Hang Meng immediately realized she might have spoken out of turn.
She startled and asked first, "I haven't asked yet, but you are Zhang Ruoshui's..."
"Family member."
Oh, that's fine then. Hang Meng instantly relaxed and said straightforwardly, "Just a few days ago, someone with the same car as yours came to have dinner with Ruoshui. I didn't check the license plate carefully and thought it was the same person. I'm sorry about that."
"That was Mu Bai," Zhang Ruoshui explained from the side.
Hearing this, Hang Meng felt even more relieved.
"Oh, him." Sheng Yuxiao nodded slightly without saying much more.
After a pause, he asked, "You're Hang Meng, right?"
Then looking at the young man beside her: "And you're Zhang Shaoyi?"
Hang Meng responded first: "Yes, yes, you..."
Sheng Yuxiao continued: "Ruoshui has mentioned you both to me."
Hang Meng's face lit up with pleasant surprise. Being mentioned to family members by a friend - that's the highest honor of friendship!
"Excuse me, I'll be taking her now," Sheng Yuxiao gave a slight nod.
"Of course, goodbye."
Shortly after Zhang Ruoshui got in the car, she received a message from Hang Meng.
[Mr. Sheng is actually so nice, quite approachable. I couldn't even process it - it was like he stepped right out of a magazine]
Zhang Ruoshui blinked. She had always said Sheng Yuxiao was nice.
Finally, someone believed her!
"What are you looking at?" Sheng Yuxiao asked.
"Hang Meng is praising your good temperament," Zhang Ruoshui showed him her chat window directly.
Then realizing this might be crossing boundaries, she pulled it back before he could see clearly.
Sheng Yuxiao hadn't noticed and simply said, "Because they're your friends."
Zhang Ruoshui nodded and reached for the seatbelt.
Sheng Yuxiao had already grabbed it and leaned down to buckle it for her.
Zhang Ruoshui looked at him and asked directly, "Sheng Yuxiao, during this year and a half you spent in Australia..."
"Yes, I was away for a long time. I'm sorry."
Zhang Ruoshui then completed her sentence: "Did you get a girlfriend?"
Sheng Yuxiao paused: "No, I don't like foreign women."
Zhang Ruoshui showed a contemplative expression.
Sheng Yuxiao couldn't help but ask, "Little Duck, what are you thinking about?"
Around people she was close to, Zhang Ruoshui hadn't changed at all except for her appearance.
She answered obediently, just like when she was little: "I'm wondering where the emphasis in that sentence is. Is it on 'foreign' or on 'women'?"
Sheng Yuxiao: "..."
He narrowed his eyes, a hint of danger flashing in them: "Xu Ruying has been gossiping about me, hasn't she? What did she say? Suspecting that I might like men?"
Zhang Ruoshui didn't speak, just stared at him.
"Fine, I get it. I absolutely won't confront Xu Ruying about this," Sheng Yuxiao said resignedly, "But don't listen to her nonsense anymore."
Though Sheng Yuxiao's face remained neutral, he had become internally alert.
Little Duck wouldn't ask him this without reason - after all, she had never seemed to think about this before.
Why was she thinking about it now?
It must be Mu Bai. A sharp glint flashed in Sheng Yuxiao's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
He continued in a casual tone:
"There are too many people in this world who just go through the motions. Some date just to release their pent-up hormones, while others simply evaluate their partner's worth..."
He emphasized the latter half slightly.
"Just the other day, Ning Heng's mother arranged for him to meet a toy tycoon's daughter. I don't know if he found it interesting. Little Duck, I certainly don't."
"The phrase 'going through the motions' doesn't exist in my life."
He had simply grown into an adult man, not become a different person entirely.
Young Master Sheng's pride was ingrained in his bones.
"What I want must be something I willingly pursue... At present, there doesn't seem to be anything like that."
No, he couldn't exactly say there wasn't.
Sheng Yuxiao paused suddenly at this thought.
After that, Zhang Ruoshui didn't speak either.
They both fell into their own thoughts, and the car cabin inexplicably grew quiet.
Fortunately, things returned to normal during dinner.
After eating, Sheng Yuxiao habitually offered to drive her home.
"No need," Zhang Ruoshui waved her hand.
Sheng Yuxiao's brows furrowed slightly, though it was hard to notice in the restaurant's dim lighting.
He leaned back in his seat and asked, "You think I can't carry you on my back like when you were little? Is that why you won't let me drive you anymore?"
Zhang Ruoshui looked at him seriously: "No, I'm mainly worried you'll work yourself to death today."
Sheng Yuxiao: "..."
He stood up, walked to her side, and ruffled her hair with his large hand.
"Let's go."
Sheng Yuxiao watched her get into the car first, then called his secretary to pick him up.
The secretary got out of the car and handed over a laptop: "This is what California sent over..."
Sheng Yuxiao didn't take it, saying, "Keep it, put it in the office tomorrow."
The secretary was stunned.
Sheng Yuxiao said lightly, "Lest I work myself to death, and some bastard tries to take advantage."
Secretary: ?
Sheng Yuxiao sat in the back seat and had closed his eyes to rest, but suddenly opened them again and said, "This car is yours now."
The secretary looked up at the rearview mirror in shock and asked, "Have you been drinking?"
Sheng Yuxiao's tone turned slightly cold: "No."
*
Zhang Ruoshui's birthday celebration was approaching, and even Xu Ji had returned to Jin City.
Ke Muning didn't come, as had been decided years ago. To maintain their cover, Zhang Ruoshui celebrated her lunar calendar birthday in China, then would go abroad for her solar calendar birthday celebration with Ke Muning, Wei Wenjuan, and others.
Hang Meng and Zhang Shaoyi also received invitations to the birthday party.
Although Hang Meng had realized Zhang Ruoshui's family must be quite wealthy since the day Mu Bai arrived in his Cullinan, she hadn't expected such a grand scale.
"Wow, the most expensive hotel in the country..." Hang Meng exclaimed, looking up after getting out of the car.
It wasn't a Western-style luxury hotel, but rather Chinese in style.
The reason it was the most expensive in the country was its location among red walls and green tiles, where every single tile was considered a cultural relic.
"No wonder Ruoshui sent us formal wear," Hang Meng said, looking around at the elegant crowd.
Just as they were starting to feel a bit uncomfortable,
Zhou Xiaoshu came to greet them: "Ruoshui might be a bit busy, so I'll help host you!"
Hang Meng immediately felt relieved, and as she glanced around, she spotted the "Mu Bai" from the other day.
Then she noticed the middle-aged man beside him...
She had seen him many times in the news, but only now noticed how similar Mu Bai looked to him.
"His father is the CEO of Wanwu Internet?" Hang Meng asked curiously.
"Yes," Zhou Xiaoshu nodded.
Hang Meng couldn't help but ask, "Can you tell me what Ruoshui's family actually does? What's her background? If it's not convenient to say, never mind."
"Well... that's actually quite complicated to explain," Zhou Xiaoshu thought to herself.
At this moment, Zhang Ruoshui appeared, and the atmosphere immediately became more lively.
Among all the glamour and splendor, Zhang Ruoshui wore not a single piece of jewelry.
"Why is she dressed so simply?" Hang Meng asked in surprise.
Zhou Xiaoshu shook her head: "You want to know what a sweet trouble is? This is it."
"Her grandfather gave her two imperial green jade bracelets, her second uncle gave her a yellow sapphire necklace, her younger uncle gave her a diamond dress chain, her aunt gave her ruby earrings... and there are gifts from others too, impossible to wear them all."
"What if she just wore one set?"
"Whose gift should she wear today? It's impossible to keep everyone happy," Zhou Xiaoshu said with deep understanding. She had witnessed it firsthand.
What she didn't know was that Zhang Ruoshui had actually tried wearing everything at once.
Xu Ji had commented that his troublemaking niece's aesthetic sense still needed correction!
Zhang Ruoshui thought about it and agreed that turning herself into a walking Christmas tree wasn't a good idea.
She touched the pocket sewn into the inside of her dress.
Inside were a cross and a Taoist yellow talisman.
These were given to her by her grandfather long, long ago, and these she had always kept with her.
After completing the birthday celebration procedures, Zhang Ruoshui went to drink water and eat some snacks by herself. This gave her grandfather a chance to catch up with his old friends properly, everyone was happy, and she didn't need to play host.
At this moment, the door creaked open from outside.
Xu Ji walked in, wearing those black-framed glasses again. This person seemed ageless, still looking like a fresh graduate just starting their career.
"Little Duck, want to see something interesting?" he asked.
