TSDT - 24

Normally, Wei Zhanfeng would attend these meetings, but this time, Meng Jingshu was there. Those within the industry who knew him were fine, but those who hadn’t met him were visibly impressed. Shufeng’s accompanying PR representative could clearly feel their company’s popularity surging, especially among media colleagues, many of whom wanted to schedule exclusive interviews. Meng Jingshu consistently directed them to the PR team, acting like a hands-off boss.

Company operations had long been allocated; he was in charge of technology, and he certainly wouldn’t shirk necessary social engagements, but these miscellaneous tasks were not his responsibility.

After the events concluded, it was already dark.

Meng Jingshu walked towards the parking lot and called Jiang Ying.

It rang a few times, then she picked up, “Hello.”

She seemed to be walking too, her voice slightly breathless.

Meng Jingshu opened the car door and saw his slightly upturned lips in the reflective window.

He smiled silently and said, “Done with work? I’ll pick you up.”

Jiang Ying stepped onto the subway escalator with the crowd, instinctively clutching her phone. “Don’t bother coming, I have plans tonight.”

Just as he was about to start the car, Meng Jingshu paused, vaguely annoyed. “Who with?”

“Hu Ruochen.”

The name sounded familiar, Meng Jingshu had an impression, but wasn’t sure. Jiang Ying quickly added, “The one from last time, my ex’s mistress.”

Meng Jingshu: “...”

It really was her.

The man frowned, one hand on the steering wheel, and asked her, “What are you meeting her for?”

She said, “Dinner. It wasn’t my idea; she asked me.”

Meng Jingshu found it incomprehensible. “She asks, and you go?”

Jiang Ying passed through security in the queue. She didn’t know how to explain this inexplicably changed relationship to him, so she just said casually, “Anyway... we’re kind of friends now. I’m getting on the subway, bye...”

He quickly interrupted, “Where are you going? I’ll come over.”

Jiang Ying clicked her tongue, “It’s a girls’ dinner, what are you doing coming?”

Meng Jingshu: “Address.”

Since being friendly with Hu Ruochen was already weird, she didn’t mind if this meal got even weirder. With this mindset, Jiang Ying waited for Meng Jingshu, and the two entered the restaurant to meet Hu Ruochen.

Meng Jingshu was consistently quiet and reserved in public. Although he didn’t explicitly show anything, his poker face and dignified demeanor naturally exuded an imposing presence.

Hu Ruochen was intimidated by his aura and spoke much less.

Jiang Ying had seen this side of him many times. When high school first started, she was a little scared, but gradually, as she got to know him better, she realized he just looked that way and was rather arrogant.

Jiang Ying knew he was wary of Hu Ruochen, which was why he deliberately projected a cold and fierce aura. So, she let him be, essentially treating him like air, and went about her business.

Anyway, this dinner had nothing to do with him.

This man had become addicted to being an uninvited guest lately, hadn’t he?

Under Jiang Ying’s intentional disregard, the atmosphere slowly returned to normal, and Hu Ruochen was no longer as nervous as she had been initially. She was young, a bit naive and silly, but she could still tell who could dominate whom between a man and a woman.

Before long, the two girls were chatting animatedly.

It was clear that she was feeling better than last time. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but by adopting the mindset of learning from a senior who had been dumped, she gradually found relief from the pain of her breakup.

Hu Ruochen had a little beer, and in her excitement, she even said, “I saw someone online say that a new relationship is the best cure for a breakup, is that true, sister? When did you meet brother-in-law?”

Jiang Ying suddenly choked on her lemonade, coughing uncontrollably.

Meng Jingshu paused, handed her a few tissues, his palm mechanically patting her back. His expression was no longer cold; he even briefly glanced at Hu Ruochen.

Jiang Ying finally caught her breath, her flushed face still red, and began to scold, “Hu Ruochen, don’t go recognizing relatives randomly, call him Mr. Meng!”

Hu Ruochen giggled and called him.

Meng Jingshu gave a slight nod in response.

Even in her flightiness, Hu Ruochen didn’t dare ask Meng Jingshu, so she still whispered to Jiang Ying, “So when did you two meet? Do you have anyone else almost as handsome to introduce to me?”

Jiang Ying didn’t want to talk much about her and Meng Jingshu, vaguely brushing her off, “We met a long time ago...” Then she changed the subject, continuing to mock her, “I think you shouldn’t rush into a relationship. Wait until your brain is normal again.”

There was a reason for saying she wasn’t normal. This kid was halfway through getting over her breakup, and her state was a bit fractured. One moment she wanted to meet new men, the next she wanted to stalk her ex.

Just like now, Hu Ruochen pulled Jiang Ying to browse Chen Tianjing’s Weibo, and she even instigated mutual WeChat friends to send her his Moments. Jiang Ying was silent for a while, feeling this scene was familiar and quite moved.

Jiang Ying was originally sitting on the same side as Meng Jingshu, but Hu Ruochen insisted she move over to look at the Moments together. Jiang Ying nudged her dishes and simply sat over there.

With their heads bent over their phones, Jiang Ying and Hu Ruochen naturally didn’t notice the silent, indifferent man across from them, glancing at her again and again.

This time, there was a truly fierce look in his eyes.

The two women critiqued the phone screen.

Hu Ruochen whispered, “He’s still living as wonderfully as before. He seems even happier after the breakup.”

Jiang Ying scrolled with her finger, saying flatly, “I told you he wasn’t worth it a long time ago. You should be completely over him now, right? By the way, I haven’t checked his Weibo in ages. It’s really nothing special; he’s a very superficial person.”

The girl still in the shadows stubbornly searched for clues: “Who is this woman? Why are they so close?”

Jiang Ying teased, “He’s changed his taste, doesn’t like our innocent white flower look anymore.”

The fragile heartbroken girl was extremely downcast: “Can people change their minds so quickly? He gave me a T-brand key necklace before and said only I could ever open his heart...”

“...” Jiang Ying felt like she had swallowed a fly. “He didn’t even change his entire pick-up line, from the gift to the words...”

Hu Ruochen was about to cry: “Did he say that to you too?”

Jiang Ying nodded: “If I hadn’t blocked him, I even suspect you’d see identical chat records on my phone...”

“Are you still going to eat or not?”

The soft, gentle mutual support between sisters was suddenly interrupted by an iron-cold voice.

Meeting his chilling gaze, Jiang Ying was startled.

She was puzzled, “Of course, we’re eating.”

“Eat in silence, sleep in silence.”

He coldly dropped that sentence, and Hu Ruochen dared not make another sound.

Jiang Ying was a bit annoyed, but there was no need to argue with him on the spot.

The three of them spent the rest of the time in silence.

After the meal, Meng Jingshu went to the front desk to pay, while the two girls waited outside. Hu Ruochen kept nervously asking, “Sister, did we make Mr. Meng angry? Did I say something wrong? He looks so handsome, but he’s so scary when he’s angry. Should I apologize to him?”

Jiang Ying was speechless, “Why would you apologize? He insisted on coming along. It’s fine, he just has a bad temper; it’s got nothing to do with you.”

Hu Ruochen was worried that Meng Jingshu might forbid Jiang Ying from associating with her in the future and repeatedly sought reassurance. Jiang Ying was tired of rolling her eyes and said helplessly, “He can’t control me.”

Seeing Meng Jingshu emerge from the restaurant, Hu Ruochen whispered, “Go, sister! I’m leaving first.”

The macaroon-colored little girl quickly scurried away.

The man was striding towards them. During work hours, he always wore a well-fitting suit, and with the cold weather, he added a dark overcoat, making him look handsome, tall, and full of presence.

He kept a cold face, walked past Jiang Ying, and didn’t even glance at her. It was as if he disdained to waste more words on her, and she should dutifully follow the sound of his noble leather shoes.

Jiang Ying scoffed quietly behind him.

Initially, because he was so handsome, she had planned to give a small smile and let the matter go, not arguing with him.

Now.

Heh.

Go? Why should she “go”? As if she was afraid of him.

So, the coldness permeated the car. The two of them were like in a competition, neither willing to speak first, and the car became eerily silent.

Zebian was bustling, and traffic jams were commonplace; Meng Jingshu was long used to it.

Tonight’s congestion seemed worse than usual. Their car moved slowly with the traffic, stop-and-go, waiting through three rounds of red lights without getting past a major intersection.

Meng Jingshu finally cursed under his breath in frustration when they stopped for the fourth time. His annoyance reached its peak.

Before, when she mentioned her ex, he only felt disgusted. But just now, at the dinner table, she talked about those things with such enthusiasm. Listening to her, he felt as if someone had poured sulfuric acid on his heart, so acidic it could burn a person to death. Yet, she was self-righteous and didn’t feel she had done anything wrong.

He couldn’t suppress the surge of anger.

Behind them, an impatient driver honked a few times, the sound piercing.

Jiang Ying could even hear the other person’s increasingly heavy breathing in the gaps between the noise. He was on the verge of losing his temper, trying his best to hold back.

Jiang Ying turned on the radio, tuned to a music station, and the soothing melody temporarily softened the atmosphere.

She cleared her throat and said flatly, “Don’t rush, drive safely.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Jingshu’s fingers on the steering wheel moved, but he didn’t turn to look at her, nor did he speak, sitting stiffly like a stone.

Ten minutes later, they finally passed the most congested section, and the car sped up smoothly. The radio host was telling jokes. Jiang Ying could feel that the driver’s mood was not as tense as before.

So, when he suddenly spoke, she wasn’t surprised.

“You’re quite nice to her, even laughing and talking.”

The man stared straight ahead, his tone flat and emotionless, as if it were just a casual chat.

Jiang Ying was even more flat, “She’s just a young girl, why argue with her?” She shrugged, “Ultimately, Hu Ruochen was the ‘other woman,’ but she didn’t do anything wrong.”

The yellow streetlights streamed across his stern face, creating a blurry expression between light and shadow.

“I don’t get that kind of treatment,” he said.

Jiang Ying raised an eyebrow, “What treatment?”

He seemed to ponder for a moment, then, after turning a corner, he said softly, “Talking nicely to you, and still getting the door slammed in my face.”

It had been so long, and he was still bothered by that?

“...That’s different.”

“So what did I do wrong?”

Jiang Ying’s heart jolted.

What did he do wrong...?

The radio music faded into the distance, and she remained silent for a long time until the car pulled into the familiar parking lot.

“You didn’t do anything wrong either, which is why I can laugh and talk with you now too.”

She lowered her gaze and said softly.