"You've been watching my news too?"
During her first week on the job, Meng Luobai had a mountain of work on her plate. She hadn't planned to return to Zhuo Garden for the weekend, wanting instead to use the rare free time to sort through her work and give herself a chance to catch her breath from the chaotic pace.
But on Saturday afternoon, Meng Wenjian called her. On the other end of the line, Meng Wenjian could barely contain her excitement. "Luobai, guess who bought the house next door to us?"
Meng Luobai: "Who?"
"It's Lu Jin," Meng Wenjian said with a laugh. "I saw a car parked at the door this morning and thought a new neighbor had moved in. I didn't expect him to come over at noon—turns out the house was registered under his name."
"He's even taller now than he looks on TV, and even more handsome. He's really grown into a fine young man."
Meng Luobai tugged at the corner of her lips. "Is that so."
"He said he's going to pursue a master's degree in Longcheng, so he'll be living at Zhuo Garden from now on." Meng Wenjian said cheerfully. "I was thinking of inviting him over for dinner tomorrow. Are you coming back?"
Meng Luobai lowered her lashes slightly. "I—won't be going back. I just started work, and I'm pretty busy this weekend."
Meng Wenjian understood. "Alright then. Are you adjusting to the new environment? How are your colleagues?"
Meng Luobai smiled. "Everything's fine. Not much different from before."
They chatted for a while longer before mother and daughter hung up. Meng Luobai kept her eyes lowered, thinking about what Meng Wenjian had said—that Ling Sui would be pursuing a master's degree in Longcheng and would be living at Zhuo Garden from now on.
Although Ling Sui had been competing in MMA for over two years, he'd become a media darling only a year ago, when he won the Asian Championship and his background was exposed online overnight, instantly making him a rising star in the spotlight.
In the matches that followed, he set a record of thirteen consecutive wins. Just as everyone was waiting for him to continue challenging his personal record, he decided to take a break to handle his academic affairs.
So he was coming to Longcheng for graduate school.
Not long after, Meng Luoyu's video call came through. "Sis."
Meng Luobai glanced at Meng Luoyu's background. "You went home?"
"Yeah. Where else would I go on the weekend?" Meng Luoyu blinked. "Sis, did you know? That guy next door has moved back."
Meng Luobai: "I know. Mom just told me."
"I went downstairs after my nap and saw him down there—scared me half to death. He left so quietly back then, didn't even ask about you when you were in that car accident and hospitalized. Now he has the nerve to come to our house." Meng Luoyu sounded a bit aggrieved. "Our family was so good to him before. Mom treated him like another son."
Meng Luobai said calmly, "If his family was moving, it wasn't his call."
"There's still the phone, and QQ. It's not like we're living in ancient times—you can reach anyone even from outer space. Couldn't he have said something before leaving? And Mom says she's inviting him over for dinner tomorrow. Honestly, maybe he doesn't even want to stay in touch with us anymore. He's the heir to the Empirl Group now—we're just his poor relatives."
Meng Luobai said quietly, "You can't say that. Maybe he had difficulties back then…"
"There's nothing difficult about it. I refuse to believe he couldn't find a phone in all these years." Meng Luoyu raised her voice slightly. "He knew how serious your car accident was back then, and he didn't even ask about it. If I'd known he was that kind of person, I would've slapped him before I went to the hospital that day. No—" Meng Luoyu grew angrier as she spoke, "I have to go find him and settle this right now!"
"Luoyu." Meng Luobai stopped her. "Why are you getting angrier the more you talk? If he could come, he must have told Mom."
Meng Luoyu: "Mom's just a pushover! I'll go settle this with Mom!"
Meng Luobai: "…"
This kid was getting more and more eager to pick fights as she grew up.
Meng Luobai persuaded her for a long while before Meng Luoyu finally relented and agreed not to go after Meng Wenjian and Ling Sui.
After the video call ended, Meng Luobai continued with what she was doing. After a moment, she thought it over, set down her work, and decided to head home.
When Meng Luobai arrived home, dinner had just been prepared.
Meng Wenjian packed several dishes into a food container and handed it to a reluctant Meng Luoyu. "Take these two dishes to Lu Jin."
Meng Luoyu chomped on an apple and said with great displeasure, "He's a proper young master—surely he has a cook at home."
Meng Wenjian clicked her tongue. "Why are you so fussy about everything? If you don't want to go, fine. I'll have Sangsang go. Sangsang—"
Sangsang walked into the dining room alongside Meng Luobai, who had just entered the house. "Mom."
Meng Wenjian was delighted to see Meng Luobai back. "You're back. Perfect timing—take these dishes to Lu Jin. They're all things he used to love."
Meng Luobai hesitated before speaking. "What Luoyu said just now isn't entirely without merit."
Meng Luoyu chimed in from the side, "Exactly. And Mom, he goes by Ling, Sui now."
"Is it really that hard for you two to deliver a meal? Lu—ah, Ling Sui. He just moved back and he's home alone, and he doesn't know how to cook." Meng Wenjian picked up the food container. "If you two don't want to go, fine. Sangsang and I will go."
Meng Luobai let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll go."
Meng Luobai set down her things, took the food container, and had just stepped out the door when she noticed Meng Luoyu following her out with an annoyed look on her face. She glanced back. "I can go by myself."
Meng Luoyu linked arms with Sangsang. "I want to go see him too—see what an MMA Asian Championship winner looks like."
Hearing Meng Luoyu's sarcastic tone, Meng Luobai sighed. "Why don't you just go back inside?"
Meng Luoyu: "No."
Meng Luobai instructed Sangsang, "Make her stay."
Sangsang immediately obeyed and pulled Meng Luoyu back. "Ayu, let's go help Mom."
After Meng Luoyu was held back by Sangsang, Meng Luobai left with the food container. As she walked out the front gate, she saw two off-road vehicles parked at the entrance of the neighboring villa. She remembered that when she'd driven back just now, there had been no cars at the gate.
Had someone come to visit Ling Sui?
Meng Luobai walked to the door of Ling Sui's house and raised her hand. She remembered how it used to be—standing here, ringing the bell at Ling Sui's door countless times. She let out a soft breath and pressed the doorbell.
As the doorbell rang, her gaze fell on the faint glow of light visible through the door. In those empty years in between, she had gazed at this door from afar many times. Now, pressing the bell again, it felt strangely familiar—like something long missed.
The doorbell rang for a while before footsteps were heard approaching the door. The door opened from inside, and Ling Sui appeared at the doorway, wearing a white deep-V-neck shirt.
Although Ling Sui had always been taller than her, the tall man before her now made the doorway seem somewhat narrow. He stood at the entrance, the loose pearl-white silk fabric draping down to trace his waistline, wrapping a form of broad shoulders and a narrow waist—noble in bearing yet carrying a hint of careless languor, like a beast basking in the afternoon sun, concealing a bursting tension.
His long black hair fell to his shoulders, draping at the sides of his neck, making his cold-pale skin look like porcelain. His glassy-colored eyes looked at her, no longer carrying the rawness of youth, only the condescending gaze of one who stood above.
"My mom asked me to bring you food." Just as Meng Luobai was about to hand over the food container, she suddenly heard a female voice from behind Ling Sui. "Lior, who's here?"
Meng Luobai's hand holding the food container paused. She looked past Ling Sui and saw a girl walking out, wearing a light pink skirt suit, with a pair of almond-shaped eyes, clear and bright pupils, her gaze clean and sparkling.
Meng Luobai recognized her immediately—she was the girl who had helped her pick up her phone at Zhi Qian's bar last time. She still hadn't thanked her.
Behind the girl followed a man and a woman, presumably Ling Sui's friends. But they only glanced toward the doorway before retreating back inside. The girl, upon seeing her, seemed to recognize her too. "Ah… you look a bit familiar."
Meng Luobai smiled. "At Soleil Bar, you helped me pick up my phone. Thank you so much."
"No need to be polite." With that, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes curved into a gentle arc, as if remembering something. "You really are Lior's friend. You were looking at Lior's photos back then."
Hearing the girl's words, Ling Sui's glassy eyes rippled slightly as he looked at Meng Luobai.
Uh…
Meng Luobai awkwardly tugged at her lips. It was true that she had been looking at Ling Sui's news before her phone was knocked out of her hand—this girl had too good a memory. "I just happened to see the news that day."
With that, Meng Luobai quickly lifted the food container in her hand. "I'm your next-door neighbor. My mom asked me to bring food to Ling Sui."
"Wow, this is the perfect neighbor right here!" the girl said. "Lior, your neighbor is so nice. Hello, neighbor, my name is Lilith. What's yours?"
Meng Luobai curved her lips into a smile. "Meng Luobai."
Lilith: "I came to ask Ling Sui to go out and have some fun. Do you want to come along?"
Meng Luobai: "No thanks, I need to head home for dinner too."
Lilith reached out and took Meng Luobai's arm. "You can eat here! I have a feeling I'm really going to like you. Lior, let your neighbor come out and play with us, okay?"
Meng Luobai found it hard to handle the stranger's enthusiasm. She shot a helpless look at Ling Sui.
Ling Sui's gaze shifted from her to the girl. "Lilith, go inside first."
"But—" Lilith glanced at Ling Sui, and though reluctant, she said no more. Hearing someone call her from inside, she said goodbye to Meng Luobai and turned to go in.
After Lilith went inside, Meng Luobai handed the food container to Ling Sui.
Ling Sui took the container in hand. "Thank your aunt for me."
"Mm. Then you should eat." Meng Luobai was about to turn around, but her wrist was caught by a force. She paused mid-step, looked at Ling Sui, and felt a vague sense of confusion. "Is there something else?"
Ling Sui stood behind her, his fingertips gripping her wrist, the soft silk shirt brushing against her arm. "Do you watch the news about me too?"
This was the downside of being publicly exposed. Meng Luobai curved her lips into a smile. "When someone you know appears on TV, you can't help but be curious. Besides, you seem to be pretty popular on the Chinese internet lately."
Ling Sui carried the food container back into the villa and closed the door. Lilith paused mid-conversation with her friend. "Lior, has your neighbor left? I didn't know you had such a beautiful neighbor."
Ling Sui set the food container on the long table in the dining room and looked up at the people in the living room. "You shouldn't have come to my house without my permission."
"If I hadn't asked Uncle Ling, I wouldn't have even known you came to China, and that you're going to study here for three years." Lilith pouted, with a hint of spoiled petulance. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Longcheng to study? Three years is way too long."
Ling Sui stood still without moving, his gaze devoid of any warmth. "I'll say it again—don't come to my house without my permission."
His voice wasn't loud, even calm, but that calm carried an undeniable pressure that made Lilith's expression stiffen. "I just wanted to come see you. You wouldn't even answer when I called."
"Longcheng is my home. I'll be living here from now on." Ling Sui looked at her steadily, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Lilith, go back early. Your uncle has already come to me looking for you."
"How can Longcheng be your home? Then you're not going back to France? What am I supposed to do?"
Ling Sui showed no change in emotion. "That's your own business. Don't ask me."
Lilith was somewhat angered by Ling Sui's cold, hard tone. She hadn't expected that flying all this way would only earn her a frigid dismissal. "I don't know either! I'll go wherever I want. You think I actually wanted to come here?!"