Fall in love with your enemy

Continuing from the last time, I mentioned the word "family" to Meng Qinyuan and the others. We were all classmates, and could barely be called good friends, but I deliberately used the word "family" and had to find an excuse, which was that I told them in advance that I was taking care of two bored children who needed playmates.

My playmates are Meng Hangsheng and Xiang Beiyin. The situation is very promising now. It goes without saying that Beiyin is a sociable person, and even Meng Hangsheng is satisfied with him. It is so easy to arrange an engagement for us. We will be a family then.

After understanding the meaning clearly, neither side immediately smiled. Xiang Lingchen didn't say anything. Han Xiaoxiao looked at Meng Qinyuan's meaning. The muscles at the corners of Meng Qinyuan's mouth twitched. Obviously, he knew that Zening was his uncle's daughter, and the marriage would bring great benefits to Meng Hangsheng. How could he bear to let Meng Hangsheng live a life of superiority.

So he slowed down his tone and said, "Shishi, our Hang Sheng... has a short vision and poor academic performance. To be honest, he is not worthy of your sister."

"Qin Yuan, how can you be so polite when you say that? I was afraid that my Ze Ning has a bad temper and your family doesn't like him." I smiled and took a sip of tea, and my tone has been lowered since then: "Although my sister is the eldest daughter of the third room, she has been spoiled since she was a child and will definitely be the heir of the third room in the future. She is used to being the eldest, so she must have an honest and virtuous wife. I think Hang Sheng is very suitable to come into our family and coax and spoil our Ze Ning."

The direction of these words was quite clear. Han Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows and almost couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Isn't this just entering..." The last word was not explained, and Meng Qinyuan's words were stuck in his throat, but he had not made a formal decision yet.

Even though there are no tangible benefits, being a son-in-law in our family will not make your life bad, and your status may even be higher than that of the current leader of the Meng family.

I nodded, and raised my arm with tea instead of wine: "With this marriage, we will become relatives and our friendship will be further developed. As for Linjiang, our family is too far away. If we don't give the subordinates a chance, they will make trouble. But we are doing business, and we can't let outsiders flow with the benefits, right? Qinyuan, you need help. Your friends, relatives, and subordinates have regarded you as the hope of the Meng family since you were a child. How can you report to these people if you don't make a name for yourself? So what do you think about our Chengcheng being your helper?"

"But I can't make the decision about Hang Sheng's affairs. I have to go back and ask our old man first." Meng Qinyuan nodded.

I took out my phone and found a video. The scene where Meng Hangsheng's mother came and made a scene was quite useful. The videos were enough to give us a push. The moment I put the phone in front of Meng Qinyuan, a sharp and piercing roar came from the phone and echoed in every corner of the restaurant. The echo kept lingering in people's hearts. Meng Qinyuan's emotions were also brought to the peak. I thought it was enough, so I took the phone back.

"I heard that this is Hang Sheng's mother. Since we are classmates, I won't say anything hypocritical. I look down on such people, and I don't want to deal with such a shrew in business meetings in the future. Your father is old and soft-hearted. It is possible that he was instigated by others and got into trouble. Now you are young and promising. Sooner or later, the Meng family will be handed over to you, right? There are many things you can decide."

I stood up, held my stomach, went to the corridor to get a list, opened it and put it next to him.

"I asked someone to go out and check the identities of all your father's lovers and illegitimate children. You may not know some of them. I really can't empathize with you, but as someone who has also reached this level, I have to advise you that as a wealthy family, you need to maintain your face and reputation. The old man is confused, and you can't block all your escape routes. It's not good for you to kill your father with your son, kill your brother, and most of the outside world's eyes are on Hang Sheng. You should give Hang Sheng a good way out. As for the others, since they like to hide from you, let them hide. When you are in power in the future and the old man's mouth is blocked, it's useless for you to close your eyes and deny it. It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it's hard to go from luxury to frugality. Guess how these shameless people will live in the future when they are cut off from support?"

"But most of the shares of my company are still in the hands of the old man. Even if I want to fight for it, I really dare not guarantee it to you." Meng Qinyuan smiled bitterly.

I heard that this meant that it was the final push. I touched my belly and felt that the baby was excited inside, so I picked up the teacup and said, "Then I will give you a promise. In Linjiang, as long as the Meng family has any request, no matter which branch of the Fu family, the third branch will only recognize Meng Qinyuan."

Meng Qinyuan stopped drinking tea and asked someone to bring me a glass of wine, then drank it all in one gulp: "I should give you a meeting gift, but I forgot to pack it when I was at home, Shishi, please don't be offended."

This gift was obviously for Meng Hangsheng. I smiled and replied, "I have prepared my gift, but Chengcheng has a bad temper and has always been a loner. He doesn't like to get along with others. Don't be surprised. Just tell him about work. If there is anything else, just tell me and I will have a say with him."

"You and Shu Yu have a really good relationship, and you are still the one who makes the decisions for the Fu family. If our illegitimate child was like this, I think Qin Yuan and I would rush to acknowledge him." Han Xiaoxiao echoed from the side, but there was something wrong with her words, so Meng Qinyuan immediately poked her back with his elbow.

"Shishi, she is just a straightforward person and means no harm." Meng Qinyuan leaned over.

I pulled the corners of my mouth to pretend to be embarrassed, sat up straight and spoke again: "It's a pity that I didn't say this in front of Chengcheng. I can understand from what I heard that he doesn't care. I just hope that he won't say this again in the future. Although Mrs. Lu in our family made a mistake and got divorced, she was also married to my old master before. She was married in a formal way, so our Chengcheng is naturally legitimate. I don't want him to be sad after hearing some rumors. In fact, he is really soft-hearted."

"Of course, sister is protecting us. We just said the wrong thing." Meng Qinyuan responded, glancing at Xiang Lingchen who was still silent, and pulled Han Xiaoxiao to stand up again: "At that time, everything was talked about. We will leave first. You can talk to Lingchen later, but pay attention to the time. You are pregnant. After the business is over, go to bed early. I will go back to Linjiang to wait for Shu Yu's letter."

I also stood up holding my belly and watched them leave. Now, Xiang Lingchen and I were the only ones left in the empty restaurant. Looking back, I saw that he hadn't reacted yet and was staring out the floor-to-ceiling window at Bei Yin and Ze Xin having fun. I tapped his shoulder and he came to his senses. When he saw me standing, he quickly stood up and helped me up.

"Has everyone left?" Xiang Lingchen glanced at the corridor. Meng Qinyuan and the others were long gone. He smiled at me awkwardly, and his hand that was holding me was weak.

"You're not in good spirits, Brother Chen—" I patted him on the back of his head like I did in school: "Have you been dancing too much? I think you're not as energetic as a pregnant woman like me."

"I don't have the time to go. I'm at work." He answered weakly, glancing out the window from time to time. He didn't feel better until I signaled with my eyes to the people outside to take Ze Xin and Bei Yin away. He turned around and looked at me absent-mindedly.

I smiled bitterly, "Don't worry, I've taken care of all of Beiyin's schedules for the next two days. She'll be with Zexin and won't get lost. You look distracted, so come with me to the riverside. You'll wake up after some fresh air."

Xiang Lingchen nodded happily, and we arrived at Yihe River not far from the hotel. This area was reserved by the hotel, to put it simply, it was the back garden. In order to ensure my safety, my second uncle closed the entire hotel for three days, and only our three families were allowed to enter and exit. So this place was even quieter at night, and only the other side of the river was bustling with lights and wine. I walked slowly, holding my stomach, and all the way I saw Xiang Lingchen, who was listless and worried.

"I heard you are getting married?" I asked first.

Xiang Lingchen seemed to have been shocked before he reacted. He was much more polite than before. He nodded and chuckled, "Yes, the wedding date is this summer. Her name is Zhu Nanxiang, which means blessing."

"I remember the famous Zhu family was from... Yudu?"

"Well, she is the cousin of the boss of that family, and she is from the most powerful branch."

"That's great. Why didn't you bring one with you this time? Let's get to know each other. Why, do you still want to keep a beautiful woman in your house?"

"What? What are you thinking about?" Xiang Lingchen smiled and shook his head, but he felt tired after smiling for a while, so he sighed: "Actually, I don't know her. She is not in the country and I can't make an appointment with her."

"Ah?!" I exclaimed in surprise. I knew every word, but when they were put together, I couldn't put them together as a couple about to get married. I bit my lip, puzzled: "You have never met each other?"

"No." Xiang Lingchen was even more embarrassed, his emotions spreading like fog, instantly dragging down his whole body: "Our parents arranged our marriage last winter. She followed the scientific expedition team to Antarctica for research before that. We did chat twice on the phone. The first time she told me her personal information and medical history, and the second time was the last time. She told me she would be back in May. If we can cancel the engagement, it would be the best. If not, we both have to accept our fate and get along well. Who knows, it might be true love?"

I thought back to my last life, but unfortunately I had no memory of the direction of this marriage. Gao Xinci might know, but I couldn't ask him, so I just kept silent and sighed: "Didn't your father ask for your opinion on this matter?"

"He did ask me on my 21st birthday if I wanted a share of the family company. I said yes, and he told me there would be a price to pay. I didn't think too far ahead at the time, thinking he wouldn't hurt me, right? Maybe it was just a test. I had been hoping for him to look back at me for so many years, so I agreed. As a result, in December last year, he gave Bei Yin and me 15% of the shares respectively, and also gave me the legal status of the company and a wife I didn't know."

"I originally thought it was just a matter of feelings..." The voice became smaller and smaller. I looked up at Xiang Lingchen. The many words I had prepared in my heart to convince him could not be uttered, and I could only sigh.

"It's nothing big actually. I expected it to be like this since... my mom died and my dad married a stepmother not two months after that. So don't feel sad for me. Just tell me if you want to tell me something. I don't like everything about the Xiang family, but I don't hate them either. It's just that I really can't make the decision about Beiyin's affairs. Our old man is so stubborn that he would never let Beiyin marry into the family even if it means both sides die." Xiang Lingchen shrugged.

"Of course I didn't want to marry into Beiyin's family. Different families have different conditions, otherwise Zhi Qinyuan and Xiaoxiao wouldn't have left at that time. I just didn't expect that you knew more than I did..." I stopped, and I really couldn't say the word "pitiful".

"So I think what Qin Yuan said is right. I really envy you and Shu Yu. You two can put aside your grudges and jointly support the eldest branch of the Fu family. In fact, Bei Yin has been very good to me. In the Xiang family, my father had long forgotten about me. The only thing he thought of was giving me as a gift. Not to mention my stepmother. After I graduated and went home to live, I often saw the three of them walking side by side in front of me. It was so warm. I felt that they were a real family. Bei Yin would sometimes turn around and look at me. He was still young and had no ill intentions, but I always felt that it was a provocation. He easily took away my home and the love that should have belonged to me."

"So when I was little, I often bullied him. Beiyin would hide from me and cry to his mother. His mother didn't dare to scold me directly, so she whispered in my father's ear. My father became more and more annoyed with me, so I ran away from home and lived with my grandparents. Later, I lived in the school dormitory and spent a lot of money to numb myself. But then my grandparents passed away one after another, and I had to go home. Beiyin matured early, and I don't know why, maybe he was really kind, he started to protect me."

"No matter who he is with, he will rush over to get close to me when he sees me, and secretly hide delicious food for me. If dad and stepmom do anything bad to me, he will rush out to stand in front of me. So now, I can't really say I hate him, but I really can't like him either." After saying this, Meng Qinyuan lowered his head again and looked at the wide, rushing river in the distance.