Upon hearing this, Xiao Huimin glanced at Old Master Xiao and then nodded. “Then you stay here for now. I’ll come to see you when I have time.”
“You!” Old Master Xiao was clearly angered by Xiao Huimin and Ning Zhou’s reactions. He glared at Xiao Huimin and then turned to look at Meng Ting, but unfortunately, Meng Ting only showed him the top of his head. His brow furrowed repeatedly, and then he coldly snorted, “Do as you please.”
After he spoke, Meng Ting looked up at Old Master Xiao again, his expression now filled with confusion, “Why is Grandpa still angry?”
Although he had refused the request to return to Beicheng, hadn’t Yan Sui also said they didn’t need their help anymore?
As Meng Ting asked, he tilted his head to look at Yan Sui. Meeting his concerned gaze, a brief daze flickered in Meng Ting’s eyes. He suddenly felt that it was quite unnecessary for his emotions to be affected.
The Xiao family had never raised him, but he also felt no sense of belonging there. They were originally even.
Meng Ting didn’t wait for Old Master Xiao’s response. He turned his head to look at Ning Zhou and apologized even more sincerely, “Mom, I was wrong earlier. I shouldn’t have avoided you.”
Although it was just his subconscious reaction, it had ultimately hurt Ning Zhou. As Meng Ting spoke, he turned sideways and gently hugged Ning Zhou. “Mom, please forgive me, okay?”
However, Meng Ting’s words made Ning Zhou feel even more distressed. A wave of sourness washed over her heart and nose, but she managed to hold back her emotions. She softly replied, “Okay,” and couldn’t say anything else.
She and Xiao Huimin owed Meng Ting too much. They had finally had a chance to make up for it, but now it had ended like this.
There was no need to continue the conversation further. Yan Sui took Meng Ting to the study. Old Master Xiao glanced at the unusually silent Xiao Huimin and Ning Zhou. He couldn’t stay in the living room either, so he returned to the guest room where he had rested the previous night.
***
Xiao Zi’ang and Xiao Zimo had gone out to play with Gu Lang and the others again for a few more hours last night. They woke up after ten o’clock in the morning. By the time they arrived at the Yan residence, it was almost lunchtime. When they heard that Ning Zhou would be staying at the Yan residence for a while, they weren’t surprised at all. They knew how much Ning Zhou couldn’t bear to part with Meng Ting, and they just looked at Xiao Huimin with a bit of sympathy.
Besides Ning Zhou who stayed behind, Old Master Xiao and the others were taking a flight back to Beicheng. After lunch and a short rest, they would head to the airport. They had come happily, but now they looked somewhat somber when they left.
Yan Sui and Meng Ting saw off Old Master Xiao and the others, then hurried to the hotel where Xu Shumin had stayed overnight to bid him farewell as well.
Xu Shumin didn’t know Yan Sui’s plans, nor did he know Old Master Xiao’s reaction. He only assumed that the Xiao and Yan families were joining forces to deal with the Yán family. Before leaving, he finally spoke to Yan Sui, “Don’t worry, the Xu family won’t get involved.”
Yán Yunsheng had been his good friend since childhood, but Xu Shuyin was his beloved younger sister. Her grandson, even if he couldn’t protect him, he wouldn’t stand against him either.
Yan Sui nodded slightly upon hearing this. “Thank you.”
Yan Sui held Meng Ting’s hand as they watched them leave. Once the car was out of sight, he turned to look at Meng Ting and then led him into their own car, heading towards the Yan Corporation building. Yan Sui still felt uneasy about leaving Meng Ting alone; he needed to keep him within sight to feel at ease.
In the car, Meng Ting leaned against Yan Sui. He wasn’t sleepy, nor did he feel like talking. Yan Sui, however, kept glancing at Meng Ting from time to time. Meng Ting’s eyes remained clear and calm, but when he was silent and quiet, even Yan Sui couldn’t guess what he was thinking.
But Meng Ting had taught Yan Sui a very good habit: when he couldn’t understand or guess, it was best to just ask.
“What are you thinking about?”
Upon hearing this, Meng Ting finally glanced at Yan Sui. “I was thinking about you.”
Since Yan Sui was right beside him, this ‘thinking’ naturally wasn’t about missing[mfn]這個“想”自然不是思念 (zhè ge “xiǎng” zì rán bù shì sī niàn): T/N: 想 (xiǎng) is a phono-semantic compound of phonetic 相 (xiàng), to look, appearance + semantic 心 (xīn), heart, mind. The phonetic component has a reference as well to the act of thinking, hence “visualizing” in one’s own mind. 想 (xiǎng) means to think, to consider, to miss, to wish, to resemble. 思念 (sī niàn) means to miss, think of, yearn for, reminisce, to long for. In this case, since MT is right next to YS, he wasn’t ‘missing’ YS, but he was ‘thinking’ about something related to YS.[/mfn] him but rather about things related to Yan Sui.
“Because of me, you’re also unhappy today, aren’t you?”
Meng Ting had been reflecting and realized that his reaction earlier that morning had been a bit excessive. Yan Sui’s birthday had just passed, and it was supposed to be a time to continue being in a good mood. But because of him, Xiao Huimin was unhappy when he left, and Ning Zhou, who stayed in Haicheng, was actually also unhappy.
Yan Sui, who was beside him, hadn’t shown it either, but the fact that he had brought Meng Ting along indicated that he was worried about him.
“No,” Yan Sui shook his head upon hearing this. Even if his emotions had been affected, it wouldn’t be because of Meng Ting. His hand gently caressed Meng Ting’s cheek. “Because of you, I feel at ease and happy.”
Meng Ting trusted Yan Sui’s words the most, and this time was no exception. He looked at Yan Sui, gently nodded, and finally a slight smile appeared on his face. “When we’re together, every moment should be happy.”
“You’re right,” Yan Sui smiled at Meng Ting, then leaned over, his lips landed on Meng Ting’s forehead.
***
When they arrived at Yan Sui’s office in the Yan Corporation building, Yan Sui got to work while Meng Ting lay on the sofa with his tablet, playing.
He opened the app he had finally managed to register for last time, and the homepage was trending with posts about him. The product launch event of Tingya Company had been live-streamed online, and some bloggers had even clipped the segment where Meng Ting was in the lab creating a fragrance for Yan Sui. Overnight, the clip had been shared tens of thousands of times, and the comments had quickly uncovered Meng Ting’s identity.
However, Meng Ting hadn’t really been trying to hide it. He had called Yan Sui’s name directly, and Yan Mingya had explicitly said it was a birthday gift he wanted to give to his lover. Yan Sui’s final words at the press conference not long ago were still fresh in everyone’s minds, so it was clear that this person could only be Yan Sui’s wife, Meng Ting.
Connecting the two events, those who had once called Meng Ting a waste felt even more embarrassed. Growing up in that kind of environment and still becoming the chief perfumer of an emerging fragrance company was a real achievement, something not just anyone could do.
“I didn’t apologize last time, but I have to speak up now—my conscience hurts too much! You’re not a waste; I am.”
This was the second top comment. The first one was even more bizarre.
“I feel like I’ve been seduced… Madam Yan’s eyes are so beautiful, I want to snatch the person from CEO Yan.”
“Madam Yan has such long legs…”
“Madam Yan looks so well-behaved, I want a wife like that too. I’m a woman.”
This was probably an era where looks mattered above all else. Last time, Yan Sui was the one being admired online; this time, it was Meng Ting’s turn.
Meng Ting’s gaze scanned downwards, and he found that his new follower count was 99+, and the comments were also 99+. Meng Ting didn’t bother to count the exact number, but he could feel the netizens’ crazy admiration.
After pondering for a while, Meng Ting sent a message, “You can’t snatch me away.”
Even the Xiao family couldn’t take Meng Ting away, let alone these people he didn’t know at all. After Meng Ting sent this, he thought that after those people knew, they wouldn’t post comments about snatching him away anymore, but unexpectedly, within just ten minutes, the comment that kept getting likes was still ‘snatch’.
“I didn’t want to snatch him originally, but now I do. Come on, let’s form a group!”
Meng Ting looked at his phone, his cheeks puffing slightly. He finally realized that those people were probably just thought it was fun and were teasing him.
Meng Ting felt he had reacted promptly, but by the time he finished scrolling through the comments on his phone, more than an hour had passed. His reaction time was long enough to circle the solar system.
Suddenly, his waist was embraced as Yan Sui sat down beside him with a glass of water, also taking a look at what was making Meng Ting’s expression so rich.
Meng Ting glanced at Yan Sui and quickly explained, “They’re teasing me…”
Yan Sui raised an eyebrow and took a closer look at Meng Ting’s phone, still somewhat puzzled by the logic behind the comments.
Then Meng Ting explained again, “They know I’m yours and can’t be snatched away, but they’re deliberately saying it to tease me. I won’t bother with them anymore.” Because there were too many comments, he couldn’t reply to them all anyway.
Upon hearing this, a clear smile appeared on Yan Sui’s face. He pulled Meng Ting closer and kissed his lips, then took out his own phone, downloaded the same app, and registered an account.
However, like Meng Ting, he also struggled with choosing a username. Most of the slightly normal ones were already taken.
In the end, he settled on an extremely long name: ‘The Man Who Raises Dahuang and Maoqiu with Meng Ting’ Sure enough, no one would ever choose such a long and peculiar name.
He followed Meng Ting, and Meng Ting, finding Yan Sui’s account, also followed him back.
“My wife is right @IAmMengTing1111.”
Meng Ting tilted his head to look at Yan Sui, leaned over and kissed his cheek, before replying, “Mm.”
Then he also reposted Yan Sui’s Weibo post, “Mm. @TheManWhoRaisesDahuangAndMaoqiuWithMengTing / My wife is right @IAmMengTing1111.”
With that, Meng Ting happily closed the app. However, by now, Meng Ting was also considered a minor celebrity online. His sudden post, along with the extremely long name ‘The Man Who Raises Dahuang and Maoqiu with Meng Ting’, made it obvious without any guessing that it was Yan Sui.
Yan Sui’s follower count skyrocketed, and at the same time, a topic started trending, initiated by Tingya Perfume Company.
#bestloveYanTing# This topic suddenly gained traction. Behind a high-quality perfume was also a beautiful love story. Yan Mingya was very good at seizing opportunities. This ‘Yan Ting’ perfume, which already had good sales, saw an explosive increase in online purchases.
At the same time, Tingya Perfume Company’s reputation also soared. The company, which had originally planned to officially launch its stock in July of the following year, could now accelerate the process. Tingya Perfume Company was not far from Meng Ting’s goal of ‘earning a lot of money’.
***
Yan Mingya’s company was thriving, which made Yan Shuya in the capital of F Country increasingly restless.
Yan Zhengbo had asked them to submit their results by their twentieth birthday. Speaking of this, Yan Shuya had a little over half a year more than Yan Mingya, but now, just half a year later, Yan Mingya had already left him far behind.
On the other hand, Yu Meixuan remained relatively calm. She had never expected Yan Shuya to surpass Yan Mingya. The difference in their upbringing was so significant that it was impossible to catch up in just two or three years. She had agreed to this demand solely to allow Yan Shuyu to be recognized by the Yan family.
Losing this time didn’t matter much; there would be many more opportunities in the future. The person she had high hopes for was Yan Mu himself. He was the eldest son of the Yan family in F Country, and compared to Yan Mingya, he was more qualified to inherit everything from the Yan family in F Country.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 080.1″]
如火如荼 (rú huǒ rú tú): (literal) (to have) a mighty army like wildfire; a daunting and vigorous momentum; flourishing; magnificent; unstoppable; in full swing; intense and exciting; vigorous; fervent; blazing; thriving; heated; bustling; originally referred to the grandeur of the army, but is now used to describe the vigorous momentum and enthusiastic atmosphere of a large-scale action. From a statement in Guoyu describing how spectacular the Wu army was: 萬人以為方陣，皆白裳、白旂、素甲、白羽之矰，望之如荼。左軍亦如之，皆赤裳、赤旟、丹甲、朱羽之矰，望之如火。右軍亦如之，皆玄裳、玄旗、黑甲、烏羽之矰，望之如墨。, Ten thousand warriors form a phalanx [in the middle], with white clothes, white banners, white armours, and white arrows, and they looked like cogon spikes. The army on the left also wore like this, with red clothes, red banners, red armours, and red arrows, and they looked like fire. The army on the right also wore like this, with black clothes, black banners, black armours, and black arrows, and they looked like ink.
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