Meanwhile, in the Meng Residence.
Li Caiyi groggily crawled out of bed and forced herself to the bathroom. After resting for a night, her pain and fatigue didn't vanish and only doubled. The adrenaline must have finally subsided, making everything come back at her at once.
"Ugh."
Even raising her arm was difficult. It was so sore she felt like detaching it from her shoulder.
However, Li Caiyi persisted and washed herself up to make herself more presentable. She had to thank Meng Renshu and Qin Xiangjun and then go home as soon as possible.
Staying in the Meng residence unsettled her. She tossed and turned in the bed for a long time before she could finally sleep at dawn.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she still looked horrendous, with sunken cheeks and dark circles under her eyes. Still, at least it wasn't as horrible as before.
Opening the wardrobe, she saw a set of clean clothes and took them without hesitation. She knew it was prepared for every guest room in this house, thus seeing no qualms in using it herself.
Right after she finished changing, there was a knock on the door.
"Xiaoyi, it's me." Meng Renshu's gentle voice could be heard from the outside.
"Yes. Please come in."
Meng Renshu emerged from the door with a food tray in his hands. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Li Caiyi had already gotten up from bed and was wearing casual clothes. In the next moment, a trace of disappointment flashed across his face.
"Are you going to leave so soon?"
"En. I feel bad if I stay here and inconvenience you any longer," Li Caiyi said as she rolled her sleeves. The shirt was too big, so she had to adjust it slightly. "Brother Renshu, is Auntie already awake?"
"...Yes."
"Good. Can you take me to her? I have to thank her for letting me stay here."
Meng Renshu looked down at the tray and felt somewhat reluctant. "At least have breakfast before you go."
Li Caiyi already noticed what he brought when he came in but thought it was kind of awkward. After all, she was only a guest, and Meng Renshu was the precious heir of the family.
If Qin Xiangjun knew about this, Li Caiyi could imagine what kind of thought would run through her mind.
And there was Meng Shuchun too. Just thinking about her loud voice so loud in the early morning gave her a headache.
"Thank you, Brother Renshu. I'm not that hungry, so I will eat after returning home. Mother and Brother Jie must be worried about me."
"I already explained everything, and they aren't worried as long as you are with me."
"That's not the point." Li Caiyi rubbed her forehead before finally deciding to stop beating around the bush. "You know I can't stay here. Please don't make this difficult for me."
Meng Renshu bit her lips, unwillingness written all over his face. He was so excited to spend the peaceful morning with her that he even got up early to prepare this. The servants dissuaded him from entering the kitchen, but he insisted.
After several failures, he was finally able to make something decent, but Li Caiyi didn't even bother to look at it. He felt aggrieved.
Li Caiyi knew the meaning behind his frown. She sighed in defeat before taking one of the sandwiches in her mouth.
The egg was half-cooked and very salty. Not to mention, she could taste some eggshells in it too. One bite and anyone could tell that this was made by an amateur.
Did he make this by himself?
Li Caiyi was stunned.
"How is it?" Meng Renshu looked at her in anticipation.
"... It's delicious."
He beamed up like a child who had just got complimented before pulling Li Caiyi to sit on the chair. "Then, you can finish all of this. I can ask the chef to make it again for me later."
Li Caiyi was dumbfounded and a bit helpless looking at him smiling foolishly in front of her, but she couldn't bring herself to say no. He had been a great help to her yesterday, after all.
She thought staying for a bit more wouldn't hurt, so although the saltiness of the sandwiches almost made her tongue numb, she continued to eat.
Meanwhile, Meng Renshu was on cloud nine. He never knew that watching someone eating what he made could be this fulfilling. It gave him a bittersweet feeling inside.
Recalling how he often deliberately skipped his meal with her just to avoid her in the past, he regretted it once again. Even though he knew she spent a lot of time and effort cooking the dishes.
"After I finish this, promise you'll take me to Auntie's place."
"Sure. Let's talk to her together."
Li Caiyi wanted to ask him if he had heard any news regarding Dai Zhiqiang when the door suddenly slammed open.
Meng Shuchun furiously stepped into the room and got even angrier when she saw Li Caiyi leisurely eating while sitting with Meng Renshu standing beside her, watching.
"Li Caiyi, do you take our house as a hotel?! How dare you even step into our house?!"
Meng Renshu clearly told everyone not to breathe any words to his sister, but she still found out about it anyway. Meng Renshu stood in front of Li Caiyi protectively, thinking it was his responsibility.
"Shuchun, let's go out and talk about this. Don't make a scene here."
Meng Shuchun glared at him incredulously. "Brother! Why are you so blind? This girl can stay a night in our house; what's next? Will she use this as an excuse to tell everyone that she becomes something for us?! If we allow her imagination to run wild, perhaps she will think she owns the house next!"
Meng Renshu wanted to flare up, but he knew Meng Shuchun was the type that was hard when coerced but soft when coaxed. He calmly let her finish complaining before speaking, "You think too much. No one will suspect anything if she only stays over for a night. This isn't Xiaoyi's first time coming here. If you make a big deal out of this, people will become suspicious instead."
The younger girl realized there was some truth in her brother's words. She became a lot calmer than before but still kept that stubborn attitude.
"The Li often came here in the past, but they never stayed over. Besides, why are you delivering her breakfast to her room like you are her servant? Brother, don't you have dignity at all? Can't you see she is trying to seduce you?!"
Meng Shuchun's words were unpleasant to hear; he couldn't help but glare at her. "Don't get overboard with your speculation, Meng Shuchun. I thought you were smarter than this."
"Am I wrong? You always run here and there for the Li family as you owe them a lifetime debt! Father is also like that. I don't understand why you are so hung up about a bunch of leeches like them!"
Meng Renshu opened his mouth to rebuke her but was held back by Li Caiyi, who had already stood up and looked at Meng Shuchun coldly.
"I stay quiet and listen since I know my presence is unwanted. But your mouth is as uncouth as ever; I can't bear to listen anymore."
Meng Shuchun feigned an impressed look before haughtily lifting her chin. "So what if I'm uncouth? You can't do anything to me because what I said is true!"
"Even if I said nothing, do you think people are as stupid as you? I'm grateful to Brother Renshu for helping me, but that doesn't mean I will stand still hearing you speak nonsense about my family."
"See? So you DO receive help from him! You saw a benefit in staying with him, so you seduced my brother, hoping to become a phoenix rising from the ash. Well, dream on! I will never allow that to happen as long as I'm alive!"
"How often do I have to tell you that I don't have that feeling for Brother Renshu? Yesterday--"
"I don't want to hear your excuses! I can smell your ambition from far away, you shameless gold digger!"
Talking with Meng Shuchun always made Li Caiyi feel like she was arguing with an elementary school kid. No matter what she said, she wouldn't listen, and Li Caiyi 's blood pressure rose every time.
She didn't want to waste more time arguing with Meng Shunchu anymore.
"Forget it. You don't like me here, so I'll leave."
Meng Renshu held her by the hand when he saw her leaving, "Let me take you home."
The sight infuriated Meng Shuchun even more. For her, it felt degrading for his majestic and awesome brother to be fascinated with one of those hateful and scheming twins.
Just why? What's so good about them?
"Li Caiyi, if you still have an ounce of shame, stop bothering my brother already! He was injured badly last time because of you. If you want to die, then go to hell yourself. You are such a harbinger of disaster!"
"What's with this commotion?!"
A loud voice interrupted Meng Shuchun's aggressive yelling. The girl who seemed unrestrained and ready to chop Li Caiyi to death just now immediately shut her mouth and looked down in panic after seeing who had just entered the room.
Meanwhile, Li Caiyi's body was frozen in place. Her palm got sweaty, and she felt goosebumps all over her body, thinking she was in the same room as the ruthless person who had schemed for her family's demise last time.
Beside her, Meng Renshu also tensed up. He maintained his expression but subtly scooted closer to Li Caiyi to keep her safe.
With a rigid voice, he broke the silence. "Father, why are you here?"
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