Hearing this, Yi Mo slumped her shoulders, her tone tinged with a hint of regret.
"Yeah, it's really hard to find a young person who doesn't care about fame and fortune these days."
"However, Pei Jiangmu's personality is quite nice. He quietly devotes himself to creation. It's much better than those who always act pretentiously in front of the camera."
Meng Ruozhao didn't respond. Her gaze fell back on the window outside.
The neon lights on the street had lit up one by one. The warm yellow glow shone in through the glass, leaving tiny light spots on the cup wall that her fingertips had brushed against.
She recalled the warmth when Pei Jiangmu leaned on her shoulder in the warehouse just now, as well as the imperceptible tremor in his voice when he spoke.
Pei Jiangmu wanted to live a low - key life and be dedicated to art. Of course, she supported him.
But in this society, who could always live as they wished?
Moreover, his illness would surely have a great impact on his life. How could she help him?
"Zhaozhao? Zhaozhao?"
Yi Mo's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
"What are you thinking about so intently?"
"I said, how about we go to that newly opened private - cuisine restaurant? I heard their squirrel - shaped mandarin fish is very authentic, and there are also drunken crabs. It's the perfect season to eat them."
Meng Ruozhao came back to her senses and smiled at Yi Mo.
"Sure, I'll follow your suggestion. But drunken crabs are too cold. Didn't you say your stomach has been uncomfortable recently? Let's change to a hot dish."
Yi Mo was stunned for a moment, then slapped her forehead.
"Oops, I forgot if you didn't mention it! Then let's order a matsutake chicken soup. It's good for the stomach. And let's also get a portion of their signature braised pork. I saw a lot of people recommending it online."
Meng Ruozhao responded and checked the time. Then she called Ai Gao and Xu Lin.
"Guys, work is over. Let's go for a big meal together."
Pei Jiangmu had just sorted out his emotions and walked out of the warehouse.
The group tidied up the store, locked the door, and took a taxi to the restaurant Yi Mo had mentioned.
Who would have thought that they might have forgotten to check the almanac before going out. Not long after they sat down, they actually ran into Du Feng's family.
No one knew what special occasion it was today that his whole family had come out.
Du Xixi saw Meng Ruozhao and the group behind her first.
She raised her eyebrows and showed a sarcastic smile.
But soon, she put on a cute and worried expression.
"Dad, look, isn't that younger sister? I didn't expect that she still has the mood to come out for a meal after having a fight with Young Master Yan."
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Meng Ruozhao to hear.
She frowned. She didn't want to conflict with the Du family in front of her colleagues, so she tried to pretend not to hear.
She also hoped that the Du family would be sensible and stop being so annoying.
But her silence only emboldened Du Xixi.
She hadn't been living a very comfortable life recently.
Du Feng was observing the situation of the Yan family, so he had put the marriage between the two families on hold for the time being.
But he didn't really want to give it up.
After all, no matter what, the Yan family was still a big family. This small turmoil should pass soon.
To be precise, what he was observing was not the situation of the Yan family, but the situation of Yan Qiubai.
He wanted to make sure that Yan Qiubai could still hold the position of the heir of the Yan family.
So he didn't urge Meng Ruozhao to get to know new powerful people for the time being.
But the Du family's business still had to go on, so they naturally set their sights on others.
During this period, he had introduced several old men to Du Xixi.
They were all extremely rich and powerful, but also extremely disgusting.
No matter how much Du Xixi wanted to curry favor with Du Feng, she couldn't really marry these people.
Meng Ruozhao, a slut who had once been pregnant with a bastard, why did she get the attention of Yan Qiubai, while Du Xixi could only be betrothed to old men?
She was not convinced.
Since she was not living comfortably, she naturally wouldn't allow Meng Ruozhao to live comfortably either.
But for some reason, no matter how she picked on Meng Ruozhao, things always ended up nowhere.
Sometimes she even suspected that Meng Ruozhao had some kind of good luck protecting her. Why was she always so lucky?
Now that they met here, she of course didn't want to miss the opportunity to pick on Meng Ruozhao.
"Zhaozhao, why don't you even say hello when you see us?"
"I can understand if you don't want to talk to me and Changlin, but how can you act as if you didn't see Dad?"
She walked up to Meng Ruozhao's table. Her voice was still neither too loud nor too soft, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Ai Gao and Xu Lin nervously looked at Meng Ruozhao's expression.
They had never formally met the Du family. They only knew that Meng Ruozhao's relationship with her family was not very good.
But they didn't expect it to be more than just "not very good".
This woman was clearly looking for trouble.
Yi Mo knew about Meng Ruozhao's family affairs. She immediately stood up and stared at Du Xixi.
"Are you that burden? Your dad hasn't even said a word. What are you shouting for?"
"Oh, I get it. You're jealous that others don't need to be fake with their real dads, right?"
"But, sister, even if you're jealous, you don't need to make such remarks. Do you want all the guests here to drink green tea today?"
Du Xixi was so angry that her face turned green and then white. She tightly grasped the strap of her bag, and her fingernails were almost digging into her palm.
"What are you talking nonsense about! Xixi and I are real sisters. Is it wrong for me to care about her?"
"As for you, an outsider, how dare you point fingers here? Who gave you the guts!"
She deliberately emphasized the words "real sisters", but her eyes were like poisoned needles, staring firmly at Meng Ruozhao.
Meng Ruozhao put down the water cup in her hand. The bottom of the cup made a soft sound when it hit the table, instantly suppressing the surrounding noise.
She raised her eyes and looked at Du Xixi. Her gaze was as calm as a bottomless lake, but with an undeniable chill.
"Du Xixi, this is a restaurant, not a place for you to throw a tantrum."
"I don't need you to teach my friends a lesson. If you want to eat, go back to your own table."
"If not, take your 'concern' and leave. As my friend said, you really reek of green - tea vibes."
Du Feng then walked over slowly, with a fake smile on his face. He patted Du Xixi's shoulder.
"Xixi, how can you talk to your younger sister like that? Come back quickly. Don't disturb others' meal."
While scolding Du Xixi on the surface, his eyes were on Meng Ruozhao. His tone was somewhat condescending.
"Zhaozhao, you haven't been home for a long time. Since we've met, how about coming over to have a drink with Dad?"
"We're all family. There's no need to be so distant."
Meng Ruozhao twitched the corner of her mouth, showing a faint sneer.
"No need, Mr. Du. My friends and I still have things to do. We won't accompany your 'family' to catch up."
She deliberately emphasized the word "family". Du Feng's face immediately looked a bit embarrassed.
His gaze swept across the others at the table. When he met Pei Jiangmu's eyes, his face sank.
"Zhaozhao, I told you last time that you have a marriage contract. You should pay attention to your words and deeds."
"A young girl who hasn't gotten married yet, always being accompanied by a man. What does it look like?"
"Don't you know that there should be a proper distance between men and women?"