Meng Ruyi was sitting in a corner, in a daze. She was looking at a cluster of blooming, unknown flowers in front of her, looking leisurely. Subconsciously, she reached out her hand to touch the petals.
When her fingertips touched the petals, a jade - like coldness spread over. Meng Ruyi gently stroked them, and the warmth from her fingertips was transferred to the petals. The delicate touch under her hand made her absent - minded for a moment.
"Yuyu."
A gentle call came.
Meng Ruyi's hand trembled inexplicably. She subconsciously withdrew it and looked up at the young man in front of her.
Song Huaizhi was standing there. The midday sunlight was too dazzling, casting a somewhat blinding glow around him, giving him an indescribable sense of mystery.
Meng Ruyi hesitated for a moment, then patted the chair beside her and said, "Brother Song, are you also out to take a break? Why not come and sit here for a while."
"Okay."
Song Huaizhi nodded slightly, walked over and sat down beside Meng Ruyi. The brocade pouch around his waist swayed slightly with his steps, revealing the red carp embroidered on it.
Hey? Isn't this the one she gave him before!
Meng Ruyi's gaze fixed on it, then quickly shifted away as if trying to hide something, with a hasty attempt to gloss over the situation.
Song Huaizhi didn't notice Meng Ruyi's actions. He sat down beside her with a box in his hand and noticed that Meng Ruyi was looking at him nervously.
What was she nervous about?
A strange emotion flashed through Song Huaizhi's heart, a tingling feeling that started from his heart and was about to spread, but he quickly suppressed it.
"This is a gift." Song Huaizhi handed the box to Meng Ruyi gently.
"Thank you, Brother Song!"
Meng Ruyi blurted out without thinking. When she looked at the box in his hand and reached out to take it, she realized that she had squeezed the delicate petals too hard.
The light - red juice had dried on her fingertips. Instead of looking dirty, it had an indescribable broken beauty.
Meng Ruyi didn't know what was wrong with her. She was in a daze again. After taking the gift from Song Huaizhi, she took a closer look.
This wasn't the box that had appeared in Song Huaizhi's room last time.
Meng Ruyi pursed her lips. She couldn't tell what she was feeling.
She thought her current thoughts were too selfish, completely beyond the proper boundaries between the two of them.
Song Huaizhi wasn't her private property. So it was his own decision who he wanted to give the gift to. This wasn't something she should care about, let alone interfere with.
But that gift looked very special, like something for a woman. Did Song Huaizhi meet a new woman?
But...
Meng Ruyi lowered her eyes slightly, hiding a certain kind of dim emotion. Under Song Huaizhi's gaze, she opened the box.
Inside was a very beautiful hairpin, which should be a set with the earrings she was wearing now. They both looked light pink, crystal - clear in the sunlight, shining with fragmented light.
"It's a very beautiful gift." Meng Ruyi said, her voice steady with strong joy.
She took out the hairpin, looked at it carefully against the sunlight, then smiled and said to Song Huaizhi, "It's a very beautiful hairpin. Is it a set with the earrings I got last time?"
As she said this, she touched her earrings and said, "It's so beautiful. Brother Song is really good at choosing gifts."
"Really?"
Meng Ruyi didn't look at him. She stared intently at the hairpin in her hand, looking very carefully.
Seeing this, Song Huaizhi smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it, Yuyu."
"Yeah, I like it very much."
After receiving the gift, they chatted casually for a few sentences. Then Meng Ruyi watched Song Huaizhi leave, and her eyes dimmed again.
"Ruyi?"
Meng Ruyi was looking down in deep thought, looking at the hairpin in her hand, her mind wandering to the ends of the earth. Suddenly, she heard someone calling her. She was startled and looked up to see Zhang Yunyun looking at her.
"Yunyun?"
Zhang Yunyun was standing in front of her, looking at her with concern.
"Hmm?" Meng Ruyi came back to her senses and said to her, "I'm out to take a break. Come, sit here."
Seeing her pretending to be okay, Zhang Yunyun also pretended not to notice anything. She concealed the concern on her face and sat down beside her. "I'm also out to take a break."
After saying that, both of them fell into silence.
In front of them was Meng Ruyi's birthday banquet. Many people were sitting at the tables, smiling happily and watching the singing and dancing in front of them.
The hostess of the banquet was sitting here, in this unnoticeable corner, avoiding all the socializing, looking at them with an unclear expression.
Meng Ruyi didn't realize that her eyes were following Song Huaizhi, and her right hand occasionally stroked her earlobe.
Zhang Yunyun was shocked to see Meng Ruyi so absent - minded. It seemed that at this moment, she had peeked into her true feelings.
She silently sighed in her heart. Thinking about the way they usually got along, she didn't say anything anymore.
Matters of the heart were the most difficult to talk about. It was better for them to experience it themselves than to listen to what others said. If she accidentally said something, it might even ruin things.
...
Meng Ruyi didn't get tangled up for too long. She came back to her senses, chatted with Zhang Yunyun for a few sentences, and then returned to the lively scene.
When the banquet ended, it was already late. After sending Zhang Yunyun, who was staying in the Meng Mansion, back to the small courtyard, Meng Ruyi told Lianqiao and the others to leave, and then walked back slowly by herself.
The moon was hazy, and the gentle summer breeze blew on her face. Meng Ruyi felt relaxed again.
After being tangled up for a whole day, Meng Ruyi still couldn't figure out what she was so tangled about. So she decided not to think about it anymore.
Anyway, there would always be a way out!
Meng Ruyi was very open - minded.
Thinking like this, her feet unconsciously walked in a certain direction. When she came back to her senses, she found that she was already standing in front of Song Huaizhi's small courtyard.
What was she doing?
Meng Ruyi subconsciously looked around. Seeing that there was no one, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then ran towards her own small courtyard.
But as soon as she got close, she saw a figure standing in front of her door.
It was Song Huaizhi.
Before she could see the person's face clearly, the answer had already popped up in her heart. The smile on her face involuntarily widened, and she rushed towards him quickly.
"Yuyu."
Song Huaizhi was standing there, waiting for Meng Ruyi to run towards him. Seeing the sweat on the girl's forehead, he frowned slightly this time, took out a handkerchief, and naturally wiped the sweat off her forehead.
But Meng Ruyi dodged, then looked at him guiltily.
"Brother Song, do you have anything else?"
"Yeah." Song Huaizhi pursed his lips, ignoring the emotions in his heart. He took out a box wrapped in silk and said, "I haven't given you your birthday gift yet."
"Ah?" Meng Ruyi was surprised. "Didn't Brother Song give it to me at noon today?"
What was going on!?
Meng Ruyi couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes. She felt her heart beating faster, as if it was about to burst out of her chest.