After seeing Li Yun leave, Meng Ruyi led Zhang Yunyun to sit at the table where the two had just talked and told the servant to remove the screen. "Not bad," Meng Ruyi thought of the question-and-answer session between Li Yun and Song Huaizhi just now. It was evident that the latter had good character and talent. She turned to Zhang Yunyun and asked, "What do you think?"
Zhang Yunyun kept a straight face, but a faint blush crept up on her earlobes. She tucked her hands into her long sleeves and rubbed her palms constantly to calm herself down.
"He's really quite good," Zhang Yunyun heard herself reply in a rather detached tone, as if her body and mind were separated. "But I'd like to observe him a bit more."
Meng Ruyi saw through her friend's insincerity and couldn't help covering her mouth and giggling. Her eyes curved into crescents, and her clear irises sparkled with a gentle smile.
Hearing her laughter, Zhang Yunyun felt annoyed and embarrassed. Seeing the teasing look in Meng Ruyi's eyes, she suppressed her uneasiness and said, "I've made up my mind for now. How about you?"
"Don't tell me you're not interested in Song Huaizhi?"
Meng Ruyi didn't expect Zhang Yunyun to suddenly ask this. Her smile froze on her face and then faded away bit by bit, replaced by a look of confusion.
The room suddenly fell silent. You could even hear a pin drop. Meng Ruyi lowered her eyes, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyelids, hiding her thoughts.
She could hear her own heartbeat and felt the emotions welling up in her heart.
Just a wall away, Song Huaizhi should have pushed the door open and walked in. But after he heard the question Zhang Yunyun asked, he instinctively stopped in his tracks and stood there in silence.
He knew that eavesdropping was not a gentleman's behavior. He shouldn't have done it. But somehow, Song Huaizhi felt as if his feet were filled with lead, pinning him firmly to the ground.
【Ahhhhh so exciting! Zhang Yunyun is really the perfect wingman. She finally asked the question I've been dying to know!!!】
【Tell us! Hurry up, Ruyi! I'm dying of curiosity!!! (Crazy)】
【Damn! This is so exciting! Song Huaizhi is right outside the door listening! How could such a big scene happen!】
【I'm even more excited! Hurry up, Ruyi, tell him you love him!】
Huh? Song Huaizhi is outside the door?
Meng Ruyi suddenly caught her breath. All her thoughts were in a jumble. She looked at Zhang Yunyun helplessly and then pretended to be calm and said, "Don't joke with me like this!"
Zhang Yunyun glanced at her and didn't bother to expose Meng Ruyi's bravado.
After hearing this, Song Huaizhi didn't know what to think. His mind suddenly became a mess. He unconsciously touched the brocade pouch on his waist.
...
After Zhang Yunyun stayed at the Meng Mansion for a few days, she moved back to her uncle's house. Xu Fanglian visited her uncle and finally decided to hold a small banquet in autumn to officially adopt Zhang Yunyun as her goddaughter.
Gu Ling visited the Meng family more and more frequently. As the day of departure approached, Gu Ling looked like an eggplant beaten by frost. He seemed listless, and there were even two big dark circles under his eyes.
Seeing Gu Ling like this, Meng Ruyi also felt a rare sense of melancholy about parting. So she was much nicer to him.
Actually, Gu Ling was a nice guy. To be honest, Meng Ruyi thought that the Gu Ling in the book was almost a different person from the one in front of her. In the book, Gu Ling went through great changes and went to the border alone. He stumbled and grew up in the battles and became that almost perfect and paranoid male protagonist.
And the Gu Ling in front of her was also good. He grew up under the teachings of General Gu and Mrs. Gu. Although he usually seemed to be innocent, in fact, he was not as gentle as he appeared on the surface. Gu Ling really regarded them as friends.
Meng Ruyi attributed this to the fact that she and Song Huaizhi had saved Mrs. Gu and Gu Ling's inexplicable pride. He looked down on others but felt lonely, so he only opened his heart to them.
Compared with the one in the book, the current Gu Ling was more sincere as a teenager. It was hard for Meng Ruyi to maintain an aloof and cold attitude towards him.
Song Huaizhi was different. He had experienced too many reincarnations, so Gu Ling's face was already engraved in his mind. He got annoyed just seeing him. So it was already a great improvement that Song Huaizhi could stop showing a cold face to Gu Ling.
The cicadas were chirping outside the window, making the drowsy atmosphere in the room a bit more irritating. Gu Ling came to find Song Huaizhi and Meng Ruyi, but unexpectedly, they were having a class. So he had to sit aside with a book with a long face.
When they had studied enough, Meng Ruyi let out a sigh of relief. Turning her head, she saw Gu Ling lying on the table, sleeping soundly with a defenseless face that actually looked a bit cute.
Seeing Meng Ruyi's gaze stay on Gu Ling with a faint smile on her lips, Song Huaizhi frowned instinctively and said to Gu Ling, "Gu Ling, is the bed in the Gu Mansion too small?"
Hearing Song Huaizhi call his name, Gu Ling instinctively raised his head. Seeing the coldness in Song Huaizhi's eyes, his sleepiness disappeared instantly.
"Ahem." Realizing that he had fallen asleep, Gu Ling coughed awkwardly twice to clear his throat. His mind was spinning rapidly, trying to find a reasonable excuse for himself.
"Pfft." Meng Ruyi saw the red marks on Gu Ling's face from sleeping and burst out laughing.
【Hahaha what kind of constitution does Gu Ling have! Seriously, all of us together can't make Song Huaizhi as angry as Gu Ling can!】
【Is Xiao Song angry? Could he be jealous? Hehe———】
【Scream——— Xiao Song looks so cute when he's jealous and his face is dark. Gu Ling, keep annoying him!】
【Gu Ling: Everyone just loves to watch the fun. You don't care about my life, do you?】
Seeing the bullet comments suddenly become lively, Meng Ruyi couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. She hadn't seen the gloating bullet comments for a long time. Now, it seemed inexplicably fun.
"No, no," Gu Ling saw Meng Ruyi laughing and also curved his lips. He forcibly changed the topic and said, "I'll have to leave in three days."
"So soon!" Meng Ruyi was shocked. Only then did she realize that almost a month had passed since Gu Ling last said he was going to leave.
It was really...
She felt a bit complicated.
On the one hand, Gu Ling, who could barely be considered her friend, was about to leave. On the other hand, Gu Ling's departure meant that she was getting closer to that strange plot, which gave Meng Ruyi an indescribable sense of suffocation.
The air became sticky. The just happy atmosphere was swept away and replaced by melancholy.
"Yes," Gu Ling continued Meng Ruyi's words. There was also a bit of reluctance on his face. "After this departure, we won't be able to see each other for at least two or three years."
"But don't worry!" Gu Ling changed the subject and said, "I'll definitely write to you. When you come of age, I'll surely send you a gift."
Meng Ruyi was both amused and helpless. Looking at him, she said, "Just focus on your own business. You're going to the border. How can you still have the mind to think about these trivial things?"
"How can these be trivial things!" Gu Ling retorted, completely unaware of Song Huaizhi's gradually darkening eyes beside him.