Chapter 49: Who Is That Wild Man You Know?
After finishing golf, they returned to the club to rest.
Pei Yuzhou was invited to a private room to discuss business, and Zhao Hesong also went upstairs with friends to play cards.
Meng Shuyou was alone on the terrace blowing in the wind.
She quite liked being alone, occasionally letting her mind go blank, not needing to think about anything.
Leaning in the sofa chair scrolling her mobile phone, the wind made her a bit sleepy.
Suddenly, a man’s voice came from beside her ear, “Yaoyao?”
Meng Shuyou turned her head.
The man was tall and slim, with proper features, wearing a blue polo shirt with sports shorts, looking fresh and casual.
He walked over, his face showing surprise, “It’s really you? I was afraid I’d mistaken you for someone else.”
Meng Shuyou didn’t recognize him at first glance, recalling in her mind for a moment, finally matching his face to his name.
The man sat down opposite her, “You don’t remember me?”
“Zheng Huaijin.” Meng Shuyou said his name.
The man let out a sigh of relief, “You scared me to death, I thought you’d forgotten me. At least we share the relationship of being punished together.”
Meng Shuyou remembered it clearly; in the second year of high school, she felt unwell during an exam and handed in a blank paper, got punished by the teacher to stand, he was slightly better and didn’t write the essay.
That time, the two of them stood at the classroom doorway for a whole class period.
“You’ve changed a lot, I didn’t recognize you for a moment.”
Zheng Huaijin chuckled, “Indeed, I was too fat before.”
Meng Shuyou curved her lips slightly, “Actually not, just a bit chubby, quite cute.”
Zheng Huaijin didn’t believe it, “You’re just comforting me.”
Meng Shuyou shook her head, “Really not, it’s the truth.”
He was quite tall, wouldn’t look very fat, at most a bit sturdy; now slimmed down, his features looked more defined, and his whole temperament was different.
“Alright, I believe you.” Zheng Huaijin looked at her; the girl in front of him was even prettier than in his memory, pure and bright, stunningly beautiful, no wonder he’d felt inferior for years.
Actually, he’d never told her that he didn’t write the essay that time because he turned in the paper early to go to the supermarket to buy a hand warmer and brown sugar, secretly placing them in her drawer.
“It’s been three years since we last met, I didn’t expect to run into you abroad. Why didn’t you return home this summer vacation?”
“I found an internship here.” Meng Shuyou put down her mobile phone, pinching the straw to stir the juice in her cup, “What about you? Didn’t you go to the UK to study?”
“Studies were busy, I didn’t return home for the first two years, just got back to Bin City last week, now interning at my dad’s company, came to New York on a business trip with him these few days.”
After speaking, Zheng Huaijin remembered something else, “By the way, is your older sister doing well?”
Meng Shuyou lowered her lashes, “Better than before.”
Zheng Huaijin was silent for a moment, then still spoke up: “Yaoyao, I’ve recently heard some things about the Meng Family. Uncle Meng hopes you’ll enter a marriage alliance… If there’s any way I can help, you can tell me, I’ll do my utmost.”
The Zheng family had developed rapidly these two years, successfully expanding from a mid-sized enterprise to a large one; though not comparable to the Meng Family, it had a considerable reputation in the industry.
Meng Shuyou politely declined, “Thank you for your kind intentions, I don’t need it for now.”
“I’m serious, Yaoyao. I know you don’t want to be forced into a marriage alliance.” Zheng Huaijin paused, his voice a bit tense, “If you don’t mind, I can talk to my dad, propose marriage to the Meng Family, we can have a contractual marriage.”
He even guaranteed, “If later you have someone you like, we can separate peacefully, I absolutely won’t hold you back.”
Meng Shuyou fell silent.
If he had appeared a bit earlier, she probably would have agreed.
But now, she had already chosen Mister Pei, so she wouldn’t change.
“I…”
Just as she was about to speak, a child passing by tripped accidentally, spilling the hot chocolate he was carrying, which splashed right onto Meng Shuyou’s foot.
The hot chocolate was freshly made, still steaming.
The cup shattered all over the ground, a mess.
Zheng Huaijin hurriedly got up and went around to her side, “Are you okay, Yaoyao? Did it burn?”
Meng Shuyou’s ankle skin burned, the pain spreading.
Zheng Huaijin grabbed her arm, “Come on, I’ll help you to the restroom to rinse it. If not treated promptly, it could get infected.”
The boy knew he’d caused trouble, scared and sitting on the ground wailing loudly.
The parent hurried over upon hearing the commotion, “What happened?”
Zheng Huaijin frowned tightly, “My friend got scalded by him. Please watch your child; giving him something so hot is very dangerous.”
The boy’s mother saw the situation and knew she was in the wrong, “Sorry, the child is too naughty, I didn’t watch him. You take your friend to treat the wound first; we’ll cover the medical expenses.”
Zheng Huaijin helped Meng Shuyou up, “Yaoyao, can you walk?”
“Mm.”
Entering the restroom, Meng Shuyou took off her right shoe, rinsed at the mop sink with cold water for three minutes.
The skin was red, not too serious.
Zheng Huaijin waited outside for her, “Yaoyao, are you okay?”
“It’s fine, doesn’t hurt much.” Meng Shuyou turned off the faucet, took a few paper towels to dry the water.
Her shoe was dirty, couldn’t wear it anymore, so she came out barefoot on one foot.
Seeing her inconvenienced, Zheng Huaijin directly picked her up, “I’ll carry you over.”
Meng Shuyou hurriedly pushed against him, “No need to carry me, I can walk myself.”
Zheng Huaijin carried her outward, “Don’t get your foot dirty. I’ll have the staff get you a pair of disposable slippers in a bit.”
Meng Shuyou pushed him again, “Really no need, put me down…”
“Miss Meng.” Another voice interjected.
Mark glimpsed his employer’s gloomy face, sensing trouble.
Meng Shuyou turned her head, meeting a pair of dark ink-green eyes, her voice trembling lightly, “Mister Pei…”
Pei Yuzhou stood a meter away, his tone devoid of warmth, “Come here.”
Zheng Huaijin was intimidated by the strange man’s gaze, a chill rising on his back, “Yaoyao, is this your friend?”
Meng Shuyou mumbled an “mm” haphazardly, anxiously struggling free from his arms to walk toward Pei Yuzhou.
Her heart was uneasy, “Mister Pei, I…”
Pei Yuzhou lowered his gaze slightly, emotion suppressed in his eyes, “What happened to your foot?”
Meng Shuyou answered softly, “Scalded by hot chocolate.”
Pei Yuzhou said nothing, bent down to carry her away.
The way he held her legs was particularly forceful.
Meng Shuyou didn’t dare make a sound.
Mark followed with big strides.
Behind them, Zheng Huaijin watched them leave, gaze dazed.
What was Yaoyao’s relationship with that man?-
Mark got scald ointment from the staff and delivered it to the private room, then tactfully closed the door, not daring to disturb.
The atmosphere inside was quiet.
Meng Shuyou sat obediently on the sofa, even breathing lightly.
Pei Yuzhou’s expression was indifferent, “Do it yourself or shall I help?”
Meng Shuyou silently took the ointment, “I’ll do it myself.”
She unscrewed the cap, applied it to her ankle with a cotton swab.
Pei Yuzhou took the cigar box from the coffee table, drew one out, cut it, lit it with a lighter, took a deep drag placing it to his lips, words exhaled with the smoke, “Where’d you meet that wild man?”
Meng Shuyou’s fingertip paused, “…Not a wild man.”
She explained, “It’s a friend from before, just an accidental encounter.”
Pei Yuzhou’s gaze darkened, “So you just let him carry you casually?”
———
PS: Added some plot, refresh, next chapter will be under review, not sure when it’ll be out.
Checked the data at midnight, it’s been dismal these two days, lots of people saving chapters, probably won’t pass this PK round, really easy to kill a story by saving it…
