"It's nothing much."
Song Huaizhi looked at Meng Chengliang, seemingly a bit dejected. He slowly began, "I was born into a merchant family in the south of the Yangtze River. But because our family had a bit of wealth, we were targeted by local hooligans who had connections with officials. Then..."
As he spoke, the smile on Song Huaizhi's face faded. He pursed his lips, as if forcing himself to continue. "The elders in my family had no choice but to send me to the border with a loyal servant, so that I could have a chance to survive. It's just that the loyal servant passed away a few days ago, so..."
Song Huaizhi's words were veiled, but they didn't seem insincere. Instead, he sounded like he was sad about the past. He slightly lowered his eyes, and his long eyelashes cast shadows on his eyelids, hiding the emotions in his eyes.
Meng Ruyi, just like Meng Chengliang, had already filled in the blanks in her mind with a story of a wealthy young master whose family was ruined by corrupt officials and who was forced to come to this small town and live incognito.
She took out a handkerchief and offered it to Song Huaizhi. But the next moment, her hand paused, and the handkerchief almost slipped out of her hand.
[LMAO, Song Huaizhi really entertained me today. He's such a good actor!]
[Half - true and half - false. Song Huaizhi comes from a noble family in the capital. It's so far from the south of the Yangtze River. He's just making things up because the Meng family doesn't know. Oh my god, no wonder he's the villain. The more I think about it, the scarier it gets.]
[No wonder the male and female leads almost failed in the end. Song Huaizhi is only in his teens, but he's so scheming. Who can outwit him?]
[It's really funny. Why are the whole Meng family so naive? They're being tricked into tears by Song Huaizhi.]
[Let me laugh first. Fishy's dad, a big tough guy, is already on the verge of tears. Hahaha. Is this what they call the tenderness of a tough guy?]
From a noble family in the capital? Meng Ruyi knew that Song Huaizhi's background must be extraordinary, but she never expected that he came from the imperial city thousands of miles away.
No wonder he was so capable, far surpassing anyone she had ever met! He was also evasive when talking about his background, as if he was afraid of something.
Meng Ruyi took a deep breath in her heart. When she turned her head, she saw the glint of tears in her father's eyes.
Meng Ruyi: "..."
"Miss Meng, is this for me?"
Seeing Meng Ruyi holding the handkerchief still, Song Huaizhi said gently to her, "Thank you for your concern, Miss Meng."
After saying that, he calmly took the handkerchief and casually put it in his waist.
Meng Ruyi suspected that Song Huaizhi had noticed that the handkerchief was embroidered in the Sichuan style, which was so expensive that Meng Ruyi usually only dared to keep it and never used it. She would just take it out and look at it from time to time.
This was a birthday gift from her mother!
"Fishy." Meng Chengliang was an honest and burly man. His words were not as delicate as Xu Fanglian's, but he still tried to change the topic. "Learn more from your Brother Song. Look, Brother Song is only a few years older than you, but he knows more than I do."
"You're too kind, Uncle." Song Huaizhi smiled shyly. "Fishy is still young, but she's clearly very smart and calm in times of trouble."
Meng Ruyi found that she couldn't resist Song Huaizhi's praise, especially when the young man looked at her with a glimmer of a smile in his eyes. He was as gentle as a neighbor's elder brother, and his good looks made him even more handsome.
"It's okay." Meng Ruyi touched her head shyly, then avoided the smile in Song Huaizhi's eyes and said, "Brother Song, you've worked hard."
Seeing that the two got along well, Meng Chengliang smiled happily. "Song, since you can handle the ledger now, how about following me around for a while? In a few days, your aunt and I will figure out a way to get you a household registration and pay you a monthly salary."
The Meng family lived in a town on the border. Although it was more stable than the northern and western borders, there was still some illegal human trafficking. It wouldn't be difficult for the wealthy Meng family to get a household registration for Song Huaizhi.
Meng Ruyi didn't know that Meng Chengliang and Xu Fanglian had tried to thank Song Huaizhi with three hundred taels of silver, but he had refused.
Then Meng Chengliang personally sent the silver to Song Huaizhi, leaving him no chance to refuse.
Looking at the father - daughter pair with bright smiles on their faces, Song Huaizhi felt as if a gentle spring breeze had passed through his heart, causing ripples.
...
In the following days, Meng Ruyi had a tough time. Every day when she got up, she had to learn about the ledger from Song Huaizhi and various other things from the teacher Meng Chengliang had hired.
Fortunately, she wasn't fully recovered yet, so she could still catch a break for the time being.
A new family had moved in next door. They came quietly. Meng Ruyi suppressed her curiosity and didn't go to take a look, but her eyes always involuntarily drifted in that direction.
Seeing that she really couldn't concentrate on her studies and was looking around while reading, with her mind wandering, Song Huaizhi silently sighed and said, "Ruyi, if you really can't study today, how about I take you out for a stroll?"
"Great! Great! Great!"
Meng Ruyi didn't expect that Song Huaizhi would offer to take her out. She was so excited that she dropped the book and stood up, almost tripping over the chair.
[The daily life of childhood sweethearts. Why is the perspective from the villain Song Huaizhi's side much more peaceful than the other one? I love this slow - paced feeling!]
[Can we change the script? I want to see the childhood sweethearts. I don't want to see Song Huaizhi go back to the capital to cause trouble!]
[Fishy is so cute. She's completely under Song Huaizhi's thumb! She has this air of a little ditz!]
The recent bullet comments were quite boring and didn't have much valuable content.
So Meng Ruyi just glanced at them occasionally and then continued with her own business.
"Let's go." Song Huaizhi steadied her. "Let's go tell your aunt, and then I'll take you out."
"...Let's not tell her. Anyway, Mom won't blame you."
Meng Ruyi admitted that she felt guilty and didn't dare to let Xu Fanglian know that she hadn't studied hard again.
"No." Song Huaizhi glanced at her, his eyes cold. Meng Ruyi instantly became as silent as a quail with its neck pinched.
Song Huaizhi asked Lianqiao and learned that Xu Fanglian was in the front hall. So he took Meng Ruyi there.
Unexpectedly, when they reached the corner, they heard voices of conversation coming from inside.
There was a guest? Great! Then they could just slip out with Brother Song!
Before Meng Ruyi could be happy, Song Huaizhi gently grabbed her sleeve and walked forward.
Just as they stood at the threshold, Meng Ruyi was almost startled into screaming by the overwhelming bullet comments.
What's going on!
Meng Ruyi stood still, staring straight ahead. Her fingernails dug into her palms, and she wanted to turn around and run.
[Gu Ling! The young general! One of the male leads! Why is he here?]
[Ah! My Gu dog. Why was Gu dog so cute when he was a kid!]
[So that map is really that important. Gu Ling is here too?]
[Wow! Gu Ling came here from the capital with his mother? So pitiful. Doesn't that mean he's separated from the female lead?]
One of the male leads!?