Only after his figure disappeared did she turn back.
A middle-aged woman beside her smiled and said, “Young lady, that’s your boyfriend, right? It’s wonderful to be young.”
Meng Ting nodded with a blushing face.
When she got home, she ran into Shu Yang, who was about to go out.
Shu Yang changed his shoes and explained, “Shu Lan hasn’t come back yet.”
Vocational high schools usually dismissed classes ten to twenty minutes early, so it was unusual for Shu Lan not to be home by now. Meng Ting made way for him, and Shu Yang grabbed a jacket before heading out.
Meng Ting watched the young man’s hurried manner without saying a word.
It was the same in her previous life. Shu Lan often came home late, and Meng Ting, fearing that Uncle Shu would scold Shu Lan, would be even more anxious than Shu Yang to go find her. In this life, Meng Ting would never do such a thing again, but she also had no right to stop Shu Yang from going.
After all, Shu Yang was Shu Lan’s older brother.
Shu Yang hadn’t been out long when he encountered Shu Lan returning.
Shu Lan was coming back from a date, carrying a bag.
Shu Yang immediately flared up, “How late is it? I thought you weren’t coming back!”
In the past, Shu Lan would at least feel guilty and act coy, calling him “Brother” and admitting her mistake. But today, she just sneered, “What’s it to you? If you’ve got the guts, go control Meng Ting. Ha! Guess what juicy gossip I saw today. She’s hooking up with Jiang Ren from our school. It’s the same puppy love. If you’ve got the guts, tell Dad about my situation. Then her early romance won’t be kept secret either.”
Shu Yang’s face darkened, “What nonsense are you talking?”
“Nonsense? I’m not talking nonsense. If you don’t believe me, go ask her. Don’t provoke me. If Dad finds out about my affairs, she won’t get away with it either!” Shu Lan shook off Shu Yang’s hand, her heart full of resentment.
Why? Why did heaven give Meng Ting all the good things?
Even when it came to boyfriends, she could only be with a second-rate rich kid like Zou Sheng, who was still ambiguous with other girls. Shu Lan had to carefully please him, and even the bag in her hand was only bought after much coaxing and persuasion.
And Meng Ting? Her boyfriend was Jiang Ren, the young master of Junyang, the sole heir to the Jiang family enterprise.
That whole stretch of development zone by the sea was Jiang family territory, incredibly wealthy.
Moreover, the way Jiang Ren treated Meng Ting like a precious treasure was infuriating to watch.
Shu Lan didn’t dare provoke Jiang Ren, but she could go all out. Let Uncle Shu know, and see how his most obedient stepdaughter was also in puppy love. Then Meng Ting would be in trouble too!
Shu Yang stood dazed on the spot. After Shu Lan had stomped upstairs, he finally came to his senses and went to knock on Meng Ting’s door.
Meng Ting removed her English listening headphones and opened the door for him.
Shu Yang didn’t know how to say it. He remembered Jiang Ren, that reckless, fierce, and hateful youth when enraged. The incident at the airport left a deep impression on Shu Yang. He struggled to say, “Meng Ting, Shu Lan told me you’re with Jiang Ren. Tell me the truth, is he forcing you?”
Meng Ting looked into his eyes and shook her head, “No.” She smiled, “It’s my own choice.”
Shu Yang looked at her in disbelief.
From childhood, boys who liked Meng Ting were as numerous as fish crossing a river, but Meng Ting always rejected them directly. When they were younger, Shu Lan even envied this, secretly telling him how many people liked her sister.
Meng Ting never had too deep an interaction with anyone, even Xu Jia upstairs. Shu Yang knew he liked Meng Ting, but Meng Ting only politely kept her distance.
He never imagined there would be a day when he’d see her smile and say she was willing to be with a boy.
That gloomy, hot-tempered boy who had knelt to tie her shoelaces.
Discussing romance with one’s stepsister was indeed an awkward affair. Meng Ting didn’t want Uncle Shu to know because she was worried about his health. She wasn’t afraid of punishment or beatings, but Uncle Shu’s heart would ache and worry.
Shu Yang was at a complete loss about what to do.
The fairy-like girl he had seen as a child had grown up one day and could now like someone.
Meng Ting said, “I’ll tell Uncle Shu myself.” And she would promise her father that she would study hard and conduct herself well. She was with Jiang Ren only because she wanted to grow up alongside him. To help him become gentle and kind, and to prevent him from walking down the path of murder in the future.
Shu Yang remained silent. Just as Meng Ting had no right to interfere with him, he had no right to restrict Meng Ting.
Meng Ting closed the door.
The house had no air conditioning, and the windows were open. The sky was inky blue. Outside the window was a cool breeze and bright moon, dispelling the summer restlessness and bringing a refreshing coolness.
In reality, the second semester of my sophomore year passed incredibly quickly. To keep up with the curriculum, teachers went through box after box of chalk.
The bronze medal winners of the dance competition would receive a prize of 30,000 yuan, which would be transferred during the summer vacation.
However, because the classrooms were now equipped with air conditioning, this summer was finally not so unbearable.
Uncle Shu left early and returned late. Meng Ting was afraid he might be doing some high-radiation experiments, so she reminded him every day. Uncle Shu smiled wryly, “Alright, alright.” Originally, he had considered it, but his daughter was so filial.
Although the probability of accidents in dangerous experiments wasn’t high, everyone wanted to live well. Safety was paramount, so Shu Zhitong was willing to listen to Meng Ting.
Every day before leaving home, Meng Ting would insistently check all the electrical appliances in the house.
The fire that broke out in their home during her senior year had happened one winter when the heater’s circuit shorted out, causing an overload and resulting in a fire.
Although Shu Yang thought her behavior was unnecessary, he still helped her check.
Shu Lan had become increasingly unrestrained these past few days, as Shu Yang could no longer control her.
One day, she simply didn’t come home all night. Shu Zhitong thought she was sleeping, and only Shu Yang was anxiously worried.
However, Shu Lan’s clothes were getting increasingly expensive. She even brought back several designer summer dresses.
When Shu Yang asked, she casually said, “Zou Sheng gave them to me.”
Shu Yang had a splitting headache.
After all, Meng Ting knew her limits when dating and knew she needed to study hard in high school. But when Shu Lan dated, she was never around, and she was always accepting things from others. Everyone knew there was no such thing as a free lunch; how could anything good come from coveting small advantages?
But Shu Lan wouldn’t listen to him anyway.
Shu Lan had also noticed Meng Ting checking the circuits. She watched Meng Ting for a long time before turning away nonchalantly to eat her popsicle.
The school had already implemented afternoon naps after the May Day holiday, with classes resuming at 2:30 PM.
Meng Ting was very sleepy at noon. If she didn’t nap at noon, she wouldn’t have energy in the afternoon.
On Friday, while Meng Ting was sleeping at home, Shu Lan, who had been lying in her room with her eyes closed, opened them. She stared at a light bulb in her room that had been on for a long time, her hands and feet trembling slightly.
The paper shade on it was about to start burning.
Then it would follow the wire, igniting the bedding and the solid wood wardrobe.
Her room was between Meng Ting’s and Shu Yang’s, and eventually, the fire would spread to their rooms.
However, the door could be opened at any time, and they could escape.
Shu Lan watched blankly as the paper turned yellow and charred, feeling like screaming. This was… this was harming people. She had thought about the consequences many times last night, but that rich and gentle man had comforted her, “Will you be in debt if the house burns down? No, you won’t… Trust me, the card I gave you has enough money for you all to live on.”
“Your father and brother won’t be in danger. Your father will be at work at that time, right? You can call your brother out of the house before the fire becomes uncontrollable, then lock the door from the outside. Can the lock be opened from the inside? Yes, of course. However…”
“What if there’s an iron chain outside?”
“You’ve always been dissatisfied, right? You don’t like her, but you have to call her sister.”
The man gently kissed her forehead and smiled, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you away. Trust me, okay?”
Shu Lan watched as sparks began to appear. Summer fires spread quickly. She gritted her teeth, her heart racing, hands and feet cold, as she went to knock on Shu Yang’s door.
Shu Yang was also napping. After opening the door, he asked her, “What’s wrong?”
Shu Lan lowered her head, her voice trembling, “I got into trouble at school. I’m scared. Brother, can you come with me for a bit?”
Shu Yang frowned but finally nodded.
They went downstairs together. Shu Lan then said, “Wait, I forgot something. Brother, wait for me a moment.” She ran back upstairs and took the chain from her bag, securing it tightly.
Shu Lan wasn’t fearless while doing all this.
If Meng Ting had still been as kind to her as before, she could have stayed in the fire and let Meng Ting save her. She used to be so good, always protecting her and getting her out. Then she wouldn’t be suspected. This wasn’t foolproof, but that man had promised.
He said someone would come to help, and no one would die.
Once Meng Ting lost her pretty face, everything she had and was about to have would be gone. Jiang Ren surely wouldn’t be interested in a woman covered in burn scars.
In a daze, Shu Lan locked the door tightly, then without daring to look inside, ran downstairs.
Jiang Ren had made a lot of progress. In the last weekly test, he scored over 70 in Chinese, just a bit more effort and he’d pass.
He Junming was incredibly impressed, “Damn, no way! Ren-ge, you’re awesome!”
Jiang Ren laughed and cursed, “Get lost, you brat.”
He Junming said, “You want to go to university, huh?”
Jiang Ren grunted in agreement.
“But even if you study for a lifetime, you can’t catch up to your little treasure’s grades, Ren-ge. How will you attend the same university?”
“Shut your damn mouth before I kill you.”
“…” Honestly, you can’t even take a joke now?
“Ren-ge, have you thought about what major you’ll choose?”
Jiang Ren twirled his pen, “Architecture, maybe.”
He Junming felt that people in love were indeed different, looking mature and responsible no matter how you looked at them.
Their school also required afternoon naps, but a group of them had never been in the habit of napping obediently from childhood. It happened to be Friday, and He Junming fanned himself, “Ren-ge, let’s go play some ball.”
Jiang Ren looked up and saw the newly opened Italian ice cream shop across the street.
He Junming also froze for a moment, then remembered last year, “Last year when we made that bet, I won, and Tan Zi and He Han were supposed to buy, but Ren-ge went to buy ice cream for Meng Ting. Damn, Ren-ge must have had feelings back then!”
Jiang Ren curved his lips slightly.
Yes, and then she didn’t eat it.
His temper was so bad then. He thought she despised what he sent, so he snatched it back and threw it in the trash.
“No ball game.” He walked into the ice cream shop and bought several beautiful, exquisite handmade ice creams.
Afraid the ice cream would melt, Jiang Ren kept the air conditioning on in the car as he drove over.
That night, he had wanted to say that he believed her. He was willing to believe. His Ting Ting was so good, she was practically the only grace the stingy God had given him in eighteen years.