Meng Ruyi felt her ears burning red. Her gaze at Song Huaizhi was tinged with a hint of shame and indignation.
[Holy crap! This twist seems to make more logical sense than the original book! The noble families aren't stupid. How could they really raise an innocent sweetheart!]
[What difference does it make whether she's an innocent sweetheart or not? Anyway, she can't last a round against Song Huaizhi. Is there any difference?]
[Little Fool Yu is going to be so angry, haha! It seems that Gu Ling's schemes won't work anymore!]
[Interesting. After the plot change, a lot of details are different. It's like everyone has grown a brain. Congratulations!]
Everyone has grown a brain?
Meng Ruyi fell silent, feeling as if she'd been stabbed in the heart.
Song Huaizhi looked at her with a smile, took a sip of hot tea, and then continued to teach Meng Ruyi.
It's good this way. Let the child learn from this setback. She'll be more careful when she meets such a man in the future.
...
In the following days, Meng Ruyi simply followed Song Huaizhi every day to look at the shops outside and learn how to check accounts from him.
Gu Ling was annoying, and he was also the eldest legitimate son of the General Who Stabilizes the State. Meng Ruyi felt that her family was ordinary. She'd better not go against him. Moreover, this guy wanted to take away Brother Xiao Song! How could Meng Ruyi allow such an all - around talent like Song Huaizhi to be taken away right in front of her?
She would definitely protect Brother Xiao Song and not let him be taken away by Gu Ling, the so - called wolf in sheep's clothing described in the comments!
So she was extremely diligent these days. She followed Song Huaizhi to check accounts before dawn and didn't return until evening. Sometimes, when learning things, she would just sit in a teahouse of the Meng family for a whole day.
Meng Ruyi's parents thought their daughter had suddenly become sensible. They were so happy that they gave Song Huaizhi another big red envelope.
"Sister Ruyi!"
Meng Ruyi had just returned home with Song Huaizhi in the evening. As they turned a corner, she heard that plaintive voice. She subconsciously sneered in her heart and paused for a moment.
Gu Ling looked at his Sister Ruyi in disbelief. The moment she saw him, she took a wary step back. Her round eyes were wide open, like a startled little rabbit. She even stepped forward to vaguely shield Song Huaizhi behind her.
Damn it! It had only been a few days. Had someone said bad things about him to Sister Ruyi?
Gu Ling was very sad, but he also knew that if he went straight up at this moment, he would surely make Meng Ruyi dislike him. So he endured his emotions and waved the invitation in his hand at Meng Ruyi. "Sister Ruyi, Brother Song. There will be a small banquet at my place in a few days. So I'm here to give you the invitations."
A polite fake smile immediately appeared on Meng Ruyi's face. She snatched the invitation and then said to Gu Ling, "Thank you, Young Master Gu. We'll definitely come."
Hearing this, a smile reappeared on Gu Ling's face. Knowing that he shouldn't be impatient, he gave Meng Ruyi a hearty smile. "Then I'll go back first! I'm waiting for Sister Ruyi and Brother Song to come to me!"
It must have been an illusion just now. Sister Ruyi took a step back definitely because she didn't know there was someone around the corner and got scared. How could it be because she disliked him? Moreover, as far as he observed, girls of this age all liked boys like him who were straightforward - tempered and good - looking.
Gu Ling felt relieved. He smiled at the two of them again and then turned away.
Meng Ruyi waited until he was far away before opening the invitation in her hand to take a look.
So rich! There was gold inlaid on the paper. Meng Ruyi even smelled a faint fragrance, which seemed to be the fragrance of osmanthus, sweet and very appealing.
"Let's go." Meng Ruyi put the invitation in her bosom and said to Song Huaizhi, "Let's go home first. Brother Xiao Song must be hungry."
Although Song Huaizhi didn't know why Meng Ruyi had suddenly changed her attitude towards Gu Ling these days and even seemed a bit wary, he was still happy about her change. So he nodded with a faint smile on his lips.
When Meng Ruyi got home, she found that the neighbors next door had sent an invitation early on. It was just that she had returned home late these days and was almost too sleepy to keep her eyes open after dinner. So the couple, Xu Fanglian and her husband, hadn't had the chance to tell her.
[What's going on? Two invitations? Can someone explain?]
[The invitation in Yu's hand should be specially sent to her.]
[Details! Why does the name on Yu's invitation look much uglier compared to the previous one?]
[I bet the ugly one must be written by Gu Ling!]
Only then did Meng Ruyi notice. She took out the invitations to compare and found this point. Her mood suddenly became complicated.
Why does it feel like Gu Ling is smart, but...
Song Huaizhi also noticed this and saw Meng Ruyi in a daze looking at the invitation. So he inexplicably felt a faint sense of unease in his heart. He said to Meng Ruyi, "Gu Ling probably didn't know, so he sent you another one. Just take it as a courtesy between friends. You can just prepare another gift for him then."
Hearing this, the complicated emotions Meng Ruyi had just had towards Gu Ling immediately vanished. She even wished she could climb over the wall and return the invitations.
Two gifts!!!
Meng Ruyi felt her heart bleeding, and her little wallet ached.
Seeing the pained expression on Meng Ruyi's face, Song Huaizhi couldn't help but chuckle softly. His gaze at Meng Ruyi also became indescribably gentle.
"Good. Huaizhi really knows how to handle things." Xu Fanglian now regarded Song Huaizhi, who had saved her precious daughter and was all - around capable, as a treasure. Naturally, she praised him again and then said, "Yu, learn more from your Brother Xiao Song."
"...Okay."
A hint of melancholy flashed across Song Huaizhi's eyes, but his smile deepened.
It seems that in the future, Ruyi will definitely dislike Gu Ling even more.
...
Although it was called a small banquet, in fact, it should be a house - warming banquet for the Gu family.
Meng Ruyi's parents had inquired about the news in the past few days and knew that this banquet was not simple. The Gu family had invited many local nobles. Some families had even sent generous gifts early on to build momentum for the Gu family.
Most people only knew that the Gu family might have something to do with the capital, but they didn't know that they were the family of the General Who Stabilizes the State. If it hadn't been for Song Huaizhi's reminder, they would probably still be kept in the dark.
So the Meng family's parents were even more cautious. They told Meng Ruyi a lot and told her to stay close to Song Huaizhi.
On the day the banquet started, when Meng Ruyi followed Song Huaizhi into the next - door mansion, she subconsciously took a deep breath and stood there in shock for a moment.
The once ordinary - looking mansion had suddenly become magnificent. As they walked in, they could see several kinds of flowers that were extremely rare in the southwest, as well as many decorations that Meng Ruyi could tell were very expensive at a glance.
Song Huaizhi calmly led Meng Ruyi behind the Meng family couple. He walked with a calm gait, showing no trace of surprise on his face.
"Whoa!"
Meng Ruyi gasped and suppressed the shock on her face.
Song Huaizhi thought she was going to say something, so he pricked up his ears. Then he heard Meng Ruyi's envious sigh, "I must be richer than them in the future."
Song Huaizhi smiled to himself in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a voice that made him uncomfortable.
"Sister Ruyi!"
Gu Ling was dressed much more nobly than the last time they met. Meng Ruyi saw the jade pendant on his waist that was obviously priceless. Subconsciously, she glanced enviously at Song Huaizhi.
I really want to rob it! Why isn't the Meng family a gang of bandits!