Dusk was still thin, scattered and hiding everywhere by the suddenly lit lights. Clear shadows trembled in the corners.
Mei Ran stepped into the courtyard gate of the Mei Residence at this hour. Old Aunt Zhou had been waiting outside. Seeing her get out of the car, she hurried forward, "Miss Ran."
Light snow began to fall from the sky. The cold wind blowing from all directions made Mei Ran's navy blue trench coat rustle. She revealed her face from her scarf, tilted her head, and coughed lowly, "Let's go inside."
Old Aunt Zhou replied with an "Ai!" and pulled her hands out of her pockets, blowing warm breath on them several times. When they were slightly warmer, she patted the snowflakes off Mei Ran's clothes. "What's this all about, making you come all the way back here? Have you eaten? Should I..."
Mei Ran entered the room, took off her coat, shook it, and hung it on the back of a chair. The room had heating, but she was still so cold her face was slightly red. Only after drinking a cup of hot tea did she feel better.
"How is she?"
"Ke!" Old Aunt Zhou said, "How else? She was taken to the hospital early in the morning. It was Old Madame Mei's servant who found her. When they carried her out, she was foaming at the mouth! It scared the old lady so much her blood pressure almost spiked!"
Speaking of it, she still felt uneasy. In recent days, the entertainment news had been full of reports. Who didn't know about Mei Mengran's current situation? Falling from the clouds into the mud in one go, anyone would find it hard. But who would have thought she would be so desperate?
Old Aunt Zhou spat again, "But she deserves it! Walk on the dark path too much, and eventually you'll meet a ghost. This time, she really kicked an iron plate. This time, the old lady is truly furious. From what I heard, she wants to pin this on your head."
Mei Ran set her teacdown heavily. "Pin it on my head?"
"Don't you know her nature?" Old Aunt Zhou snorted lightly. "Who knows what poisonous whispers Mei Mengran fed her? When the old lady came back from the hospital, her face was black. Like a dragon breathing fire, she lashed out at anyone nearby. The whole household suffered."
"She also said..."
Mei Ran's tone was faint. "What else did she say?"
Old Aunt Zhou stammered, "She said Mei Mengran became like this because of you... and that you stole her man..."
She didn't agree with the first part, but she roughly understood the reason. Wasn't it just Mei Mengran spreading rumors about Mei Ran being an illegitimate daughter first, then being dealt with cleanly by Sir? She even heard her career was blocked. But the latter part... she was utterly confused.
Mei Ran fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Has my brother returned?"
"He has, he has!" Old Aunt Zhou nodded. "He arrived home about an hour before you. Right now, the father and son are in the old lady's room, probably comforting her."
"Miss Ran," she gulped and said hesitantly, "why did you come back? Sir isn't here... you alone..."
Mei Ran was about to speak when Mei Liangzhi's voice came from outside, "Think, you're back?"
He pushed the door open and entered, carrying a chill from outside. Before he could see the people inside clearly, he turned his head and sneezed several times.
"Caught a cold, didn't you?" Old Aunt Zhou chided him with a loving glance. "Wearing so little in such cold weather, not taking care of your health. I'll go to the kitchen and make you some ginger soup. You two siblings can have a good chat."
Saying this, she went out, closing the half-open door tightly.
Mei Liangzhi sat down in a chair, rubbing his red nose. His voice was muffled. "Why did you come back alone?"
He remembered his original words were to ask her to come back with her uncle Mei Hongyuan?
The old lady's temper was immense this time. Even Mei Liangzhi felt overwhelmed and had to slip out on an excuse. Probably his father, Mei Qingyuan, was still being scolded.
Mei Ran poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of him. "I came back first to see what was going on."
Mei Liangzhi glanced at her and let out a long sigh. "Luckily, they found her early. She's not in serious trouble."
He knew some of what had happened to Mei Mengran recently, though pieced together from fragments. The old lady's exaggerated version was naturally unreliable. But from Mei Ran's expression, he knew she didn't want to say much.
Mei Ran only lightly flicked the tassels on the tablecloth, not even lifting her eyes. Her voice was as faint as water. "That's good."
"You must be tired from the long journey. Rest first. I'll go over to see how things are."
Mei Ran gave a soft "Mm."
She truly was somewhat tired, both physically and mentally.
Leaning on the table, she didn't know how long she slept, only hearing her stomach growling repeatedly. Mei Ran woke up, rubbed her eyes, and turned on her phone to check the time.
Only half an hour had passed.
Old Aunt Zhou heard the noise inside and came in with a bowl of hot soup. "Miss Ran, drink this while it's hot. Drive out the chill. I checked the weather forecast; the temperature will drop severely these days. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Mei Ran drank most of it, feeling warmth spreading from inside out. Gradually, some strength returned to her body.
"What would you like for dinner? I'll tell the kitchen to prepare in advance."
Mei Ran had no appetite and shook her head.
"How can that be?" Old Aunt Zhou said earnestly. "You have to eat something."
Finally, Mei Ran just ate a few pieces of pastry. As soon as she washed her hands, someone came to urge her, saying the old lady wanted her to come over.
"Don't go!" Old Aunt Zhou quickly blocked her path. "It's definitely no good thing."
Mei Ran put on her coat and smiled at her words. "Could she eat me?"
Old Aunt Zhou pursed her lips. "You never know." Even so, she stepped aside.
Mei Ran walked outside and couldn't help but shiver.
The lights in the grand living room shone brightly. The old lady sat expressionless at the head. Mei Qingyuan and Mei Liangzhi, father and son, sat closely on the left side. The atmosphere was indescribably serious.
When Mei Ran appeared, the old lady stood up abruptly. Her eyes, wide as longan pits, fixed tightly on the door, seemingly confirming that Mei Hongyuan was not behind her.
"Mei Ran, you've harmed Ranran so terribly. How can you act as if nothing happened? Don't you have a conscience?"
Mei Ran stood in the very center. Hearing this baseless accusation, her expression remained calm, but her hands hidden at her sides clenched quietly.
This old lady, relying on her position as the matriarch of the Mei family, managing affairs for so many years, had perfected the art of manipulation. Mei Ran's gentle and placid nature, coupled with not being her biological granddaughter, made her a thorn in the old lady's side, whom she desperately wanted to remove. This time, having finally grasped a supposed fault, and with Mei Hongyuan absent—removing that layer of restraint—she was bound to make a big fuss.
Even if Mei Hongyuan were present, with the old master's last will in hand as her trump card, this uproar would still occur, only less satisfyingly so. This young girl before her, barely grown feathers, usually speaking softly and gently, seemed like an easy-to-squeeze soft persimmon. How could she not take the chance to show her who's boss?
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"What did you say?" The old lady doubted she heard correctly.
Mei Ran repeated it clearly, word by word, enunciating each syllable. "I don't know what you mean by 'I harmed Mei Mengran so terribly.'"
"You!" As if not expecting her to retort, the old lady trembled with anger. She held onto the armrest to steady herself. "Ranran is still lying in the hospital. She almost died, do you know that?"
"Then do you know why she attempted suicide?"
The old lady sneered coldly. "You and your father left her no way out. How could she live?"
Mei Mengran had certainly mastered the art of distorting facts.
The color in Mei Ran's eyes instantly chilled. She meticulously analyzed the situation, striving to be calm and objective. After hearing it, the old lady's face indeed changed dramatically. "You're slandering her viciously! Even if Ranran did say those things, could it be intentional? Who doesn't make verbal slips? Yet you want to hold onto this minor fault of hers, refusing to let go? Even think of driving her to death? You think she's easy to bully because she has no father or mother to rely on, don't you?"
Mei Qingyuan hurriedly lowered his head deeply, like a stray dog.
The most fearsome thing was encountering an unreasonable person, especially one whose heart had long been skewed beyond recognition. Arguing further would be useless.
The old lady raised her voice slightly. "Alright, Ranran admitted she was wrong about that matter. But what about you, in order to take revenge on her, stealing her boyfriend? What's that about?"
Mei Liangzhi hadn't expected the old lady to bring up this matter and immediately showed an expression of shock.
Mei Ran took a deep breath. Somewhere in her chest felt so suppressed it was about to burst.
The old lady softened her tone again. "You two sisters, isn't it bad to hurt harmony over a man? Since Fu Shijin was the one Ranran liked first, for you to intervene midway... it just doesn't make sense, does it? That Fu Shijin, maneuvering between the two of you, having a foot on two boats... I don't understand why Ranran is so devoted to him... With your conditions, you can definitely find a better man, so why not..."
"Utter nonsense!" Mei Ran could no longer bear it. She strode forward, meeting the old lady's gaze coldly. "I think you're getting more senile the older you get!"
The old lady didn't expect her to charge forward. The words she wanted to say got stuck, and only dense, volcanic anger erupted. Her old, heavily wrinkled face swelled as if plump worms were wriggling underneath. She stood up and slammed the table forcefully. The bracelet on her wrist shattered into two halves. "How dare you speak to me like this?!"
Seeing the intense confrontation, Mei Liangzhi's first reaction wasn't to step in to stop it but to take out his phone, dial a number, and press play.
"If there were any respect-worthy points about you, you wouldn't have said what you just did." Mei Ran stood still under the light, a faint smile on her lips. "Your precious granddaughter spread rumors outside calling me an illegitimate daughter, and you call it a small misunderstanding... Also, Fu Shijin is someone whose character isn't for you to judge. You'd better ask your beloved granddaughter and figure out who the one who intervened and caused trouble really was..."
"If possible, could you please pass on a message to Mei Mengran? Tell her to give up her hopes... I love him. In this lifetime, he can only belong to me."
"You!" Not expecting her to be so sharp-tongued, the old lady was so angry she couldn't utter a word. Panting heavily, she collapsed onto her chair. "You... get out!"
Mei Ran found it amusing. "This is my home. Why should I?"
"Old Master! Look at your good granddaughter!" She covered her face and wailed. "This is how she treats me! Why didn't you take me away earlier? Save me from suffering this anger!"
Mei Ran replied calmly, "For Grandpa's sake, my father and I have respected and honored you." Her tone shifted, like a clear spring suddenly freezing. "But your actions over these years have been disheartening. Aren't you afraid Grandpa in the Nine Springs below..."
The old lady's eyes rolled back, infuriated. She threw her teacup at Mei Ran, who dodged it.
"Rebellion! Rebellion!" She knocked her head against the table with a thumping sound.
Mei Qingyuan and his son hurried forward upon seeing this. The old lady cried, shouted, and threw a tantrum even more fiercely. Servants, hearing the commotion, scurried about like ants on a hot pan. The room instantly descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, in a conference room in France.
The man seated at the head was staring at his phone intently. The people below exchanged confused glances, unsure what had happened to make this usually solemn young heir display such a gentle smile. He suddenly stood up, bowed deeply, and said in fluent French, "I apologize. I must temporarily interrupt the meeting... My fiancée is fighting a lone battle for me. I must return to her side immediately."
Amid waves of surprise—"Fiancée?" "When did he get a fiancée?!"—Fu Shijin swiftly left the conference room with long strides, speaking to his assistant trailing behind, "Book me a flight back to S City immediately."
Mei Ran was completely unaware that her cousin had streamed last night's confrontation with the old lady to someone thousands of miles away in France. After lunch, noticing the snow had stopped outside, she slipped out wearing just a coat.
Just as she stepped over the threshold, she received a call from her father.
"Yes, Dad," she kicked the snow underfoot. "I confronted her openly."
Mei Hongyuan used a very gentle and steady tone. "Don't worry. Dad will handle everything."
"Mhm."
After hanging up, Mei Ran put away her phone. A gust of wind blew over, its chill piercing to the bone. She couldn't help stamping her feet. Not enough. She hopped once. Twice...
Turning her head, she saw him standing behind her.
The man carried the air of a long journey. His black short hair was slightly disheveled over his forehead. He wore a black double-breasted overcoat over a meticulously buttoned, crisp white shirt, making him appear exceptionally dashing.
Those deep brown eyes fixed tightly on her, like deep pools with no discernible end.
"How did you get back?"
Fu Shijin stared unblinkingly at the girl running toward him. Her red down jacket fluttered in the wind. Her beige chevron-patterned long skirt danced with soft, graceful lines. Those brown leather boots kicked aside piles of white snow...
That sentence echoed in his mind: *I love him. In this lifetime, he can only belong to me.*
His heart was as if soaked in syrup—sweet and soft.
He wouldn't tell her. Watching her defend him so fervently through a screen, swearing resolutely that he was her man and no one could snatch him away, how deeply moved he had been, his eyes even growing slightly warm without him realizing.
He would never tell her.
He simply opened his arms, embraced her, kissed her, loved her.
To love her this life and forever.