The boy across from them saw Ling Sui suddenly appear, then looked at Meng Luobai, and quickly said, "I'm really sorry for disturbing you." With that, he scurried off.
Before Meng Luobai could even react, the boy had already vanished. "…Huh?"
Ling Sui said coldly from the side, "What 'huh'? You were going to give him your WeChat?"
Meng Luobai felt baffled. She hadn't planned to give him her WeChat, but why couldn't she? "Why can't I give him my WeChat? Can't I date a younger guy?"
"No." Ling Sui's long lashes lowered as he leaned in slightly, his gaze fixed on her. "You should date a grad student."
Meng Luobai: …
What did he mean by that? She was almost thirty, too old for a younger guy, so she had to start from the grad student age bracket?
As she thought this, her gaze landed on his face first—fair complexion, refined bone structure, intensely striking, extremely eye-catching. It was only this close that she noticed an unnatural flush spreading at the corner of Ling Sui's eye, as if from an allergic reaction. Meng Luobai asked, "What's wrong with your eyes?"
He raised a hand to touch the corner of his eye. "I just finished a magazine shoot this morning. I'm allergic to the eyeliner."
So that was it. Meng Luobai suddenly thought of something, as if she'd hit a punchline, and asked without a care, "Was it your own brand's eyeliner?"
Ling Sui kept one hand in his pocket. "Aurora Lux's."
Meng Luobai pressed her lips together. "Oh the rival brand's."
"What rival brand?" Then he raised his hand. "Give me your bag."
Meng Luobai handed him her bag, unable to stop laughing. Then she asked him, "Did you finish checking the place upstairs? How are your roommates—easy to get along with?"
Ling Sui: "Don't know."
Meng Luobai: "Don't know? You didn't go up to look?"
Ling Sui: "You told me to check the dorm."
Meng Luobai: …
This little brat was doing it on purpose.
Ling Sui added, "Two of them were there. One hasn't arrived yet."
Fine, so he had talked to them. "Did you finish your enrollment registration? What are your plans for later?"
Just as she was speaking, Meng Luobai's phone rang. It was Zhi Qian, asking where she was and wanting to come find her directly. She glanced up at Ling Sui, whose eyes narrowed slightly. "Someone's asking you out again tonight?"
Meng Luobai said, "It's Zhi Qian, remember her? She wants to go shopping for clothes with me." Zhi Qian had been Meng Luobai's best friend for over a decade and had been to the house before—Ling Sui had met her.
Ling Sui averted his gaze. "Oh, then go shopping. I need to meet with my advisor."
As they spoke, Meng Luobai tapped her screen, about to ask Meng Wenjian how things were going with Sangsang, when a message came through. [Dad: Luolu, Dad will arrive in Longcheng Friday evening. Can you come pick Dad up?]
Seeing this message, the curve of Meng Luobai's lips suddenly faded.
Ling Sui noticed the change in her expression, his gaze sharpening. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Meng Luobai didn't reply to the WeChat message. Instead, she tapped on Meng Wenjian's pinned chat and sent a voice message: "Mom, is everything done with Sangsang?"
Ling Sui observed her expression but said nothing.
On the way back with Meng Wenjian, Meng Luobai told her about Chen Wei's return to the country.
"He's pretty good at ordering you around." Meng Wenjian's tone was neither warm nor cold, impossible to read. "He's got his own wife and kids, yet he's making my daughter go pick him up."
Meng Luobai said, "He said he came back alone this time."
Hearing this, Meng Wenjian fell silent for a moment before speaking. "He's coming for Luojing's wedding, so he'll definitely want to see you. He's your father—it's only right that you go see him and have a meal with him. Is it really just him coming back alone, asking you to pick him up?"
After the divorce, Meng Wenjian had never stopped Meng Luobai from seeing Chen Wei. Though some people's hearts change in an instant and they betray their families, children were innocent and shouldn't have to bear the anxiety caused by their parents' broken relationship. Especially since Meng Luobai was nine, almost ten, when they divorced—she had genuine feelings for her father and saw him through rose-tinted glasses. Meng Wenjian couldn't stop the outside voices, but she never spoke ill of Chen Wei in front of Meng Luobai.
The reason Meng Wenjian reacted this way now was because when Meng Luobai was thirteen, Chen Wei and that woman had another son. When the couple returned to the country to visit family and have dinner, they brought Meng Luobai along.
The moment visiting hours were over, Meng Wenjian couldn't wait to pick up Meng Luobai. Then she saw it—in a huge hotel private room, a group of adults were eating, drinking, and toasting merrily. Only little Meng Luobai sat alone in the corner, playing with Chen Yian while keeping an eye on the sleeping baby.
When she walked in, she heard that woman craning her neck and telling Meng Luobai, "Tell me when your little brother wakes up."
Meng Wenjian was absolutely furious. Even when Chen Wei had cheated and divorced her back then, when she was angry and heartbroken, going through the darkest moment of her life, she hadn't been as enraged as she was that day.
The usually composed and rational woman charged at that woman, cursing and hitting wildly. After being held back, she remembered the root cause of it all and delivered the slap she hadn't even given at the time of the divorce.
After that day, Meng Wenjian still never spoke ill of Chen Wei in front of Meng Luobai, but whenever Chen Wei wanted to see Meng Luobai again, she added numerous stringent conditions.
Actually, it didn't need to be that way—Chen Wei had been living abroad all these years, and father and daughter rarely saw each other. The last time was at Chen Luosong's wedding.
The intersection happened to be at a red light, and Meng Luobai slowly brought the car to a stop. "Probably. Yian said they seemed to have had a fight."
Hearing Meng Luobai's words, Meng Wenjian finally relaxed her expression slightly. After a light sigh, she said, "If you want to go see him, go see him. After all, he's your father."
The light turned green, and Meng Luobai started the car. "I can't go. I'm on duty that night."
Meng Wenjian frowned slightly. "He wants you to pick him up, but didn't even bother asking whether it would affect your work."
After dropping Meng Wenjian off at home, Meng Luobai drove to find Zhi Qian and told her about Chen Wei's request.
Zhi Qian: "Since he's coming back for your cousin's wedding, why wouldn't his second wife come? Has it been like this before?"
Meng Luobai thought for a moment. They rarely came back to the country, and every time they did, they came together. "No, it hasn't."
Zhi Qian: "That's strange. They usually come back together, but now with a happy occasion at home, she's not coming? Is this mistress-turned-wife about to have her downfall too?"
Meng Luobai: "Yian said they had a fight."
Zhi Qian said, "Even ordinary couples who fight like cats and dogs at home still show up looking respectable at times like this. The more a mistress-turned-wife is, the more she values her own face. Your family is having a celebration, and if she doesn't show up as your aunt, how embarrassing would that be? Her own son isn't even married yet—does she just stop associating with relatives from now on?"
Meng Luobai rarely analyzed the behavior and motives of her father's new family. But now that Zhi Qian mentioned it, she also found it a bit strange.
Zhi Qian said, "I think you should ask your dad when you see him. See what's going on."
Meng Luobai asked, "What could possibly be going on?"
"You never know. When something's out of the ordinary, there's bound to be something behind it," Zhi Qian said. "But your dad's pretty lucky, though. Your mom gave him the son he wanted, and his new wife gave him another one. His business abroad has been doing alright all these years, hasn't it?"
Meng Luobai nodded.
Zhi Qian continued, "Every time he comes back to the country, the elders in the family think he's brought them glory, right? Don't they treat him like royalty?"
Meng Luobai said, "He gives money to the family too. When Chen Luojing's brother opened his shop twice, he contributed both times." It wasn't just Chen Luosong's shop openings—his uncle's whole family had probably gotten quite a bit of money from Chen Wei.
In recent years, Chen Feng and Liu Xiuyu had been reaching out to her frequently, partly because Chen Wei was giving them less and less money. They knew Chen Wei had always wanted to acknowledge her as his daughter, and they wanted to play the middleman.
"I don't even want to talk about it," Zhi Qian said, getting worked up just hearing about it. "That money should be yours and your siblings'."
"It'll never reach my hands. He has a new wife and a son from that new wife." Not to mention she didn't want to get involved anyway—even if she did, fighting over inheritance with that bunch wasn't worth it. She'd rather save herself the aggravation and live a few years longer. Besides, Chen Wei's wealth wasn't even substantial enough to fight over.
The two happened to walk past a dessert and shaved ice shop. "Enough about my family's mess. Let me treat you to this."
Zhi Qian's lips curved up slightly. "Sure. I just saw their Douyin video today."
The two walked in and placed their orders. The shop was crowded because of its grand opening promotion, and after ordering, they barely managed to snag seats by the door.
Zhi Qian glanced at their order number and asked, "Before you came, when I called you, you were talking to someone. Who was that with you?"
Meng Luobai said, "Ling Sui. The one from your shop last time—"
"I know." Zhi Qian immediately understood. "Your old little neighbor. How come he's here?"
Meng Luobai said, "He's doing his master's at Longcheng University."
Zhi Qian's eyes widened slightly. "Ling Sui—the youngest young master of the Empirl family—that MMA champion—came to Longda for his master's." Then she suddenly realized, "Hey, does this count as first-hand information? Can I sell this to paparazzi for money?"
"In this age of self-media, the moment he showed up on campus this afternoon, someone definitely already posted photos." Meng Luobai said with amusement.
"Ugh, true." Zhi Qian sounded a bit regretful. "So are you two still neighbors now?"
Meng Luobai nodded. "He moved back to Zhuoyuan."
Zhi Qian thought for a moment. "I remember he used to be pretty dependent on you. Didn't he often come to school to bring you things?"
Meng Luobai said, "I wouldn't call it dependence. His parents weren't around, so my mom was pretty concerned about him. We were just close."
Zhi Qian suddenly asked with a sly grin, "So does he have a girlfriend now?"
Meng Luobai immediately thought of the scene at Xishui Manor, and Lilith standing outside Ling Sui's door that day. "…My mom asked him. He said no."
Zhi Qian looked skeptical. "Really? A rich guy like him with no girlfriend? Maybe it's not family-arranged, so he can't admit it?"
Meng Luobai: "I don't know. But I think your first priority should be uninstalling that short-drama app."
As they chatted and laughed, the shop called their number. The two stood up and went together to pick up their order.
There were many people at the counter. Just as they were handing over their order number, a girl ahead of them said, "Luojing, add an extra pistachio topping to mine."
"Okay, added." Chen Luojing kept her eyes lowered as she finished the order. When she looked up, she found herself locking eyes with Meng Luobai, who had just taken her ice cream cup. "What are you doing here?"
Zhi Qian frowned at this. "It's a shop open to the public—why can't she be here? Is it your shop?"
"Why not?" said the girl beside Chen Luojing. "Luojing invested 500,000. She's the second boss."
Zhi Qian was immediately stunned by this. "A 500,000 investment to be the second boss of a dessert shop? Aren't you being ripped off?" She hadn't always been this blunt, but ever since becoming a bar owner and having to cater to all kinds of customers' emotional needs, she'd become outspoken the moment she left the shop—not afraid of offending anyone.
Hearing this, Meng Luobai instinctively glanced around the shop. It wasn't a franchise. A 500,000 investment did seem a bit high.
Facing Zhi Qian's remark, Chen Luojing looked somewhat displeased but didn't react much—instead, she carried an air of aloof elegance. "Just playing around."
Zhi Qian: "Huh?"
After speaking, Chen Luojing turned to Meng Luobai. "I've been so busy lately that I didn't send you an invitation. I'm getting married on the 9th. I'd like to invite you both to come."
Meng Luobai curved her lips. "I already received the invitation. I'll be there." Liu Xiuyu had sent it to her long ago.
With that, they passed each other and went their separate ways. As the two walked out of the shop, perhaps because of the music and noise inside, Zhi Qian's raised voice hadn't come down yet. "A no-name dessert shop like this and she invested 500,000? And 'just playing around'? With that money, why not pay back your dad? She's definitely been scammed—"
Meng Luobai pulled her arm. "Keep your voice down. It wasn't her money that was borrowed anyway."
Chen Luojing watched the foot traffic inside the shop as Zhi Qian's voice drifted unmistakably into her ears. Her friend beside her said, "That's your cousin and her friend, right? So rude. They're just upset seeing you open a shop—jealous."
Chen Luojing's expression was cold. "Who knows what's going through other people's minds."
After finishing her shopping, Meng Luobai returned to her apartment.
As she entered the building and waited for the elevator, a married couple from upstairs were chatting nearby.
The woman said, "I heard from Xiao Liu upstairs that Unit 702 sold for 5 million."
The man didn't believe it at all. "Nonsense. Two years ago, maybe. What's the housing market like now? You'd be lucky to sell it for 4 million."
The woman: "It really sold for 5 million. I asked around. I heard there was just one condition—the buyer needed to move in urgently, so they had to vacate quickly."
The man: "Then the renovation must have been expensive. Add 2 million for the renovation and furniture, and that sounds more plausible. The furniture would have to be gold-plated."
Meng Luobai pricked up her ears, listening. Unit 702—that was the door across from hers.
After Meng Luobai reached the seventh floor, she glanced across the hallway. She remembered that a young couple lived there—they had a great relationship but were both busy with work. When she'd run into them before, the wife had complained to her that housing prices had dropped while their mortgage payments hadn't decreased at all.
Now things would work out for them—they could buy another identical unit and still have money left over. She just wondered what her new neighbor would be like.
That day, after telling Chen Wei she couldn't make it because of her evening shift, he hadn't said much more—just told her to work hard and that they'd meet when she had time.
Saturday arrived quickly, and Meng Luobai was sleeping in at home. Her grandmother called, saying she missed her and wanted her to come back for a family dinner. Meng Luobai rarely refused her grandmother's dinner invitations unless she truly had something else going on. "Does little Yu have work on Saturdays?"
"She…" Meng Luobai paused briefly. "Her unit organized a study program. It'll last several months."
Though her grandmother's tone carried some disappointment, she still said, "I see. Since she works for a government unit, she does need to undergo training."
Meng Luobai: "Yes."
Then her grandmother laughed and added, "I heard from little Ding that you were his class monitor in high school. I'm not worried about you two getting along. This way, you're practically family on top of family—the sisters will get along more comfortably in the future…"
Meng Luobai listened quietly, not saying much.
After hanging up, she called Luoyu. As expected, Meng Luoyu was at home for the weekend. At the same time, she also informed Meng Wenjian about the situation.
Meng Wenjian sighed. "I knew that once he came back, he'd definitely stir things up for you. But since it's your grandmother who wants you to go, you should go. Her health hasn't been great these past few years—don't let the old lady feel upset."
Meng Luobai: "Okay."
After ending the call, Meng Luobai held her phone and stared blankly at the TV wall. There were too many thoughts in her head, but not a single one could get her moving. She didn't know how long she sat there in silence when suddenly a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the hallway outside, accompanied by the overlapping voices of several middle-aged men saying, "Careful, careful."
It sounded like they were moving things.
Only then did Meng Luobai stir. She walked to the door and peered through the peephole. It was her neighbor and moving workers carrying furniture.
It seemed her new neighbor was indeed in a hurry to move in—she'd only just bought the place, and the people across the hall were already moving in.
As evening approached, Meng Luobai drove to Wanxiang Hotel.
The moment she entered the hotel lobby, she heard someone call her name: "Luobai!"
Meng Luobai followed the voice and saw a tall, burly man walking toward her with a smile. She hesitated for a long time, only recognizing him when he got close—it was Ding Yongcheng.
It had only been a few years, but this old classmate had completely transformed. In high school, Ding Yongcheng had been a campus heartthrob—tall, handsome, with dimples on his face. Now his weight had nearly doubled; the lanky figure had become stout, and the dimples remained, now framed by a bit of fleshy creases.
"Ding Yongcheng." Meng Luobai smiled. "Long time no see."
Ding Yongcheng: "Yeah, it's been about three years, hasn't it?"
Meng Luobai thought for a moment. "Three years." The last time was at a class reunion, before Ding Yongcheng had gained weight.
Ding Yongcheng said, "How time changes things. What have you been up to these years? Still working as a doctor?"
Meng Luobai: "Mm. I studied medicine originally, so I just kept being a doctor. What about you?"
"I'm pretty much the same as before, just doing business here and there." Ding Yongcheng stretched his arms and said, "Look at me now, I've put on a whole circle of weight."
Meng Luobai: "Doing business isn't easy."
"Indeed, business isn't easy to do either." Ding Yongcheng sighed and looked at Meng Luobai. "You're even more beautiful than before. You women really know how to take care of yourselves."
Meng Luobai smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment to my cousin."
"Back in school, I never thought we'd become relatives." As he spoke, the elevator arrived. The two stepped in. Ding Yongcheng pressed the button and asked, "What about you? Found someone yet? When are you getting married?"
Meng Luobai: "No one."
Ding Yongcheng was silent for a moment. "Your standards must be high. After all, at our age, people are looking for partners with marriage in mind."
Meng Luobai gave a slight smile. "Not really."
The elevator arrived, and the two walked toward the private room. Before entering, Ding Yongcheng said to her, "Give me a few days, and I'll introduce you to someone good."
Meng Luobai smiled as she pushed the door open. "You'd better take care of your own wedding first."
Seeing the two enter, Chen Luojing walked over to them. After greeting her, she asked Ding Yongcheng, "Didn't you pick up Grandma?"
Ding Yongcheng said, "I saw Luobai here, didn't I? I'll go back down in a bit."
Chen Luojing: "Then I'll go with you."
Meng Luobai walked further in and saw Chen Wei sitting off to the side. When Chen Wei saw her, a smile appeared on his face, and he stood up somewhat nervously. "Luolu."
In Meng Luobai's long-held memories, Chen Wei was tall and good-looking—spirited and imposing among middle-aged men. For some reason, today when she saw him, his face lacked vitality, and the imposing figure in her memory seemed to have shrunk. Meng Luobai curved her lips. "Dad."
After the two sat down, Chen Wei said, "I heard from your grandmother that you'll be working in Longcheng from now on. Are you adapting well to the work here?"
Meng Luobai: "I'm adapting quite well. It's a branch of the hospital I used to work at."
Chen Wei smiled. "You've been excellent since you were young, very reassuring. You'll do well wherever you go."
Meng Luobai: "How have you been doing lately?"
Chen Wei's expression paused for a moment, then he lowered his eyes. "Well, life goes on… There are good times and bad times."
Meng Luobai didn't quite understand what he meant. Before she could say anything, the door opened again, and Grandma, Grandpa, and other relatives all arrived, instantly filling the private room with lively chatter.
Meng Luobai went over to greet Grandma and Grandpa. "Grandma."
Grandma, sitting in her wheelchair, was delighted to see her and immediately grasped her hand. "Luolu's here."
Meng Luobai looked up at Grandpa beside her. Grandpa was receiving greetings from other younger relatives and pretended not to hear her call of "Grandpa."
Meng Luobai didn't mind. It had always been this way since she was little. So she hadn't called out sincerely either—who wasn't just putting on a show for outsiders?
After some pleasantries, everyone took their seats to eat. In truth, aside from Grandpa and Uncle's family, the other relatives she only saw occasionally were all quite kind to Meng Luobai. They would ask about her work and life like ordinary relatives, maybe urge her to get married, but they wouldn't say too much.
Because the focus of this meal was on Chen Luojing and Ding Yongcheng, everyone's attention was on them. Meng Luobai ate quietly, chatting with the distant cousin-in-law and cousin beside her, and playing with the young daughter of a distant cousin.
While she was listening to her distant cousin-in-law speak, a voice suddenly came from above her head, saying, "You're leaving your younger brother's wife all by herself."
Meng Luobai looked up—it was Chen Luosong. He must have been passing by to get something, and when he saw her talking, he suddenly cut in. Chen Luosong reeked of alcohol as he continued, "As the older sister, you don't even have your younger brother's wife on WeChat, do you."
"What do you want my WeChat for? To pay me back?" Chen Luosong had never been reliable since childhood—young, unwilling to work, and spending lavishly. Before getting married, he often borrowed money from people. Even though his relationship with Meng Luobai was mediocre, he'd still borrowed from her. Sometimes it was for cigarettes, sometimes to top up his phone.
At first, Chen Luosong borrowed small amounts, and Meng Luobai figured she was his older cousin, so she let it go. All together, it added up to just three or five hundred yuan. It wasn't until he started asking for more that Meng Luobai stopped reading his messages, and eventually, Chen Luosong deleted her as a friend.
Chen Luosong's face was flushed, his body reeking of alcohol. When he heard her mention money, his face reddened even more. "You—you—you open your mouth and it's all about money, huh? What, giving me a few hundred bucks pains you that much? You—you—"
A distant cousin-in-law chimed in from the side, "What 'you' what? We're chatting here—why are you butting in? This has nothing to do with you. Go away."
"You—don't start bickering first." Though interrupted, Chen Luosong pressed on, "You—you—your nephew's two years old now, and have you ever sent a single red envelope? Do you even care about family? Huh? You're always with your—"
"Luosong." Perhaps their commotion had drawn attention from others. Liu Xiuyu and Chen Wei walked over.
Liu Xiuyu patted his back. "You've drunk way too much again. Go back and sleep it off."
"What am I sleeping for?!" Chen Luosong waved his hand and spotted Chen Wei nearby. "Uncle. Don't go siding with your daughter like that. When you come back to the country to retire, it'll be your nephew, me, you'll be counting on."
Liu Xiuyu: "What are you talking about?!"
Chen Wei looked at him and said, "I have a son and a daughter. What would I need you for?"
"Don't get all smug," Chen Luosong started to say more, but Liu Xiuyu directly grabbed him. "Don't drink a little and forget your place. Everyone's here today for your sister's sake—don't make a spectacle."
Chen Luojing also stepped up. "Luosong, what are you doing!"
Chen Luosong finally shut his mouth, though he muttered with some defiance, "I'm only holding back for my sister's sake."
The once-lively atmosphere had gone cold. Meng Luobai had been uncomfortable there anyway, and this was a good chance to leave. She told everyone, "I still have work tomorrow, so I'll head out first."
Though some tried to keep her, she smiled and said her goodbyes, finally bidding farewell to her grandmother. "Grandma, once Luojing's wedding is over, I'll come visit you again."
The old woman didn't try to stop her, patting her hand. "Good child, I know you're good, you're filial."
Meng Luobai didn't glance at the "grandfather" beside her, standing up directly. Ding Yongcheng stepped forward. "Since you've got work tomorrow, I won't keep you. But at my wedding, you'd better stay till the very end."
Meng Luobai said generously, "Of course." With that, Ding Yongcheng opened the door for her. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
She kept the expression on her face until the elevator arrived. Once she stepped inside, she finally let out a deep breath.
A Meng by surname, attending someone else's family banquet—what was she thinking? She really had nothing better to do.
The elevator reached the first floor. Just as Meng Luobai stepped out, her phone rang—it was Chen Wei calling. He asked her to wait, saying he had something to tell her.
She didn't wait long before Chen Wei came down from upstairs. "After you left, your uncle gave Luosong another scolding. He—"
Meng Luobai didn't really want to hear it, cutting straight to the point. "What did you want to say?"
Chen Wei let out a sigh. "The stuff's all in the car."
Meng Luobai didn't follow. "What stuff?"
"Let's go to my car," Chen Wei said, sounding somewhat reluctant. "Your father wants to have a chat with you too."
Chen Wei indeed didn't seem as spirited as in previous years when he returned; it was clear he had been through some things. Meng Luobai didn't refuse and followed him to the car.
As they walked, Chen Wei asked her, "Have you been in touch with Yian?"
After Chen Wei and Meng Wenjian divorced, Chen Yian had been taken away. In those years, they could only see each other once every year or two. When they were young, the two were quite close when they met, but after Meng Wenjian slapped Chen Wei, contact between the two sides became even rarer.
It was probably after Chen Yian started high school that the siblings began following each other on social media, and later added each other's contact information. The siblings would chat, mostly just exchanging greetings. In recent years, the frequency of their conversations increased, and they would chat about all sorts of news online.
"He said he just joined a cosmetics company," she said. At the same time, he also posted makeup tutorial videos online. Chen Yian was good-looking and skilled at makeup, with over 200,000 followers on Instagram. Recently, he had also registered on some domestic apps and seemed to be building a presence there too.
Chen Wei said, "Tell me, a boy like him, joining a cosmetics company. Is that what he should be doing?"
Chen Yian had told her that Chen Wei didn't approve of him joining the cosmetics company, nor did he like him filming videos teaching others how to do makeup, so he had moved out early on. "A cosmetics company is just an industry—both men and women can enter it. Besides, Yian really loves this field." Chen Yian had told her about his dream: to create a brand of his own.
That was why Chen Yian hadn't returned to the country—first, because he wasn't close to Chen Feng's family, and second, because he kept arguing with Chen Wei.
Chen Wei didn't respond to her words. They reached the car, and he opened the door, pulling out a document folder. "This is for you and your sister. I recently contacted a lawyer back home and will finish the paperwork in the coming days."
Meng Luobai looked at the documents Chen Wei handed over and took them hesitantly. "What is this?"
Chen Wei: "The assets I'm leaving to you."
Meng Luobai drove home. After parking, she sat in the driver's seat and glanced at the document folder in the passenger seat. She recalled what Chen Wei had just said.
"All these years, your father hasn't been by your side. You're my daughter, and it should all go to you. Over this time, I've organized everything I own."
…
"Don't worry about my health—I'm fine."
…
"Your mother and I fought over custody of you, but she wouldn't give it to me… There are many things between your mother and me that you don't know about, but that's all in the past now, so let's not dwell on it."
"The shop on Wenxin Street is in there too. I remember when you were little, you said you wanted to open a small convenience store. That area is well planned out—you can rent it out if you want, or open a shop if you want. It's all yours now."
…
"…Them? You don't need to worry about them. I'll handle that. Over the years, your father has only failed you."
…
"This isn't compensation. Compensation can't make up for the time I should have spent by your side. I just miss when you were little—when I'd come home from work and open the door, you'd be the first to rush over and hug my leg…"
…
When she was little.
Actually, Meng Luobai had many childhood memories with Chen Wei.
Going to amusement parks, zoos… he would pick her up from school, then take a detour to KFC for small burgers and mashed potatoes, and father and daughter would sneak home like they'd done something wrong, and get scolded by Meng Luobai together… accompany her to piano lessons, and after she got a little flower sticker, she'd stick it on the back of the driver's seat. Chen Wei would smile and stop her, but he never actually removed them…
Chen Wei and Meng Wenjian were classmates, and the two families were well-matched in status. Life had always been good. So why, then, did Chen Wei, disregarding her and her mother, drive the car with her little red flower stickers on it to have an affair with another woman outside…
Meng Luobai leaned her head back against the headrest, recalling all the various moments over the years.
If these things had happened to a friend of hers, even if she didn't approve, she would try to help the other person find a way out, after all, that was someone else's father.
If these things had happened to a stranger online she'd never met, she might have criticized without hesitation, advising the other party to cut ties as soon as possible.
But these things had truly happened to her. She couldn't be as calm as she would be with a friend, nor as resolute as she would be with a stranger.
The fatherly love from childhood was real, and the sudden betrayal was also real. The money and greetings over the years had also arrived on schedule—all of it was real.
She was trapped between "he is my father" and "father betrayed me and my mother." While hating him, she couldn't cut him off, stuck in a dilemma.
And so, her hatred was never complete, and her love was never free.
She sat quietly in the car, not knowing how long had passed, when suddenly her phone rang. She thought it would be Meng Wenjian calling, but when she looked, it was actually Ling Sui.
She composed herself before picking up the call. "Hello, Ling Sui."
Hearing her somewhat weak voice, Ling Sui paused for a second before his metallic, cool voice finally spoke, "It's me. Where are you right now?"
Meng Luobai took a deep breath. "I'm home."
Ling Sui: "I'm right downstairs at your place. Where exactly are you home?" There was a hint of urgency in his voice that couldn't be ignored. "Where are you? I'll come pick you up."
"I really am home, I just parked the car." As she spoke, Meng Luobai grabbed her things from the car and got out. Just then, she heard a dog bark from the other end of the phone. "You're downstairs at my place?"
Ling Sui said, "Mm."
Meng Luobai had just closed the car door when she heard a "woof" from not far away.
She followed the sound and looked over. A resident of the neighborhood was walking a dog nearby, and in front of the dog's owner stood a tall figure. Meng Luobai instinctively stepped forward two paces.
A black trench coat with a cape-like silhouette wrapped around a frame of broad shoulders and a narrow waist, the fabric carrying a cold, lustrous sheen, its stiff texture untouched by a single speck of dust. A large black hood rested loosely over his head, the drooping brim covering most of his brow and eyes.
Fingers adorned with rings showed distinct knuckles, the pads slowly stroking the fluffy fur. Hearing her voice, his gaze shifted over, and beneath the shadow of the hood was Ling Sui's sharply defined face.