Su Lenghan's expression suddenly grew cloudy. He'd been too busy these days. So busy that he had forgotten what he felt when he started to like her. As for Meng Xinyan, she had yet to contact him, and neither had she answered any of his calls. His emotion had changed from worry to disappointment, then to unenthusiasm, and finally numbness.
It seemed as though everything had changed. It was different from the beginning, fraught with problems that could not be articulated easily.
Looking at the confusion in Su Lenghan's eyes, his mother sighed softly. "Child, you're outstanding and intelligent, but I fear that you can't judge matters of the heart clearly."
His mother did not feel good about the current situation. Back then, that girl Yun Bixue had come over and begged her, and then tried to find her again afterward. However, she had avoided seeing Yun Bixue for the sake of the Su family.
In the past, Yun Bixue had won the respect of Lenghan's father. However, he had done nothing to help the situation of the Yun family's bankruptcy. That girl Yun Bixue was sure to be harboring some ill feelings.
"Could it be that mother wants me to go and find Yun Bixue?" Su Lenghan shook his head. He believed that the only thing he felt towards Yun Bixue was guilt, and not much—if any—in the name of love.
His mother shook her head. "What I meant to say was that since you have already chosen Miss Meng, then you should uphold the responsibilities of a man. You need to understand her and love her. Those are all things that women pursue in life."
After thinking for a moment, Su Lenghan said, "Mother, there's also a portion of women that pursue a wealthy life, isn't there?"
His mother's expression changed to shock. Looking intently at her cold son, she asked, "Lenghan, why do you have these kinds of thoughts?" Her shock came out of worry that her son may never be interested in a relationship ever again. However, the Su family only had a single heir—Su Lenghan. She had been hoping to have a grandson soon and was very much invested in her son's marriage.
Su Lenghan rubbed his tired forehead and sat down beside her. He said, "Mother, I've heard that the Meng family has plans to arrange a marriage with Tian Jing City."
"Lenghan, rumors shouldn't be trusted. Miss Meng does have feelings for you. From where I stand, if you don't fight for it or put in any effort at all, Miss Meng will feel neglected. Women have their pride too, so if that's the case, she will naturally turn to someone else. If you treat her better, she will willingly want to be with you."
That day, Su Lenghan sat and listened to his mother talk for a long time. Afterward, he drove to the Meng family home himself and waited for Meng Xinyan at the Meng family's door.
Every day he would wait at the gates of the Meng family house, only to be told by the guard that Miss Meng wasn't at home. Yet he kept waiting for an hour every day. After an hour, he would drive away. He would go there come rain or shine.
After a week, Meng Xinyan almost ran out herself. She saw her love standing outside, and she desperately wanted to dive into his embrace.
"Xinyan, you must hold back. You see, Mother was right all along. You can't treat men too well. Just look at him now, waiting for you every day. However, this is hardly enough. There needs to be more trials for him." Chen Pei hadn't expected Young Master Su's patience and ability. Regardless of his background, he was an outstanding individual, and he was rich as well. However, everything he had paled in comparison to Tian Jing City. No matter how affluent Ning An City was, it couldn't compare to Tian Jing City.
If her outstanding daughter could somehow be connected to Tian Jing City, the Meng family would no longer be just another ancient family of Ning An City. When the time came, she would be extremely influential.
Thinking this, Chen Pei started to feel good about herself. All this was done to set the stage for her son. No matter how excellent a daughter, they will eventually marry into another family. The ones who inherit the Meng family will be the sons, and naturally, she had to give more attention to her son.
However, Meng Xinyan was oblivious to her mother's schemes. Her mind was only on Su Lenghan. She pressed her hand against the window glass, wanting to have a clearer look at him. She really missed him.
"Mom, I want to go out. It's raining outside! I must go."
"Xinyan, listen to Mother, don't go out. Wait for one more week. Just one more week. After another week, I won't say anything regardless of what you want to do. I'll also let your father help the Su family."
Meng Xinyan naturally had no second thoughts. She had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and everyone doted on her. She listened to everything her mother said and believed in her words.
Not much later, Ning An City's newspaper reported, "Young Master Su expresses his love for Miss Meng. Regardless of rain or shine, he stands waiting for his belle each day... Their engagement has turned to little more than rumors... Miss Meng is secretly meeting with a rich young master from Tian Jing City... The Meng family has plans for a marriage with a rich young master from Tian Jing City."
Once this news had been broadcasted, it caught the public's attention once again. Recently, the headlines had been all about the Su family. People had started to forget about what happened to Miss Su, but after the broadcast, everyone's attention turned to the Su family again.
Those who were secretly in love with Young Master Su whispered that Meng Xinyan was despicable. Those on the side of Meng Xinyan said that she was a goddess who deserved much better than Su Lenghan. There were even some who guessed that the Meng family were snobbish and had started to look down on the Su family.
Su Lenghan crossed the street wearing a pair of sunglasses and bought a newspaper. After looking at the headline, he pursed his lips slightly. The sunglasses covered his eyes, and his expression couldn't be discerned clearly.
Zhao Wei, Su Lenghan's personal secretary, said angrily, "Young Master Su, all these news reporters have too much time on their hands! All they do is report these things with zero value or substance."
"No matter, regardless of what they say, they are entitled to say it. Put the new batch of clothing from the Su family company on the shelves. This ongoing trend will have much a better effect than putting up advertisements."
"Yes." Zhao Wei couldn't help but be impressed at Young Master Su. As a businessman, he did indeed have the sharpest mind. Since Young Master Su had taken over the Su family company, no matter how many crises they were met with, the Su family company was able to withstand them. On the contrary, their business was actually expanding gradually, so much so that they were now almost an international enterprise.
Furthermore, under Young Master Su's deliberate control, the Su family company's stock value had also raised tremendously.
As for Meng Xinyan, who had been waiting with all her heart, she had not seen Su Lenghan for a second week, and instead saw the now-trending news headlines. Her expression grew very ugly. "What is the meaning of all this?" she demanded, slamming the newspaper angrily onto the desk.
Chen Pei also had a sour look on her face as she said, "These news reporters really don't know when to stop! They even dared to talk about us, the Meng family!"
"There are certain things that you don't know, Madam. Young Master Xie is in charge of Ning An City now, and he has given ample freedom to the news outlets and the media. As long as they have photos, they will dare to talk about anything."
In the meantime, Meng Xinyan was rushing to go outside with a reckless abandon.
"Xinyan, where are you going?"
Meng Xinyan had left without any hesitation and hadn't bothered to answer Chen Pei's question.
At a cafe somewhere.
Meng Xintong entered Ya Jian's room wearing a hat. "Miss Yun!"
"Meng Xintong, you've come. Please have a seat." Meng Xintong was Meng Xinyan's elder sister who shared a father, but her presence was hardly—if at all—felt in the Meng family now.
"Miss Yun, I've come to ask a favor from you. Please help me cut ties with the Meng family." She was desperate enough to find Yun Bixue for help. She knew that the only one who could help her was Yun Bixue.
Yun Bixue lightly stirred the coffee in her cup with a spoon, and then said calmly, "Meng Xintong, you've done well this time, much to my satisfaction. However, I'm curious as to why you want to leave the Meng family. From what I know, they don't ask much of you."