She had barely reached the door when her mother came looking for her.
“Just got back, where are you off to now?” Wu Xiufang asked.
Mengyao casually replied, “Meeting a friend for coffee.”
Wu Xiufang pulled her along and said, “What friend? Cancel it, come with me to a gathering.”
“Mom, I don’t want to go to your ladies’ gatherings, they’re so boring.” Mengyao just wanted to get to her appointment quickly.
Wu Xiufang held onto her, saying, “Today’s gathering includes a pastry-making session, a Michelin pastry chef will be there to guide us, how could it be boring? Everyone agreed to bring their children, and there will be quite a few young people.”
Mengyao tried to refuse, “But I’ve really made plans with a friend, I’ll accompany you next time…”
“What friend? Have you found a new boyfriend?” Wu Xiufang asked with a smile.
Mengyao immediately denied it, saying, “Just a good friend, she’s a woman too.”
“Are ordinary friends more important to you than I am?” Wu Xiufang complained. “You’ve had several children, but not one of them can keep me company. Your eldest sister is too busy to come home, and your unpromising second brother doesn’t even recognize me as his mother…”
As she spoke, Wu Xiufang’s eyes reddened, and she was about to shed tears sadly.
Mengyao had no choice but to say, “I’ll go with you. When does the gathering start? How about I meet my friend first, and then go directly to the gathering venue?”
Wu Xiufang glanced at the time and said, “Call your friend and cancel, we need to leave now.”
Mengyao then noticed that Wu Xiufang was dressed and ready to go out.
So, her mother had come to her room specifically for this.
She had no choice but to follow her mother to the gathering of those wealthy ladies, planning to show her face and then slip away when her mother wasn’t paying attention.
Wu Xiufang and the other wealthy ladies were gathering at a private baking studio, which was run by one of the wealthy ladies.
When Mengyao arrived at the venue, she saw that her mother and the wealthy ladies had made a big production of the gathering.
There was a Michelin chef present, as well as media and a charity organization, and it was a live-streamed event.
Each of the wealthy ladies would personally make a cake, which would then be sold through the live stream, with the proceeds going directly to a charity.
The children who accompanied the wealthy ladies were mostly there to help. Mengyao saw cameras and spotlights everywhere in the baking studio, so how could she possibly slip away?
In her helplessness, she sent a message to Song Jiaping, “Something came up, let’s reschedule.”
Song Jiaping was already sitting in the coffee shop. He suddenly received her message saying she couldn’t make it and replied with frustration, “I’ll wait here, you can come after you’re done.”
Mengyao was afraid he would wait too long, so she sent another message, “How about tomorrow? When are you free tomorrow?”
After sending this message, Song Jiaping didn’t reply.
Meanwhile, her mother was subtly urging her not to play with her phone anymore. She put her phone in her bag and focused on preparing the ingredients for her mother to make the cake.
“Mengyao, you’re here too.”
As she was separating egg yolks and whites, she heard Hong Jiaxi’s voice and couldn’t help but look over.
She saw Hong Jiaxi and his mother just arriving, collecting their numbers and ingredients at the entrance.
Mengyao smiled at him and nodded at Hong Jiaxi’s mother as well.
Seeing an empty seat next to Mengyao, Hong Jiaxi brought his mother over to join Mengyao and her mother.
As soon as Wu Xiufang saw Hong Jiaxi’s mother, she started chatting with her about everyday matters.
Mengyao quietly asked Hong Jiaxi, “Why did you come with your aunt? Have you ever made a cake before?”
“No,” Hong Jiaxi glanced at the others present and said with a smile, “Fortunately, I’m not the only guy here. It seems we’ve all been dragged here by our mothers for blind dates.”
“Blind dates?” Mengyao asked, not quite understanding.
Hong Jiaxi smiled and said, “You don’t know yet, they’ve all planned this. They’re using the gathering and charity event as an opportunity to create chances for us single people. They hold a gathering, do charity, and also arrange blind dates for their children… it’s killing three birds with one stone.”
Mengyao finally understood. No wonder her mother insisted on her coming, and there were young men and women present.
She realized she had underestimated the wealthy ladies like her mother before; they were quite clever. She couldn’t help but cover her mouth and smile.
Hong Jiaxi, seeing her sudden smile with a sparkle in her eyes, was momentarily stunned.
“How did you know? Did Aunt tell you directly?” Mengyao asked, noticing he was spacing out, and nudged him lightly.
Hong Jiaxi, concealing his feelings for her, said, “Yes, this is your first time at such an event, right? I’ve attended several times with my mother.”
“Yes,” Mengyao said with a smile, “I see a lot of beautiful women here. You don’t need to stay with me. If you see anyone you like or find attractive, go get to know them.”
Hong Jiaxi didn’t like her saying that and was about to retort.
Wu Xiufang smiled at them and said, “You two should hurry and prepare the ingredients, the live stream is about to start. There will be plenty of opportunities for you young people to chat later.”
“Yes, yes,” Hong Jiaxi’s mother echoed.
Both of them understood their mothers’ intentions and stopped whispering, busying themselves with their tasks.
Hong Jiaxi was completely unfamiliar with the kitchen utensils, so he could only follow Mengyao’s lead.
…
Song Jiaping sat in the coffee shop, not replying to Mengyao’s message, feeling even more upset.
They had clearly agreed to meet, but Mengyao suddenly changed her mind, saying she would reschedule for tomorrow. But he wanted to know immediately why Mengyao had gone to the sanatorium!
Song Jiaping sat alone in the coffee shop, drinking his coffee glumly. He happened to see two girls at a nearby table watching a live stream.
He heard one girl say, “Look at this Michelin pastry master’s charity sale.”
The other girl glanced at the live stream and asked, “Who are those handsome guys helping out? Are pastry apprentices always this elegant and handsome?”
“They’re not apprentices, they’re all second-generation rich, doing charity with their families,” the girl explained.
Song Jiaping spotted someone in the live stream who looked very much like Hong Jiaxi, so he asked the two girls for the website of the food live stream.
The two girls told him, and he immediately clicked on it on his phone.
Upon seeing the live stream, he discovered that not only Hong Jiaxi appeared, but Mengyao and her mother were also occasionally seen on the stream.
So, she had broken their appointment to attend this event.
These high-society events were more important to her than anything else.
After seeing his mother, she must have completely lost all hope in him.
Previously, after they divorced, she insisted on staying away from him, yet she still couldn’t let him go, always wanting him to give her a reason.
Now, she probably didn’t need his reason anymore. Seeing how well they worked together while making cakes in the live stream, he felt they were increasingly suited for each other.
He had warned her before that Hong Jiaxi was not someone she could entrust her life to, but she hadn’t taken it to heart, which made him even more annoyed and angry.
Between love and family, he couldn’t abandon his mother who gave birth to him and raised him. Was he still human if he did?