Upon entering the teahouse, they found it bustling. Different from the one Meng Ruyi often visited, there was a stage at the front. A storyteller on it was captivating the surrounding audience with his vivid narration. Meng Ruyi followed Song Huaizhi towards the private room on the upper floor.
She walked slowly and steadily. When she reached the stairway landing, she heard the storyteller raise his voice.
Meng Ruyi instinctively looked back at the stage.
The storyteller took out a fan, snapped it open with a flourish, fanned himself twice, and continued, "Who would have thought that the young lady had actually saved a fox.
"The fox had been practicing for a thousand years and had long lived in the mountains. Although it was a spirit, it was as innocent as a child. That's why an evil person took a fancy to it and wanted to take its inner core to make an elixir of immortality.
"Unexpectedly, the young lady passed by and saved the fox." Seeing the rapt audience below, the storyteller smiled proudly. "The fox and the young lady fell in love over time. Finally, the fox transformed into a human form. Using its cultivation, it became a wealthy merchant. In the end, it married the young lady in a grand wedding procession with eight sedan - bearers."
Meng Ruyi: "..." This is too absurd.
Thinking this way, she still couldn't help but prick up her ears to listen. However, the audience below were also dissatisfied and began to mutter, interrupting the storyteller's train of thought and making him frown in annoyance.
"Yuyu."
A cold voice came. Meng Ruyi looked up and saw Song Huaizhi looking at her with a gentle smile. He said softly, "Be careful. If you want to listen, I'll bring you here next time."
"No, no need."
Meng Ruyi shook her head, immediately came back to her senses, and quickened her pace forward.
Seeing this, Song Huaizhi didn't say anything more.
However...
Looking at Song Huaizhi's back, Meng Ruyi suddenly remembered their first encounter.
Song Huaizhi was dressed in rags and had injuries on his body. It seemed very cold that day, but he was only wearing a thin single - layer robe that let in the wind.
Meng Ruyi was just on her way home from the pharmacy. By chance, she lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw a shabby figure huddled in the corner of the street. She instinctively ordered the carriage to stop and ran towards the corner.
Song Huaizhi was already in a daze. Hearing the footsteps, he just looked up coldly for a moment and then couldn't hold on anymore, fainting in the cold wind.
Before returning home, Meng Ruyi took Song Huaizhi to the doctor. When she got home and saw the servant wipe Song Huaizhi's face clean, she was surprised to find that the man in front of her had delicate features, beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and a sickly look that made him look like a celestial being.
Wait!
After entering the private room, Meng Ruyi suddenly came back to her senses and instinctively looked in Song Huaizhi's direction.
Over the years, Song Huaizhi's appearance had become even more astonishing. His face had smooth and straight lines, thin and pale lips, and clear eyebrows. There was a hint of melancholy in his eyes that didn't belong to his age, making him look as beautiful as a ghost.
Ahh, stop it!
Just by taking one look, all kinds of strange thoughts popped up in Meng Ruyi's mind like water gushing out of a broken water tank.
She unconsciously covered her face. Her mind was immersed in the fragments of the story she had just heard. The more she thought about it, the redder her face became, and her eyes were moist.
She couldn't think about it anymore! Song Huaizhi was a human, not a fox spirit!
Meng Ruyi patted her face, trying to force herself to wake up. As soon as she turned her head, she met Song Huaizhi's smiling eyes.
The intense emotion in his eyes, like the scorching sun outside the building, made the tips of Meng Ruyi's ears turn red. She pursed her lips, deliberately looked away, but feeling it was too obvious, she then endured the pounding of her heart and turned back.
"Brother Song, your fan."
After wracking her brains, Meng Ruyi finally found a reasonable topic. She handed the fan to Song Huaizhi, and her eyes became more at ease.
Song Huaizhi didn't know what was on her mind. He just thought Meng Ruyi was still bothered by what had just happened, so he comforted her, "You keep the fan. It might come in handy later."
"Don't worry. I didn't take what that person said to heart." After saying that, Song Huaizhi gave Meng Ruyi a gentle smile, pulled out a chair, and said, "Sit down and take a rest quickly."
Xu Fanglian sat down. Seeing Song Huaizhi's care for Meng Ruyi, her heart was even more complicated. All kinds of thoughts finally turned into a sigh.
As long as Song Huaizhi was truly good to Yuyu without any hidden motives, she couldn't be the bad guy and break up their rare friendship.
After drinking a few pots of tea, they noticed that the restaurant was nearby.
Xu Fanglian simply asked the restaurant to send some dishes over for lunch.
"How is Yunyun these days?" After lunch, Song Huaizhi got up to say goodbye. Then Xu Fanglian asked Meng Ruyi, "Is this child okay?"
Zhang Yunyun was now also Xu Fanglian's adopted daughter. She had a good impression of this straightforward girl. Moreover, since she was Meng Ruyi's friend, Xu Fanglian would ask about her from time to time.
"She's doing okay." Meng Ruyi thought for a while and then hesitated to look up and ask, "Mother, if Yunyun has someone she likes, but her father doesn't approve of them, what should we do?"
"This..."
Xu Fanglian didn't expect that as soon as Meng Ruyi opened her mouth, she would pose a difficult problem. So she could only frown and say, "County Magistrate Zhang may be a bit muddle - headed sometimes, but he won't harm his own daughter."
"However, Brother Song thinks highly of that person. He says that person is quite talented. I also think he has good character and is worthy of trust."
Meng Ruyi refilled Xu Fanglian's tea and added as she looked at her.
"Huaizhi thinks he's good?" Xu Fanglian frowned tightly and immediately caught the key point in Meng Ruyi's words.
This child, Song Huaizhi, was much better at judging people than herself. After all, he came from a noble family. Even though he had suffered setbacks, he was intelligent and hard - working. It was only a matter of time before he made a name for himself.
So Xu Fanglian always trusted Song Huaizhi's judgment.
"Maybe we can wait and see?" she said, but then let out a deep sigh. "It's hard to say. Just because a person is talented doesn't mean he will be good to his wife."
"Character has nothing to do with talent." Xu Fanglian said, but her gaze shifted to Meng Ruyi. She reached out and ruffled her hair gently. "So I only hope you can find someone with a kind nature."
"I believe Yuyu can support the Meng family. You won't have to worry about money in the future. So you just need to find someone who is good to you. Nothing else matters."
Meng Ruyi was greatly shocked. Feeling the warmth on her head, she didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Don't you want me to marry into a high - ranking family, Mother?"
"To be honest," seeing the hesitation on Meng Ruyi's face and the probing in her tone, Xu Fanglian smiled and ruffled her hair again. She said seriously, "Your father and I are simple people, and you're our only daughter.
"If you live a good life, we'll be at ease. Marrying into a high - ranking family usually means being inferior to others. If you really marry into such a family, I may not be able to rest assured."
[Oh my god, Yuyu's mother's level of thinking is really shocking!]
[It makes my nose sour. Such a gentle mother, sob sob.]
[I'm crying. Yuyu's parents really love her so much!]
[Brother Song (smiling): It doesn't matter. I'll marry into the family.]
Meng Ruyi's eyes were already wet, but when she saw the last sentence, she almost choked.