Chapter 1075 Extra - Yuan Yang (Part Three)
That night, a gathering was held at World Restaurant.
Elder Bai, who had come to Ming City to sign a trade contract with No. 14 Research Center, naturally rushed over to meet Gu Mang upon hearing the news that she was here. The No. 14 Research Center's director, on the other hand, hurriedly changed his clothes and hopped into Elder Bai's car when he heard that Lu Jilai and Lu Jixing were there too.
As soon as they arrived at World Restaurant, the director's face lit up at the sight of the twins, and a wide grin appeared on his face. "Jilai, Jixing, do you want to follow me to No. 14 Research Center to play?"
Meng Jinyang and the rest saw how the little imps' hands trembled slightly. The next moment, they saw them saying in a serious and reserved manner, "We've already promised Auntie Jinyang and Uncle Jiang that we would go to their law firm, Grandpa."
The twins then hurriedly winked at Jiang Shenyuan and Meng Jinyang; Jiang Shenyuan smiled and nodded in affirmation.
"I see…" The director expressed his regret. "Oh well."
"Take a seat," Lu Chengzhou said to the rest of the party.
Xi Yan had also come to see Gu Mang and Meng Jinyang after changing shifts with another teacher. She had brought her two-year-old son along as well.
When the meal was almost over, everyone started chatting while the kids went to the rest area to play. Lu Chengzhou lazily put an arm on the backrest of Gu Mang's chair as he glanced at the only adult—He Yidu—at the rest area.
Lu Jilai and Lu Jixing were currently playing a game on their phones, and He Qingyue, who wanted to watch them play, was forbidden to get close to the two little imps by her father. He Yidu tried to distract her with sweets and biscuits, but the little princess wasn't interested in the snacks at all.
He Qingyue looked incredibly adorable with her exquisite and beautiful face and pigtails. When she pouted her lips, looked at her father with her big watery eyes, and started whining, her father immediately carried her over to the twins.
At the sight of that, Lu Chengzhou clenched his jaw unhappily and retracted his gaze to sip on his tea instead.
Lin Shuang was speechless when she looked at He Yidu and the kids behind her. "What's wrong with a submachine gun? Suiyi and Suibian are right. A girl needs to pay attention to her image, so even when she fights, she has to use a submachine gun with pink lace."
Lu Chengzhou didn't say anything in response, while Gu Mang just raised her eyebrows, then looked down and continued eating her dessert with her chin propped in her palm.
Meanwhile, Lu Jixing exposed his violent nature in the heat of his game. "Go, go, go! Gather up and kill the other team! Go Get them! Qingyue, watch how I get five kills for you! Lu Suiyi, go take the damage!"
As soon as he said that, he felt a sharp glance in his direction. He immediately restrained himself and said, "Brother, I'm going to get five kills~ Come help me~."
His words made the private room go oddly silent for three seconds, and everyone stopped chatting and looked over in unison.
Lu Jilai was speechless. This is so embarrassing. Can I throw this younger brother away…
Gu Mang narrowed her eyes as she tapped her fork against the white plate. Quite arrogant, huh?
"Don't get angry. It's all my fault for not teaching them well," Lu Chengzhou whispered into her ear, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.
Gu Mang coolly looked over. "Continue spoiling them."
A deep chuckle reverberated from Lu Chengzhou's lungs. "Well, surely your sons can afford to be a little arrogant?"
Gu Mang fell silent for a second before spitting out, expressionless, "I'm not taking the blame for that."
Lu Chengzhou was responsible for disciplining their sons. As long as they didn't go against principles, he tended to respect their wishes. Lu Zhan and the others, on the other hand, would secretly spoil the twins, although they would restrain themselves a little when Gu Mang was around.
"How are your kids considered spoiled?" Lin Shuang retorted as she lifted her chin in the direction of the rest area. "Just look at that man over there."
Lu Jixing had gotten five kills, and He Qingyue was excitedly clapping her hands in her father's embrace and shouting, "You're the best." He Yidu even had to make sure that his daughter didn't fall down.
The others went silent.
Jiang Shenyuan, Qin Fang, Yun Ling, Flying Serpent, and Responsive Dragon were the quietest among the lot, but they drank the most alcohol.
Qin Fang secretly whispered to Yun Ling, "If Brother Cheng has a daughter… Tsk, you know what I mean, right, buddy?"
Yun Ling understood. In fact, he was rather envious of He Yidu himself, for the latter's daughter was incredibly adorable. He originally thought that it was better to be single, but he started developing thoughts of getting married when he saw Gu Mang and Lin Shuang's kids playing together.
Meanwhile, Xi Yan glanced at Wu Luo before looking down at her own belly. When Gu Mang noticed this, she looked over and asked Xi Yan, "How many months pregnant are you, Ms. Xi?"
"More than six months." Xi Yan looked up and smiled as she looked at He Yidu and He Qingyue. "Wu Luo wants a daughter. According to my estimates, I can go on maternity break once the university entrance exams are over, and it won't affect me teaching the Year Ones in the second half of the year."
The teachers at Ming City High School tended to stay the same from the students' freshman year to their senior year.
Hearing that, Lu Chengzhou raised his eyebrows and looked at those rebellious sons of his. He was reminded of how he had believed in the folk superstition and thought that surely one of them would be a daughter since Gu Mang was so fond of eating spicy food. But the reality was contrary to his expectations. Hah.
Meng Jinyang, who was sitting next to Xi Yan, looked at the latter's stomach, not quite daring to touch it despite wanting to since one shouldn't randomly touch a pregnant woman's stomach.
In the end, Xi Yan pulled her hand and placed it on her stomach. "I'm not so fragile."
"Ms. Xi, have you found out the child's gender?" asked Meng Jinyang while carefully stroking Xi Yan's stomach.
Xi Yan shook her head. "Not yet."
She didn't ask the doctor, and it didn't matter that she was already over six months into her pregnancy.
Gu Mang cocked an eyebrow and placed a hand on Xi Yan's wrist to take her pulse. A moment later, she smiled and retracted her hand to proper her chin up. "Congratulations."
Excitement shone in Xi Yan's eyes when she realized what Gu Mang meant. Still, she asked in uncertainty, "So it's a girl?"
Gu Mang lazily nodded.
"Congratulations, Ms. Xi." Meng Jinyang was happy on Xi Yan's behalf as well.
Lu Chengzhou, however, narrowed his eyes when he saw how Gu Mang managed to identify the gender of Xi Yan's unborn child through her pulse.
Just as Gu Mang raised her wine glass to take a sip, Lu Chengzhou suddenly grabbed her wrist, which got her looking over in confusion. The man stared into her eyes in a deep, meaningful manner. "How come I didn't know that you can find out the gender of the unborn child by taking the pulse?"
"There are a lot of things that you don't know," replied Gu Mang blandly.
"You lied to me for nine months," Lu Chengzhou's voice dropped to a whisper, and he sounded somewhat aggrieved.
"Lied? I extended your joy for nine more months." Gu Mang curled her lips into a wicked smirk and looked at him teasingly. He kept going on about his imaginary daughter back then.
"So you really knew long ago." Lu Chengzhou gently played with her earlobe with the arm that he rested on her chair.
Gu Mang said nothing to that.
Lu Chengzhou looked at her in all seriousness. "Since you did wrong, shouldn't you make it up to me?"
"Stop it." Gu Mang retracted her gaze and picked up her glass once more.
However, Lu Chengzhou grabbed her wrist again, took the wine glass from her, and swapped it for a glass of orange juice. "How about quitting alcohol, Sister Mang?"
There were all sorts of alcohol on the table, and they were all brought by Lin Shuang. Each bottle contained precious alcohol that cost millions of yuan a piece, yet the two big shots suddenly stopped drinking.
When Lin Shuang noticed this, she asked in bafflement, "Gu Mang, didn't you ask me to bring alcohol? Why are you two drinking orange juice instead?"
"That concerns our privacy," replied Lu Chengzhou nonchalantly.
Lin Shuang didn't understand what he meant. Her lips twitched. "Whatever floats your boat."
Jiang Shenyuan, who was sitting next to Lu Chengzhou, laughed when he heard their conversation. He then looked sideways at Meng Jinyang, only to have his smile droop a little and his eyes gradually darkening.
Meng Jinyang was currently chatting away with Gu Mang and Xi Yan. From the hint of a smile on her face, she appeared to be very happy.
Although Gu Mang wasn't one to talk much. She tended to speak more when she was talking to Meng Jinyang.
Just then, Elder Bai asked, "Jinyang, have you settled the paperwork on Capital University's end?"
The expressionless Meng Jinyang nodded and spoke softly as usual. "Yes, I'll head over to Jijing Special Institute as soon as my students have completed their theses."
When Qin Fang heard this, he looked up and asked, "Why are you going to Jijing Special Institute?"
The rest of them still didn't know about this matter, so they looked at Elder Bai and Meng Jinyang with puzzlement.
Elder Bai placed his hands on the table and explained, "I plan to pass the International Bar Association to Jinyang, so she has to study at Jijing Special Institute for four years first. I want her to join the current curriculum so that she doesn't need to waste a year."
She would have to leave by the end of the month, which would be just nice since her students' theses should be completed by then.
"The International Bar Association? Doesn't that mean she'll have to settle down on Jijing Island?" Qin Fang raised his eyebrows. "Principal Ren agreed to let her go?"
Although Jijing Island and the capital were of the same breath and branches now and they jointly groomed their talents and opened their doors to each other, there was no way Capital University would easily agree to let a talent like Meng Jinyang go to Jijing Island since she was the law department's most famous person.
Elder Bai said, "It's been decided that Jinyang will study for four years and that her focus will be on Jijing Island for the following few years. Once the International Bar Association is stable, she'll return to Capital University. I won't limit her progress. She'll still be Capital University's professor of criminal law."
That's more like it. Qin Fang nodded in understanding before smiling at Meng Jinyang and raising his wine glass. "Congrats, Jinyang."
The others congratulated her as well.
Meng Jinyang picked up her glass of juice and returned the toast. "Thank you."
Jiang Shenyuan downed his glass of wine. His fingers that were holding the glass were trembling slightly.
"Why aren't you talking?" Qin Fang nudged Jiang Shenyuan with his elbow. Everyone congratulated Meng Jinyang, but he was only drinking away and not toasting to her.
"I understand that Meng Jinyang's departure will mean that your law firm will lose a good lawyer, but it's her choice. You can't do anything even if you can't bear to let her go." Qin Fang patted Jiang Shenyuan on the shoulder.
Jiang Shenyuan didn't say anything and merely refilled his glass.
Qin Fang, who had rarely seen him drinking so much and fast, whispered in advice, "Don't drink so much."
"It's fine." He Yidu raised his glass toward Lin Shuang. "Ms. Lin's alcohol are pretty good."
Lin Shuang smiled and generously said, "Of course I have to bring the best for you guys."
Jiang Shenyuan tugged the corners of his lips.
Qin Fang watched Jiang Shenyuan empty another two bottles of wine and was unable to stop him from drinking more.
…
It was around 10 pm when the group left World Restaurant and took the lift downstairs in batches.
In the lift, Qin Fang knitted his eyebrows slightly as he looked at He Yidu, who was leaning on the handrail. "Do you need help, bro?"
"It's fine," said Jiang Shenyuan again while holding onto his expensive suit jacket in one hand and the handrail in the other. He reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were slightly red.
Qin Fang found Jiang Shenyuan's behavior rather odd tonight, for they had always known their limits and wouldn't drink to get wasted, even when they were having fun. Moreover, the likelihood of anyone else getting drunk was much higher than that of Jiang Shenyuan.
Meng Jinyang lowered her head slightly, letting her thick fringe cover the majority of her face. She was also looking down, so it wasn't easy to see the expression on her face.
While they were leaving the mall, Jiang Shenyuan accidentally bumped into a metallic trash can, and it made a huge mess on the first floor when it toppled over. Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the noise.
"What the?!" Qin Fang hurriedly went to help him out. "Steady still, buddy."
As the capital's ace lawyer, Jiang Shenyuan was always well-dressed in a suit, looking neat and elegant. Every one of his actions reflected his calm and collected demeanor. Hence, Qin Fang had never thought that he would ever see such a wretched side of him.
Meng Jinyang had immediately turned her head in the direction of the sound. Her fingers were squeezed tightly, and it was only when she saw Qin Fang next to Jiang Shenyuan that the tension in her gradually faded.
The others in front stopped in the tracks as well. Being the smart people they were, they could tell that Jiang Shenyuan was acting somewhat odd tonight.
After straightening his body, Jiang Shenyuan pushed Qin Fang's hands away and said while panting, "It's okay. I'm fine."
"Fine? Then who was it that knocked over the trash can moments ago?" Qin Fang supported Jiang Shenyuan by the arm and moved forward while scolding, "Why did you drink so much? You shouldn't drink if you can't handle your liquor."
Meanwhile, Meng Jinyang clenched her fingers slightly.
…
The group left Starlight Tower.
After making arrangements for Principal Fu and his wife as well as Wu Luo's family to go back home, the rest of the people went back to Seal Palace in their own cars.
Qin Fang and He Yidu had their own apartments in Seal Palace, and they were, in fact, on the same floor, although lower than Lu Chengzhou's. In the past, they always stayed in Lu Chengzhou's apartment because they were too lazy to go down.
As He Qingyue still wanted to play with Lu Jixing and Lu Jixing, He Yidu and Lin Shuang took the kids to their own apartment. Yun Ling, Responsive Dragon, and Flying Serpent, on the other hand, went to Qin Fang's apartment.
On the top floor of Seal Palace.
When Lu Chengzhou stepped out of the lift, he took a glance at Jiang Shenyuan. The latter was barely conscious, reeked of alcohol, and was supported by Lu Yī and Lu Qi.
Lu Chengzhou slowly walked to his apartment, then turned around to look at Jiang Shenyuan. "Bathe yourself before going to bed. I'll kick you out of the house if you throw up in there."
Gu Mang, who could even smell the stench through her mask, frowned. After contemplating for a couple of seconds, she turned to Meng Jinyang and stretched out her hand. "Jinyang, the card."
Meng Jinyang took out the black platinum card from her bag and handed it to Gu Mang, who then walked over to the opposite apartment and unlocked the door.
Ever since Lu Chengzhou bought his Seal Palace apartment, Lu Yī and Lu Qi had never seen the apartment across from his before. Hence, they were dumbfounded when they saw the mysterious door suddenly open before their eyes.
Lu Qi was still somewhat taken aback as he muttered, "The Seal Palace has two black platinum cards, but the other card has never appeared before. We searched for a long time but couldn't find out who the owner was…"
Gu Mang crossed her arms in front of her chest, letting the card dangle off her fingers as she looked up and said in a calm but arrogant manner, "The apartment's mine. Got a problem with that?"
Lu Yī and Lu Qi were rendered speechless.
That explains why I couldn't find any information on the owner. Lu Chengzhou's gaze landed on his wife, only to be reminded of what she had said earlier about there being plenty of things that he still didn't know about. He cocked an eyebrow at that.
Gu Mang feigned ignorance as she lifted her chin in the direction of her apartment. "Take him in."
"Understood." Lu Yī and Lu Qi thus brought Jiang Shenyuan inside.
Meng Jinyang followed them in as well. After removing her shoes, she briskly walked barefooted to the kitchen. poured a cup of warm water and then scooped some honey and mixed it into the water. She even took a cup of milk from the fridge and heated it up in the microwave.
Lu Yī and Lu Qi put Jiang Shenyuan on the sofa.
Standing at the entrance, Gu Mang watched Meng Jinyang busy herself in the kitchen. "Jinyang, Lu Yī and Lu Qi can take care of Jiang Shenyuan. Let's go next door."
"Okay." Meng Jinyang placed the cup of honey water on the coffee table and said to Lu Yī and Lu Qi, "This is honey water. The milk will be ready in two minutes. Let him drink it later."
"Yes, Ms. Meng," responded Lu Yī and Lu Qi.
Meng Jinyang's gaze lingered on the wasted Jiang Shenyuan for several seconds before she looked down and moved to leave. However, just as she turned around, she felt someone tugging on a corner of her clothes. She turned her head, only to notice that Jiang Shenyuan had opened his eyes.
Their eyes met. There was a deep look in Jiang Shenyuan's slightly reddish eyes as he moved his thin lips. His voice came out hoarse. "Don't go."
Meng Jinyang instinctively stiffened her body as she looked at the hand tugging on her clothes.
Although he had only held onto a small corner of it, his grip was so firm that even his fingers had turned white. He was very careful about touching her since he knew that she would maintain a safe distance from all men except for the twins and Gu Si. In fact, this very action of his was considered crossing the line.
Gu Mang, who was lazily leaning against the wall, immediately straightened herself when she saw this. She was about to move over, but Lu Chengzhou hurriedly grabbed her wrist and lightly shook his head at her. He had no doubt that his wife would break Jiang Shenyuan's arm if Meng Jinyang so much as showed a hint of fear on her face.
Gu Mang pursed her lips.
Meng Jinyang stayed silent and motionless for a few seconds before lightly saying, "Brother Jiang, we'll just be next door. Lu Yī and Lu Qi will take care of you."
The corners of Jiang Shenyuan became redder as he stared straight at her face. "Don't go."
Meng Jinyang felt her throat clamping up as she tugged the corners of her lips. "I-It's not convenient for me to take care of you, Brother Jiang. You should have a good rest."
"Don't go," Jiang Shenyuan stubbornly repeated.
"Brother Jiang, I—"
"Don't go." Jiang Shenyuan kept repeating this over and over again, and his eyes had turned moist. "Please."
Meng Jinyang's nails dug into her palms as the words of refusal got stuck in her throat. They seemed to taste so sour and astringent that she couldn't force herself to open her mouth.
In the end, Lu Chengzhou gave Lu Yī and Lu Qi a look before taking Gu Mang away with him. As Gu Mang looked down somewhat coldly, he hugged her shoulders and assured her, "Don't worry, Jiang Shenyuan knows what he's doing."
"But he's drunk." Gu Mang knitted her eyebrows together tightly.
"Yes, but he didn't forget his proprieties," whispered Lu Chengzhou. "He only dared to hold onto a corner of her clothes."
Gu Mang trusted Jiang Shenyuan as well. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to let Meng Jinyang intern at his law firm while she was still studying. She just couldn't help but be worried for her friend.
Lu Yī and Lu Qi walked out of Gu Mang's apartment and closed the door behind them before saying respectfully, "Young Master Lu, Young Madam Lu Yī, if you have no other orders for us, we'll take our leave now."
Lu Chengzhou nodded.
…
It was bright inside the apartment, so Meng Jinyang could clearly see the pleading look in Jiang Shenyuan's bloodshot eyes. Although he reeked of alcohol, the look in his eyes revealed that he couldn't be any more sober at the moment.
"Don't go, okay? I beg of you," Jiang Shenyuan repeated. In a seemingly desperate attempt to get her response, he even lightly tugged the corner of her clothes.
Meng Jinyang couldn't bring herself to say anything. Her black eyes, however, remained very calm and dim.
Just then, the microwave went ding.
Meng Jinyang looked toward the kitchen. "I'll go get the milk. You should finish the honey water, Brother Jiang."
After that, she turned around and walked toward the kitchen. The corner of her clothes thus slipped out of Jiang Shenyuan's clothes.
His hand still remained in the same exact position in the air, though.
Meng Jinyang took the milk out from the microwave and poured it into a glass cup. It was only when she suddenly noticed her red fingertips that she realized that she might've burned herself. She felt nothing, however.
When her vision became increasingly blurry from staring at her fingertips, she closed her eyes and felt her slightly trembling eyelashes become wet.
A few seconds later, she took a deep breath to regain her composure. She then picked up the glass of milk and returned to the sofa, where Jiang Shenyuan was.
The glass of honey water was already emptied, and he was blatantly staring unblinkingly at her like never before.
"Brother Jiang, you should go to sleep after drinking the milk. I still have some follow-up to do with Xu Ji tomorrow, so I'm going to bed first." Meng Jinyang placed the glass of milk in front of him.
When she was retracting her hand, Jiang Shenyuan suddenly grabbed her wrist. He frowned as he looked at her reddish fingertips. "You burned yourself."
In his intoxicated state, his hand had moved faster than his brain could process what he was about to do. And when he finally realized that he was holding her hand, his spine stiffened. It seemed like he was afraid to see a look of disgust and fear on her face, for he slowly shifted his gaze upward until eventually reaching her face.
Meng Jinyang lowered her head and looked down at their hands. She could feel his burning palm, and the heat of which traveled from her fingertips all the way to her heart.
Ever since that incident, there was a long period whereby she felt scared even at the sight of men. Although Jiang Shenyuan and Gu Si were the only ones she allowed to get close to her, they couldn't get too close as she would still get nervous and scared. This was the first time in many years that she had skin contact with a man—a man who had stayed by her side for the longest time apart from Gu Mang.
Jiang Shenyuan's heart rate accelerated when he realized that Meng Jinyang hadn't moved for five whole seconds and that she didn't seem repulsed by his touch. Just as he desperately wanted to convey his heartfelt words to her, she yanked her hand out of his grip the next second and retreated a few steps backward. He sprang up to his feet and hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Jinyang. I—"
Meng Jinyang gasped for air as she stiffly put her hand to her side and shook her head. "It's fine… I'm okay. I'm going to bed now."
She then quickly turned around and walked away.
"Jinyang."
She stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around to face him.
As Jiang Shenyuan looked at Meng Jinyang's back, he understood that he might never have the chance to be alone with her after tonight. In fact, she might keep a distance from him because of what he had done on impulse earlier.
"Let's talk." Jiang Shenyuan controlled his tone to make it gentle and soft. He then carefully added, "Okay?"
Meng Jinyang didn't say anything, but she didn't move either.
The time Jiang Shenyuan spent waiting for her reply felt agonizingly long, and the silence was deafening. He was even prepared to see her go to the bedroom without saying a single word or go next door to look for Gu Mang.
Three whole minutes had passed. Just as Jiang Shenyuan planned to give up, he saw her turn around and look at him with calm and indifferent eyes. "Fine, let's talk."
…
The two of them sat down on the sofa.
Meng Jinyang then took out her phone from her bag and started scrolling through her photo album before sliding it across the table. "Before we talk, take a look at this."
A bad feeling washed over Jiang Shenyuan when he saw how cold and solemn she was. It was like she was negotiating with someone in court. He hesitantly picked up the phone and scrolled through the album of screenshots, only to have his face darkening with every passing second.
[What's the use of being successful? Despite her impressive achievements in the legal community, she might not be able to lift her head in the crowd after experiencing that sort of thing.]
[I have a relative working in the same law firm as Meng Jinyang, and I heard that she's very repulsed by men's touch. A man once accidentally tapped her on the shoulder, and she got so scared that she turned as pale as a sheet.]
[Among all the lawyers, only Jiang Shenyuan is closer to her.]
The time in which the comments were posted could be seen in the screenshot, and they came from various social media platforms. The earliest comment was dated three years ago when she trended online for winning the gold medal in the International Law Mock Trial Competition.
Gu Mang had actually hacked into the systems of the major social media platforms and set Meng Jinyang's name as a forbidden term, but it was impossible to control the netizens in this era where one didn't need to take responsibility for what they said on the internet.
Although Meng Jinyang had told Gu Mang that it was fine and that those comments couldn't hurt her, the latter would still get people to delete all associated search terms whenever Meng Jinyang ended up in the headlines.
Meng Jinyang didn't expect Meng Jinyang to keep so many screenshots of such comments, though.
[She only allows Jiang Shenyuan to get close to her? Don't tell me that she likes him and wants to be together with him?]
[What the, surely not?! They're from two different worlds. Even though she's a really capable lawyer now, she's still not worthy of him…]
[Those people who are waiting to hear news of their wedding should really wake up from their fantasies! Will you even be willing to marry her?]
[Have you ever heard the term 'platonic love'? It's a type of love that's sexless. I'm sure nobody will disagree if I say that this type of love has long gone extinct in this society.]
[While this may sound rude, he'll end up as a laughing stock if he really marries her!]
Jiang Shenyuan read the comments one by one. The words were like needles poking at his eyes. He had seen these comments on the internet, but it never occurred to him that she would save them all. He looked up with trembling lips, only to realize that he couldn't bring himself to say a word. He took a moment to collect himself before finally saying, "What happened back then wasn't your fault. Have you forgotten that you said that the victims aren't at fault?"
Meng Jinyang pursed her lips and lightly responded, "I know that it wasn't my fault. I've never felt that it was."
Jiang Shenyuan stared at her. Just as he wanted to say something, she interrupted, "But it wasn't your fault either."
There was a cool and logical expression on her face when she looked up, and no other emotions. "Brother Jiang, don't let me dirty you."
"I don't care about all that," he blurted.
Meng Jinyang smiled. "But I care about the Jiang family's reputation. Uncle Jiang represented me for my case when I was little. I can't requite kindness with enmity, can I?"
"Jinyang…"
She looked up. "I've said my piece. What is it that you want to talk to me about?"
She couldn't be any calmer at this moment, and it was like nothing he said would have any effect on her.
Feelings of helplessness washed over Jiang Shenyuan, and even the air felt stinging in his throat. She sure has learned well from me. She knows what I'm going to do, and she stopped me with just a few words and screenshots.
Meng Jinyang pushed the glass of milk toward him. "The milk is getting cold."
Jiang Shenyuan didn't know what to say. His eyes rimmed red as he tried to suppress his emotions and feelings. "We don't have to be a couple, nor do we have to get married. We can just stay like this. Can't I even stay by your side?"
The desperation in his voice made Meng Jinyang choke up. Her eyes grew moist as she tried her best to keep her emotions in check.
"I know you don't want to be the president of the International Bar Association. You just want to stay away from me for the time being." She's probably hoping that I'll get married and form a family during her absence. "You knew about my feelings for you long ago, didn't you?"
Meng Jinyang stayed silent.
"Can't you… stay?" Jiang Shenyuan's eyelashes trembled as he looked at her.
"Brother Jiang, I'm going to Jijing Island at the end of the month," said Meng Jinyang calmly.
Jiang Shenyuan pursed his lips. "Do you have to go?"
"Take care of yourself, and don't drink so much again." Meng Jinyang got up and took her phone. "Remember to drink the milk."
She then moved toward the room. She had only just taken a few steps when she heard Jiang Shenyuan's hoarse voice. "I love the flower I've groomed, and I know I've taken care of it very well. Although I really want to stay by its side, it's pushing me away."
Before Meng Jinyang knew it, tears flowed down her cheeks and onto the ground, but that didn't stop her from going straight to the room.
She had deliberately saved those screenshots to constantly remind herself not to be delusional and not to tarnish the reputation of Jiang Shenyuan and his family. They had treated her very well, so she didn't want to repay their kindness with enmity.
…
When Meng Jinyang was done helping her students with their theses, she went to look for Principal Ren, the law department's dean and several other teachers in their offices to bid them farewell. They originally wanted to have a farewell meal with her, but she had turned them down.
She, Gu Mang, Qin Yaozhi, and the other girls played until late that night.
The next day, Gu Mang sent her to the airport and accompanied her to do the check-in before walking her to the departure gate with their arms linked. "Be sure to give me a call if anything happens."
Meng Jinyang nodded and smiled. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine on Jijing Island with Gu Si Elder Bai around."
Gu Mang raised her eyebrows. "Take care."
"Mm."
Gu Mang stood there for a whole minute watching her friend enter the departure gate, and she saw Jiang Shenyuan standing a distance away when she turned around to leave.
..
Meng Jinyang had always come in first place for her studies in the four years she studied at Jijing Special Institute, Her achievements were reported by Jijing Island's media countless times, and the news of them even reached the capital.
Elder Bai and all the members of the International Bar Association unanimously agreed to let her become the next president.
At the inauguration ceremony.
Elder Bai entered the venue with Meng Jinyang. The latter's hair had been cut short to her collarbone level and was neatly tucked behind her ears to reveal her pretty face. Dressed in a refined and simple suit, she looked neat, elegant, and distant.
As soon as she stepped into the venue, she spotted a familiar face in the third seat from the right of the first row. It was a face that she hadn't seen in a long time, but one that she remembered clearly.
She stood rooted to the spot as she stared dumbly at Jiang Shenyuan. The name plate in front of him read, Jiang Shenyuan, International Bar Association's director.
Jiang Shenyuan looked over and smiled at her, as he did years ago.
…
Later, he stayed by her side for many years, and he kept moving forward with her, providing her companionship and tenderness until his death.