After taking the medicine Meng Qinghuai brought, the stabbing pain in her stomach finally eased a bit in the latter half of the night.
The room was dark, and Guan Yingtang lay alone on the bed, her mind replaying Meng Qinghuai’s last words over and over.
——Why do you think I’d marry someone I hate?
If she understood correctly, he was denying that he disliked her?
He even used the word “muddled” to describe it. Clearly, in his eyes, her thoughts were absurd to a certain degree.
In the quiet of the deep night, Guan Yingtang unconsciously pressed the corners of her lips, her impression of Meng Qinghuai improving ever so slightly.
Actually, she didn’t dislike this husband who had fallen from the sky.
In fact, deep down, there was still a bit of the curiosity she’d had about him back in their school days.
All along, what she hated was the forced marriage and the life with no choices. In some ways, Meng Qinghuai was just like her, both victims forced into this situation.
Sleepiness swept over her, and Guan Yingtang curled up under the blanket, taking a deep breath.
She really liked the scent on it.
Like moonlight appearing in a snow-covered forest, every breath carried a faint, clean feeling that seeped right into her heart, gradually relaxing her.
Half-awake and half-asleep, the last blurred images in her mind were Meng Qinghuai carrying her upstairs, and a certain firm thought:
His hands… really are strong.
–
The next morning.
Guan Yingtang slept in until ten, breaking the self-discipline of her days in Hong Kong City. She lay with her eyes half-closed for a while, then suddenly snapped awake—
She almost forgot her new husband had slept next door last night.
Sleeping in late on the first day because she was drunk was barely excusable, but if she slept till nearly noon two days in a row, her image as a refined heiress would be ruined.
Guan Yingtang immediately put on her slippers and got out of bed. As soon as she opened the door, a middle-aged woman she didn’t recognize bowed respectfully to her:
“Miss Yi, you’re awake.”
Guan Yingtang took two steps back into the room. “And you are?”
“I’m the butler Mr. Meng hired. From today onward, I’ll be taking care of your daily needs.”
“……”
Didn’t they agree there wouldn’t be a butler?
Guan Yingtang frowned and looked outside. “Where’s Mr. Meng?”
“Mr. Meng went to the company. If you need anything, just let me know. My team and I will do our best to help you.”
As the butler finished speaking, Guan Yingtang stood by the staircase on the second floor and saw the team waiting downstairs.
Four men and four women, plus the chef and the butler—exactly ten people.
They all looked up and greeted her respectfully, “Good morning, Miss Yi.”
Guan Yingtang’s vision went black for a moment, as if she’d instantly returned to her home on Hong Kong Island.
The butler walked over and, as if giving a report, said, “Breakfast is ready for Miss Yi. The chef isn’t familiar with your tastes yet, so we’ve prepared both Chinese and Western dishes today. Please try them and let us know if you have any preferences.”
With that, the butler gestured toward the dining room, inviting Guan Yingtang to go in.
Guan Yingtang opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t find any fault. She slowly walked downstairs.
A servant pulled out her chair for her, and the table was covered in a dazzling array of food. She sat alone, with all ten attendants lined up beside her.
…Even more extravagant than her home in Hong Kong.
So breakfast was awkwardly finished under so many watchful eyes. When she went back upstairs, the female butler called out, “Miss Yi, what would you like for lunch? I’ll have the chef prepare it in advance.”
“No need. I had a late breakfast, I’m not hungry.”
“How about dinner, then?”
“……”
For some reason, Guan Yingtang felt a bit irritated. She forced herself to reply, “I don’t have much of an appetite today. I don’t want anything.”
The female butler closed her mouth and didn’t press further. “Then please rest well. Mr. Meng said this morning that he’s arranged for a doctor to come check on you this afternoon.”
Guan Yingtang froze and reflexively refused, “I’m already fine.”
“It’s better to let the doctor have a look, otherwise we won’t be able to answer to Mr. Meng.”
“……”
Whether it was the water and climate of this unfamiliar Northern City, or the suffocating conversation with the butler, everything seemed to pile up at once, and all the patience Guan Yingtang had been holding onto suddenly snapped.
Are you kidding me…
Dealing with Meng Qinghuai alone was already exhausting, and now there were ten more!
She came to the Northern City for the freedom of not being watched or questioned, but now—how was this any different from being locked up somewhere else?
With a dark face, Guan Yingtang returned to her room and immediately called Meng Qinghuai.
“Hello.” The man’s voice was low and magnetic, very pleasant to the ear.
But Guan Yingtang had no time to appreciate his voice. The resentment welled up to her lips, but she forced it down. “Mr. Meng, didn’t we agree not to have a butler?”
There was a pause on the other end, then a calm reply, “Miss Guan’s daily life needs someone to take care of her.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Like last night?”
“……” Guan Yingtang was at a loss for words. “Last night was just an accident, I—”
Before she could finish, the line went dead.
Meng Qinghuai had hung up.
Guan Yingtang blinked in disbelief, staring at her phone for a long time.
In Hong Kong, if she so much as reached for the stars, there’d be a crowd fighting to help her. But now—a man actually hung up on her?
And this man was supposed to be her husband, her new husband?
Suddenly, Jiang Peiming’s words felt more meaningful. He’d said it right: there was a generational gap between mainland men and Hong Kong women.
They were unromantic, pretentious, hypocritical, and chauvinistic…
Since when had Guan Yingtang ever been treated like this?
–
Meanwhile, in the conference room on the 32nd floor of the Yawan Company Headquarters.
When Guan Yingtang called, Meng Qinghuai was in the middle of an online assessment meeting with the finance team of the Europe Branch.
The word “Heir” might sound like it meant endless wealth, but only those in this position understood: running a huge company meant endless work, endless meetings, and endless partners to meet.
Meng Songnian now gradually handed over most affairs to his children. The youngest daughter was still in school, the second child was rebellious and had no interest in the company’s business.
So all the burdens fell on Meng Qinghuai alone.
His phone suddenly died during the call, and with dozens of people waiting in the online meeting, Meng Qinghuai had no choice but to hand his phone to Xu Fu for charging.
By the time he managed to pull himself out of the mountain of financial data, it was already 2 p.m.
Xu Fu returned the phone and delivered two messages, “The butler at Jinghua Mansion called. Madam went out at noon.”
Meng Qinghuai responded with a sound, took the phone, and dialed Guan Yingtang’s number from the call log.
But not long after the call connected, the other side hung up.
The busy tone repeated in his ear. After a moment of silence, Meng Qinghuai frowned and put away his phone. “Do you know where she went?”
“To a dessert shop called Azul. Madam went there at 11 and has been there ever since.” Xu Fu observed Meng Qinghuai’s expression before continuing, “Zhi Shu said Madam didn’t seem to be in a good mood when she left.”
The large office fell silent for a while.
Meng Qinghuai didn’t speak, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose.
He wasn’t quite used to it.
But now he really did need to learn to reallocate his energy and time, to care for this person who had suddenly entered his spinning world.
After a moment, he glanced at his watch and said, “Call Hong Zong. Move our meeting to the shop you mentioned.”
Xu Fu looked at Meng Qinghuai in surprise, as if trying to confirm whether he’d misheard, but after Meng Qinghuai finished speaking, he just lowered his eyes.
Xu Fu was stunned for a moment, then belatedly understood his intention, “I’ll arrange it right away.”
After leaving Jinghua Mansion, Guan Yingtang went straight to a dessert shop called Azul.
Because the “store manager” was a famous orange tabby cat on the internet, Azul was very popular among young people in the Northern City. Guan Yingtang had already heard of the place through social media back when she was in Hong Kong.
Her mother, Ho Ling, was allergic to pet fur, so Guan Yingtang couldn’t keep pets at home.
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