Meng Zeyan was very tall. Sitting on the small stool looked a little cramped for him, yet he appeared completely at ease, carrying a faint smile as he said, “Hello, little sister-in-law. My name is Meng Zeyan. I’m Meng Zeyu’s older brother.”
“H-Hello, Older Brother. My name is Tang Huan. I’m Meng Zeyu’s wife.” Tang Huan unconsciously straightened her back, her fingers lightly picking at the pages of the book resting on her lap. She spoke stiffly and formally, almost like she was giving a report.
Just now, she had nearly stood up to answer him. Luckily, she realized in time that it would be inappropriate and managed not to embarrass herself.
Taking in all her little movements, Meng Zeyan’s expression softened further. He pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it toward her.
“I couldn’t make it back for your wedding. This is your meeting gift. I’m making up for it now.”
“N-No need…” Tang Huan felt too embarrassed to take it. His younger brother had already passed away; accepting a gift from him now somehow felt inappropriate.
“I prepared this a long time ago.” Meng Zeyan nudged the envelope closer. Before he’d had the chance to mail it, he had received the terrible news instead.
Tang Huan looked at the envelope. After hesitating for a moment, she finally accepted it and softly thanked him.
“Thank you.”
She wasn’t stupid. She could tell that Meng Zeyan’s smile was only surface-level politeness. Refusing any further would only make things awkward.
Meng Zeyan didn’t say anything else. His gaze shifted to the Chinese textbook on her lap. There were plenty of notes and markings inside, making it obvious she had been studying seriously.
With him sitting there, Tang Huan suddenly didn’t know what to do. She placed the book on the table, stood up, and went into the main room.
She found the thermos and a cup, poured a glass of water, and carried it back out to place in front of Meng Zeyan.
After setting down the cup, she returned to her seat and reopened her book.
Meng Zeyan’s gaze lingered on the top of Tang Huan’s bowed head.
Meng Zeyu’s death had happened too suddenly. What especially puzzled him was why, on the second day after his wedding—while still on marriage leave—he had gone to work at the factory.
He couldn’t help but suspect something.
Had Meng Zeyu gone voluntarily, or had someone pressured him into it?
“Xiaohuan, come help carry the dishes!” Xing Cui called from the kitchen. Over the past month, she had gotten used to calling her that.
“Coming~!” Tang Huan answered reflexively, completely forgetting her brother-in-law was sitting across from her. She grabbed her book and hurried into her room to put it away.
By the time she ran to the kitchen entrance, Meng Zeyan had just walked out carrying dishes.
Both plates in his hands were piled high, steam still rising from the freshly cooked food.
Tang Huan instinctively reached out to help, but Meng Zeyan lifted the dishes slightly away.
“There are more dishes inside. Go carry those instead. These are too hot.”
Since he wouldn’t let her take them, Tang Huan quickly stepped aside to make room for him.
Meng Zeyan carried the dishes over while Tang Huan slipped into the kitchen.
There were still two more dishes and a bowl of egg-drop soup by the stove. Tang Huan reached toward the soup.
Xing Cui, who was scooping rice, noticed Tang Huan’s pale little hand about to touch the bowl and immediately said, “Xiaohuan, carry the cold dish instead. Let your brother carry the soup.”
“Okay~”
The hand that had already touched the soup bowl smoothly changed direction and picked up the cold dish instead.
Besides the cold dish, there was also a plate of stir-fried cured meat. Tang Huan carried one dish in each hand as she carefully walked out. Before this, she had always carried dishes one at a time.
Meng Zeyan had just set the dishes down and returned to the kitchen. Watching her cautiously carry the plates, he silently stepped aside to give her room.
By the time she finished setting them down, Xing Cui and Meng Zeyan had already brought out the rest of the food.
In her previous life, Tang Huan had no sense of taste.
The first time she tasted food using this body, she had almost cried. Even bitter melon tasted delicious to her.
Xing Cui picked up food for both her eldest son and Tang Huan. Looking at Tang Huan’s tiny frame, she couldn’t help giving her another helping.
Ever since Zeyu’s accident, the girl had lost a frightening amount of weight. Just looking at her made people’s hearts ache.
Originally, this body had been well-proportioned. Though not very tall, she’d had a curvy figure. But ever since Tang Huan’s soul took over, it was as though the body had gradually reshaped itself to fit her. She became thinner day by day. Her curves were still there, just in a much smaller version.
Afraid something might be wrong with her health, Tang Huan had even gone to the hospital for a checkup, but the doctor found nothing abnormal.
She had also tried eating more every day to gain weight, but it had little effect.
None of her old clothes fit anymore, so all of Tang Huan’s current outfits had been newly bought from stores.
Today, she wore a sunflower-pattern dress: a white V-neck dress with a fitted waist and bright sunflower prints, making her look lively and youthful.
The table held spicy stir-fried cured meat, diced potatoes with minced meat, homemade tofu, cold spinach salad, and sweet egg-drop soup.
Tang Huan sampled every dish, and she liked every single one.
The cured meat was spicy. Her lips quickly turned rosy from the heat. Every bite of meat required two mouthfuls of sweet soup and several bites of other dishes to suppress the burn.
But once the heat faded, she couldn’t resist taking another bite.
Meng Zeyan didn’t know how much other women usually ate, but he had certainly witnessed Tang Huan’s appetite.
From the moment she started eating, she barely stopped—two bowls of rice, two bowls of sweet soup, plus plenty of dishes.
It wasn’t that he thought she ate too much.
He simply couldn’t understand how someone with such a good appetite could still be this thin.
A slightly stronger gust of wind probably could have blown her away.
After finishing her meal, Tang Huan gently set down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. Her lips felt numb from the spice and seemed slightly swollen.
She lightly touched them with her fingers.
It didn’t hurt, so it probably wasn’t serious… though she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to lick them with her tongue.
Once everyone finished eating, Tang Huan carried the bowls and chopsticks back to the kitchen and tried to help wash dishes, only to be chased out again by her mother-in-law.
Her older brother-in-law was wiping the table. Tang Huan stood at the kitchen doorway for a moment before deciding to return to her room for a nap.
Sleeping after eating made it easier to gain weight.
She lived in the row of rooms opposite the kitchen. There were three rooms in that row, and she stayed in the middle one.
Those rooms had been renovated when the original owner married Meng Zeyu. Their marital bedroom was the one on the left. After Meng Zeyu died, the original owner had been too frightened to stay there and locked the room up instead.
Tang Huan’s room was very plain, containing only a double-door wardrobe, a single bed, and a small desk. Most of the furniture was still in the locked room, but she didn’t dare go in and move anything.
After entering her room and closing the door, Tang Huan stood behind it staring at the latch for a long moment.
Finally, she reached out and slid the latch into place.
She trusted her older brother-in-law’s character.
She was just worried a stray cat might wander in.
Meanwhile, Xing Cui was washing dishes in the kitchen. Meng Zeyan finished wiping the table and came in to wash the rag. While rinsing it, he finally voiced the question he had been holding back for a long time.
“Mom, didn’t Zeyu have marriage leave? Why did he go to work the day after the wedding?”
Xing Cui paused in the middle of washing dishes and let out a long sigh.
“It was his apprentice who came knocking at the door. Said one of the machines had broken down and asked him to come take a look.”
Who would have thought that once he left, he would never come back?
“Didn’t sister-in-law try to stop him?” Meng Zeyan pressed. Newlyweds were usually inseparable. How could Zeyu have gone off so easily?
Knowing her eldest son didn’t understand the situation, Xing Cui continued washing dishes as her voice mixed with the sound of running water.
“Zeyu and Xiaohuan met through matchmaking. They only met two or three times before getting married. The two children still weren’t very familiar with each other.”
Back then, everyone had thought they would have plenty of time after marriage to slowly build feelings.
Who could have known… sigh…