The atmosphere in the Yan residence has been great ever since Meng Ting arrived. Yan Manjia initially thought she wouldn’t be able to adapt, but it turned out she was fine. Even though the three men in the family were just busy with their own things, and she didn’t feel lonely at all. Besides painting, she had Dahuang and Maoqiu keeping her company.
Picking up the paintbrush again was somewhat difficult, but painting was something she loved to do, so those difficulties were nothing. She looked at her freshly completed painting and finally revealed a satisfied smile that was uniquely hers.
The person in the painting is none other than Meng Ting. He is bending down, gently caressing the flowers, and then inadvertently lifting his gaze over. His appearance is too beautiful, but his own demeanor is quite pure. Yan Manjia captured that essence, making the painting appear unique.
She excitedly left the Yan residence with the painting, intending to choose a beautiful frame to mount it.
But when she went there, something unexpected happened. She met her painting teacher at the frame shop. He looked at her painting and strongly recommended that she submit it for a competition. Although it wasn’t an international competition, it was quite well-known within the industry in Xia Country.
Yan Manjia was very hesitant; she had planned to keep this painting to give to Meng Ting as a birthday gift.
“Isn’t it better? You can give it to him after you’ve won the award; it’s more sincere.”
Yan Manjia’s teacher was very optimistic about her back then. Now, looking at her paintings again, the spirit in them hasn’t faded; instead, they have become even more flavorful. He pulled Yan Manjia aside to talk at length, expressing his strong approval.
Yan Manjia was also a bit tempted. Besides painting, she really didn’t have any other notable skills. Now that she had given up on love, she wanted to make a name for herself in her career, but painting was different from other things; it required inspiration and talent, and she really couldn’t guarantee that she still had those.
She took out her phone and called Meng Ting, “Ting Ting baby, I painted a picture of you. I want to enter it in a competition. Do you think it’s okay?”
Actually, Yan Manjia was quite clever. If she called Yan Sui, she wouldn’t even need him to say anything; she already knew his answer—absolutely not. But Meng Ting…
“Sure, Auntie, jiayou[mfn]加油 (jiā yóu): (literally) to oil; to lubricate; to refuel; (figuratively) to refuel to accelerate; to hit the gas; to make extra effort; to work hard; to cheer someone on. Jiayou or Gayau is a ubiquitous Chinese expression of encouragement and support. The phrase is commonly used at sporting events and competitions by groups as a rallying cheer and can also be used at a personal level as a motivating phrase to the partner in the conversation. The phrase is often described as “the hardest to translate well” to English, but has the literal meaning of to “add oil” in Hong Kong English.[/mfn].” Meng Ting replied.
“Mm,” Yan Manjia’s eyes reddened slightly, “I’ll do my best, thank you.”
Yan Manjia then had a chat with her teacher, and after understanding a bit more from the competition organizers, she made a request: to participate only in the competition and not in the subsequent exhibition. Clearly, she had a bit of confidence in her own painting.
She is not sure about the gold medal, but she definitely has the qualification to participate in the exhibition.
When Yan Manjia returned to the old house, her entire demeanor changed significantly. In the next few days, she became particularly busy. Going to bed early and waking up early, she found something she enjoyed doing. Yan Manjia’s changes weren’t particularly drastic, but they were definitely moving in a positive direction.
The three men in the family, including Zhen Han, were all very pleased with her change.
***
The atmosphere in the Yan family is getting better and better, but that is not the case in the Meng family. After all, Meng Jiang and Meng Bo are still too inexperienced. They can still be considered excellent in the school environment, but they are still too immature in business dealings. They make mistakes one after another, and in the end it’s their subordinates who take the blame.
For a time, many people dared not do any work for them. Unfortunately, they were were assigned to them by Old Master Meng. On the surface, they appeared respectful, but there was no one who truly put their heart into their work. Given this situation, it would be strange if Meng Jiang and Meng Bo could get things done properly.
In this way, the reputation of the Meng family’s second house for producing two useless individuals suddenly spread.
In contrast, on Meng Qi’s side, his position hasn’t changed, and his subordinates are basically familiar with their tasks. These days, he has been quite diligent, working hard and being attentive to his duties. After returning home, he has been reviewing various business proposals, and he even went on business trips to Beicheng for two consecutive weekends to attend a seminar, which has been very beneficial.
In a short period of time, it was truly impossible for him to achieve significant results in performance. However, even if he still appeared mediocre, he was much better than Meng Jiang and Meng Bo, who were constantly causing trouble. One thing goes down and the other goes up. The second house were out of luck, and naturally, the main house was looked upon more favorably.
Li Yifei was already somewhat unable to contain herself. She had met with He Zhen from the He family several times and had Meng Yigui and Meng Yide meet with him as well. The discussions went relatively well, but the He family still lacked the ability to intervene in their internal matters without alarming Old Master Meng.
But Meng Jiang and Meng Bo relied on the He family and finally accomplished something before Old Master Meng’s face turned even darker. Old Master Meng originally preferred Li Yifei and favored the second house more. At the company’s summary meeting, he praised Meng Jiang and Meng Bo, and just like that, the company’s trend changed again.
“How can the old man in your family be so biased!” Gu Lang, having heard Meng Qi recount the recent events in the Meng family, couldn’t help but make a remark. The Meng family’s main house, being directly involved, should feel it even more acutely.
Indeed, when Meng Qi found out, he was very angry. In the past, when he was angry, he would run to bars to flirt with beauties to vent his frustration. But now, after getting angry, he can calm down without feeling dejected or impulsive. There are people behind the second house who help them, and he has someone too.
Yan Sui sat in the chair, seemingly not hearing their conversation. The wine glass in his hand was spinning, but since he came in, he hadn’t taken a single sip. Ever since he learned that Meng Ting was too sensitive to alcohol, he wouldn’t drink if he could avoid it.
“Let’s wait another couple of days and see; the real show has just begun.” Yan Sui said as he placed the wine glass on the table, his brow slightly furrowing. “In the future, if you need to meet me for something, don’t make an appointment at the bar; the smell of alcohol, Meng Ting doesn’t like it.”
Meng Ting’s nose was too sensitive and when he smells something unpleasant, although he wouldn’t say anything, he still frowned uncomfortably.
Gu Lang and Meng Qi both shuddered upon hearing this, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread. While others have twenty-four filial husbands, Yan Sui is definitely a forty-eight filial husband, treating Meng Ting with such meticulous care that it makes outsiders feel it’s beyond belief.
“It was my oversight,” Meng Qi admitted. For now, he couldn’t let anyone know about his connection to Yan Sui, so he could only arrange to meet Yan Sui through Gu Lang, and then, following Gu Lang’s usual practice, they would meet at the bar.
“But what kind of good show is it?” Meng Qi also wanted to wait, but he really hated Old Master Meng’s favoritism and couldn’t help but want to know as soon as possible.
However, Yan Sui still didn’t plan to directly tell Meng Qi. He gave him a hint, letting him investigate on his own, “If you want to know, just look into He Zhen’s private life.” He Zhen is definitely one of the tumors in the elite circle of Haicheng.
The relationship between the He family and the Yan family has come to this point for a reason, and Yan Sui also has his own reasons for this. Aside from his grandfather, Yan Sui doesn’t really want to interact with the other members of the He family. The estrangement between the two families is actually what Yan Sui hopes for; he doesn’t want to clean up the mess for He Zhen.
***
Some things, no matter how well they are covered up, can’t withstand a thorough investigation. After Meng Qi found out the truth, he was thoroughly disgusted.
From an appearance standpoint, He Zhen absolutely seems like an elegant young gentleman, but once you peel away that facade, inside is a thoroughly disgusting beast. His first wife was supposedly tortured to death by him. He belongs to that kind of person whose peculiar preferences have become so twisted that they can endanger lives.
This happened over a decade ago. How it was suppressed back then is unknown, but He Zhen was sent abroad for a while. After returning to the country, he became much more low-key, but he didn’t completely change; he just learned to cover it up better.
It is absolutely impossible for Li Yifei to send herself to be ruined by He Zhen. She couldn’t completely control outsiders to prevent future incidents, so it had to be Meng Qin from the family! Meng Qi took the information and found Meng Qin, who was still dreaming of becoming the young wife of the He family.
“Big brother! Big brother, save me, save me!”
Those women in the photo are so miserable. Although Meng Qin is an illegitimate daughter, her living conditions have never been poor. She simply couldn’t imagine being treated like that by He Zhen. She grabbed Meng Qi’s hand, her body trembling.
In her heart, she knew very well that she was the one who had escaped from He Zhen. Even if she returned to the Meng family, she wouldn’t be able to avoid Li Yifei’s scrutiny.
Meng Qi looked at Meng Qin for a long time, then nodded, “Then let’s go according to my plan.”
Meng Qin is ambitious, but she is also able to see the reality more clearly Meng Xiao. She is also jealous of Meng Ting, but she has never thought of competing for Yan Sui. The first time she met Yan Sui, she knew he was not a man she could handle. If she were to confront him, she would only humiliate herself. She doesn’t want to waste her energy on such futile endeavors.
But at the same time, she was unwilling to become the cannon fodder[mfn]炮灰 (pào huī): cannon fodder; soldiers who are forced to participate in an unjust war and die. Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated by government or military command as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where combatants are forced to fight against hopeless odds (with the foreknowledge that they will suffer extremely high casualties) in an effort to achieve a strategic goal.[/mfn] that Li Yifei would sacrifice at will. She was busy with various social events, actually looking for a way out. However, she didn’t expect that Li Yifei wouldn’t give her that time; when she thought she could be useful, Li Yifei showed no mercy at all.
No one in the Meng family knew that Meng Qi had met Meng Qin, and Meng Qin didn’t show any unusual behavior as required. Even when Li Yifei sent a car to take her to He Zhen’s apartment, she obediently went.
But the subsequent events were no longer under Li Yifei’s control.
The police broke down the door and rescued Meng Qin, who was almost choked to death, and took the obviously mentally unstable He Zhen back to the police station. A passing reporter even captured the scene, and the next day, all the major newspapers in Haicheng extensively reported on it.
The He family, which was originally considered low-key, once again made a splash. Old Master He didn’t make any moves to bring the person back, and even the rumors about Old Lady He only mentioned that she was ill and recuperating. Instead, it was He Wan, who had been expelled from the He family, who was working for He Zhen.
With both eyewitness and physical evidence, and He Zhen also foolishly taking drugs, the women he had previously harmed are all coming forward to testify. It’s clear that He Zhen’s prison sentence is inevitable.
As for Meng Qin, she was sent abroad for recuperation as agreed, given a sum of money by Meng Qi, and for the time being, Li Yifei couldn’t direct her anger towards her.
This matter doesn’t seem to have a big impact on the Meng family as a whole, but Meng Qin has indeed been wronged, and it was Li Yifei who sent her there. Not to mention Old Master Meng, even Meng Yide is somewhat dissatisfied with Li Yifei. No matter how ruthless they were, they would never think of doing this to their children and grandchildren who were related by blood.
Immediately afterwards, the project that Meng Jiang, Meng Bo, and He Zhen collaborated on also declared failure. Old Master Meng, who had previously been so proud and boastful, is now facing a major slap in the face. He made a decision to transfer Meng Qi back to the headquarters. Compared to his eldest son, Meng Yihang, Meng Qi is younger and naturally less experienced, so his influence on Meng Jiang and Meng Bo won’t be too significant.
He doesn’t realize that bringing Meng Qi back is easy, but sending him back again won’t be so simple.
Feng Zejiao was still grumbling about the unfairness of Old Master Meng, but Meng Qi knew that his opportunity had come.
“Don’t worry, now that I’m back, Grandpa won’t have the chance to regret it anymore.”
Feng Zejiao closed her mouth, gently nodded, and after a moment, a slight smile appeared on her face. “Hmph, my grandson is naturally capable, unlike those two over there… they’re completely out of luck.”
They couldn’t get anything done right. The only project they managed to handle well ended up with the partner getting into prison. Isn’t this just the worst luck ever?
Meng Qi didn’t say anything. They weren’t unlucky; it was all designed by Yan Sui. Of course, Yan Sui never intended to let He Zhen off; this was just killing two birds with one stone.
Nowadays, he truly respects Yan Sui; among their generation, no one can match his intellect.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 065.2″]
自取其辱 (zì qǔ qí rǔ): to bring humiliation on oneself; bring disgrace on one’s own head; ask for an insult; invite humiliation; to bring disgrace upon oneself by doing something excessive.破門而入 (pò mén ér rù): lit. to break the door and enter; to enter a place by force or illicit means; to break in; to break the door down and enter (idiom); burst door open; break into houses; break into; to break down a door and enter. It usually refers to the act of thieves.
一石二鳥 (yī shí èr niǎo): lit. one stone, two bird; to kill two birds with one stone; to do one task and finish two or more goals; to hit two birds with one stone; it is now used to describe an action that achieves two goals. Wasei kango (和製漢語), orthographically borrowed from Japanese 一いっ石せき二に鳥ちょう (isseki nichō); itself a calque of English kill two birds with one stone.
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