You're too self-righteous."
Mengyao was stunned, her eyes turning red.
Mengqi quickly stepped between them. "Today is not the time to discuss these things. It's Shaohua's big day. Since we're here to help, we should be happy."
As soon as she finished speaking, guests from the bride's side arrived.
Mengqi quickly signaled to them, "Quick, let's divide the work and help with the reception."
Song Jiaping immediately walked in the opposite direction from Mengyao, seemingly wanting no further association with her.
Mengyao felt an indescribable sadness, not understanding what she had done wrong to make Song Jiaping avoid her so much.
After Shaohua's wedding concluded, Mengyao and Hong Jiaxi left the venue first.
Mengqi watched the car they drove away in, feeling that Mengyao still hadn't let go of Song Jiaping.
As for Song Jiaping, although he appeared indifferent to Mengyao, that indifference was different from how he treated others; it concealed his feelings for Mengyao.
She saw through it but didn't expose it. Seeing that most people had dispersed, she suddenly linked her arm with Song Jiaping's and said, "Thank you for today. I'll give you a ride back."
Song Jiaping naturally pulled away from her. "No need. I want to walk around alone."
He then walked away by himself.
Mengqi had no choice but to say goodbye to Shaohua, Daisy, and Daisy's parents before driving away alone.
...
Hong Jiaxi was driving, and Mengyao sat in the passenger seat, silent and dejected.
Seeing Song Jiaping become her elder sister Mengqi's subordinate, she was truly shocked.
Hong Jiaxi couldn't help but speak, "Don't you understand yet? Song Jiaping is just a gigolo who specifically deceives rich young ladies to get ahead! Since he couldn't deceive you, he went after Sister Mengqi. You must warn Sister Mengqi to be careful."
"Am I and my sister the only rich young ladies in Lancheng? If he really deceived me, why didn't he stay further away from me and find other rich young ladies, instead of following my sister?" Mengyao retorted softly.
Mengyao could never believe Song Jiaping was that kind of person. In her memory, he was clearly a righteous and compassionate humanitarian.
Could a person's personality change completely just by moving to a peaceful place like Anning?
Hong Jiaxi said with a laugh, "Does that even need asking? Which wealthy family in Lancheng has more financial power than your Huangfu family..."
"Enough, stop talking. Let me be quiet," Mengyao interrupted him, annoyed.
Hong Jiaxi refused to give up. "You should wake up. Without that Song Jiaping, there's still me. We grew up together, we know each other inside out..."
"I've told you long ago that I don't want to talk about relationships anymore. We will only be friends from now on," Mengyao said coldly, not wanting to hear him speak further.
Hong Jiaxi said nothing more, but the more he thought about it, the more he found Song Jiaping detestable.
If he had given up on Mengyao, why was he always lingering around her acquaintances? It was just to show off his charm!
When Mengqi returned home, she found Mengyao waiting for her in the living room.
"Sister, come to our room," Mengyao whispered to her.
Mengqi hummed and went to her room.
Before Mengyao could speak, Mengqi knew what she wanted to say and spoke first, "Don't you know Song Jiaping joined the group?"
"I didn't know. No one told me about this," Mengyao replied.
Mengqi thought for a moment. "I only found out when Shaohua left the group and took over the department he managed. You were already abroad then, and I thought you knew. Perhaps Mom and Dad and Shaohua didn't tell you because you had amnesia and were emotionally devastated at the time."
Mengyao nodded; that was likely the reason.
She hesitated and then asked, "Sister, do you and Song Jiaping have any relationship other than superior and subordinate? Did he, did he treat you particularly well, wanting to... wanting to pursue you?"
After asking, she looked at Mengqi, wanting to confirm whether Song Jiaping was truly a con artist.
Mengqi immediately said with a laugh, "No, he and I are just in a superior-subordinate relationship. It was precisely because I knew he was your ex-husband that I paid a little more attention to him. I only invited him to the wedding to help because I thought he was a man of few words and wouldn't gossip around, so I asked him to make up the numbers."
Mengyao's tense nerves relaxed. It seemed Song Jiaping hadn't pursued or tried to please Mengqi.
Mengqi said to her, "I heard the argument between you two today. Have you looked into his family situation? Actually, he probably stopped being a doctor to earn more money."
This statement made Mengyao realize that she had never met Song Jiaping's family and had never asked about his family situation.
"Is his family very poor?"
Mengqi nodded. "Not only poor, but his only relative, his mother, has Alzheimer's and requires a lot of medical expenses every month. His income as a doctor could barely sustain them. If he wanted his mother to receive better treatment, it would require a lot of money."
Mengyao gasped. "He never told me. If I had known, I could have..."
"You could have given him money?" Mengqi interrupted. "Knowing his personality, he wouldn't accept your money."
Mengyao sighed, thinking that Song Jiaping was right when he said at the wedding that she might not know him. It seemed that was indeed the case.
It was only her one-sided wishful thinking that they loved each other. But after returning to Lancheng, returning to reality, she actually knew nothing about him.
Now, she understood him less than her elder sister did. It was truly laughable.
"Sister, I understand now. I was too self-indulgent."
Mengqi patted her shoulder and said, "Men are just playthings for amusement. Don't take them too seriously. You have education and ability. Why not focus on building your own career? Keep going."