Shu Wan was caught off guard by the way he was looking at her.
It was New Year’s, after all. She naturally didn’t want to ruin the festive mood.
She walked over, tilted her head up, and forced a sweet smile.
“I was just wondering if you might forget to give me my New Year’s money.”
“You’re really impatient.”
The man gave her a sideways glance without much emotion.
“Come downstairs and eat.”
The girl slipped beneath his long arm propping open the door.
She looked back at him and waited until he followed before continuing down the hallway.
“Shu Wan.”
Meng Huaijin suddenly called her back.
“You came here with me to celebrate the New Year. You’re not here to seek anyone’s approval, and you don’t need to fit into anyone else’s circle.”
“If you happen to meet someone your age whom you get along with, then talk to them.”
“If you don’t, don’t worry about it.”
“As for whatever the adults say, you don’t need to pay attention to that either.”
“Just be yourself. Understand?”
The lights beneath the corridor eaves shone brilliantly.
Meng Huaijin stood beneath them in a navy suit and white shirt.
His handsome features and refined appearance were contrasted by the strength and determination in his bearing.
Yet his expression remained calm and unruffled.
He looked like the moon.
Like the stars.
And even more like a great mountain standing silently behind her, forever protecting her.
He always seemed to know exactly what to say at the most important moments—words that struck straight into her heart.
Perhaps the lights above her were simply too bright.
Shu Wan’s vision blurred for a moment.
Deep inside, she seemed to hear waves crashing against rocks, one after another, each stronger than the last.
It was as though they were about to force that restless, pounding heart right out of her chest.
“Mm?”
When she didn’t respond, the man quietly prompted her.
Only then did Shu Wan realize she needed to answer.
A sincere, confident smile slowly spread across her lips.
“Okay. I understand.”
When they arrived in the main living room, Shu Wan finally realized just how enormous the Meng family was.
There were so many people.
And Meng Huaijin even had an older biological brother named Meng Tingzhou, someone she had never met before.
Besides him, there was an entire crowd of cousins, nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
All gathered together on New Year’s Eve, there were easily fifty or sixty people.
They had to set up three or four dining tables just to fit everyone.
Naturally, while Shu Wan was already dizzy from trying to take everyone in, countless pairs of eyes also fell upon her.
Some were curious.
Some were assessing her.
Some offered polite smiles.
Others didn’t seem to care about her at all.
“Little Shu Wan.”
Meng Chuan moved the chair beside him and gestured for her to sit there.
Shu Wan raised her eyebrows at him with a smile.
But first, she went over to greet the elderly man sitting at the seat of honor, who had been watching her the entire time.
“Grandpa, Happy New Year.”
Meng Zhenting had just passed his seventieth birthday.
Most of the black hair on his head had already turned white, yet it wasn’t difficult to imagine how graceful and distinguished he must have looked in his youth.
His presence alone commanded genuine authority.
The kind that made people instinctively respect him without him ever needing to raise his voice.
Yet the moment Shu Wan greeted him, his expression gradually softened into kindness.
His eyes seemed to hold countless stories.
In the end, however, they all condensed into one simple sentence.
“Happy New Year, Shu Wan.”
“Has your Uncle Huaijin been bullying you?”
From the corner of her eye, Shu Wan noticed Mrs. Meng—her grandmother—sitting nearby with a dark expression.
She didn’t know why this grandmother seemed to harbor such strong hostility toward her.
Or perhaps that hostility was really directed at her mother.
With everyone watching, Shu Wan simply pretended not to notice.
She answered seriously,
“Uncle treats me very well.”
The old man smiled.
Then he handed her a red envelope and told her it was her New Year’s money.
Shu Wan froze.
She didn’t dare accept it.
Like a little child, her first instinct was to turn around and look at Meng Huaijin for confirmation.
The man lifted his chin slightly, signaling that she could take it.
Only then did she accept the red envelope.
That immediately earned several teasing remarks from the people around them.
“She really is still afraid of her uncle.”
“Huaijin, are you too strict with her normally?”
Meng Huaijin pulled out a chair and sat down.
He deliberately left an empty seat beside him for Shu Wan.
Then he replied casually,
“It’s already good enough if Miss Shu doesn’t manage me.”
Hmm?
He had never described her in that tone before.
And those words—
Miss Shu.
There was a trace of casualness in them, but also an unexpected touch of gentlemanly politeness.
It was completely different from the usual cold way he called her name.
He called me Miss Shu…
It felt as though a feather had lightly brushed against her heart.
It tickled.
It tingled.
Like a little deer suddenly racing through her chest, the sensation lingered long after the moment had passed.
Shu Wan stood there for several seconds, completely frozen.
It wasn’t until Meng Chuan called her that she finally came back to herself and happily took her seat.
Meng Huaijin continued chatting with the others, his expression completely normal, as though he didn’t think there had been anything unusual about what he’d just said.
Meanwhile, Shu Wan silently savored those words, turning them over and over in her mind.
She absentmindedly touched the red envelope Grandpa had given her.
Then she suddenly froze.
There didn’t seem to be money inside.
It felt more like a bank card.
Why would he give me a bank card?
Giving someone a bank card meant there was a considerable amount of money inside.
Shu Wan looked up at the old man sitting at the head of the table.
He noticed her gaze and simply gave her a faint smile without offering any explanation.
Because the old man had started things off, the other elders also brought out the red envelopes they had prepared in advance.
As the Meng family’s granddaughter who had only returned to visit for the second time in all these years, Shu Wan could only describe that New Year’s Eve as a complete haul.
By the end of the night, her hands were practically sore from accepting all those red envelopes.
During dinner, Shu Wan sat between Meng Chuan and Meng Huaijin.
For the most part, she quietly ate her food and occasionally listened to the adults chatting about everyday matters.
But as they talked, the subject suddenly changed.
Meng Chuan’s mother spoke leisurely.
“Huaijin, you’ve been going back and forth with the daughter of Commander Jiang for so many years.”
“When are you finally going to bring her home as your wife?”
“Exactly, Huaijin.”
Another Mrs. Meng joined in.
“Now that you’ve been transferred back to Beicheng and your work is stable, shouldn’t you and Jiang Jie finally start making plans?”
“That way, your mother won’t have to keep thinking about her future daughterinlaw all day.”
Shu Wan’s chewing gradually slowed.
Then her grandfather’s deep voice came from the head of the table.
“If it’s going to happen sooner or later, why not take advantage of the New Year?”
“Find a suitable opportunity to bring both families together and have a simple meal.”
Meng Chuan’s mother immediately picked up the suggestion.
“Big Brother is right.”
“Sisterinlaw, why don’t we invite Madam Jiang over tomorrow to play cards?”
“Then we can discuss the date for the two children to get engaged.”
Madam Meng was naturally delighted.
Her smile widened until she could hardly contain her happiness.
“Good, good, good. Let’s do exactly that.”
“Let’s invite Madam Jiang over tomorrow to have some fun.”
“And not just her.”
“We’ll invite my future daughterinlaw as well.”
Meng Chuan’s mother agreed immediately.
But when she turned and saw Meng Huaijin sitting silently, she quickly suppressed the smile at the corners of her lips.
Then she cautiously asked,
“Huaijin, what do you think?”
The entire room suddenly fell silent.
Shu Wan mechanically turned her head.
Her gaze landed on the man at the center of the discussion.
She watched his every movement.
Meng Huaijin remained expressionless.
He placed his chopsticks across the ceramic plate.
Then, in silence, he began undoing the lowest cufflink on his wrist.
He removed it.
Then fastened it again.
He repeated the motion several times.
Finally, in a calm, emotionless voice, he said,
“You arrange it.”