Meng Jingwei, in her haste, pushed against Qing Muye with her right hand, but the excessive force caused her to gasp in pain, drawing in sharp breaths. "Hiss... Whoosh..."
Sensing something amiss, Qing Muye released her and immediately turned on the lights in the cinema room. That's when he noticed the crimson bloodstain on Meng Jingwei's sleeve.
His expression turned serious, and he furrowed his brow. His gaze, complex, fell upon her. "I'm sorry."
Meng Jingwei was a little stunned by his unsolicited apology.
She never expected that he, who was so aloof and high above, would ever apologize to her first.
However, before Meng Jingwei could react, Qing Muye had already exited the screen-sharing mode on his phone, turning off the inappropriate content. Then, taking her hand, he said, "Come here, let me bandage your wound."
Meng Jingwei was furious and flung his hand away. "I can handle it myself."
Barefoot, she stormed out of the cinema room, found the first-aid kit in the living room, and began to tend to her torn wound.
Qing Muye emerged from the cinema room and watched her, sitting on the sofa, clumsily trying to unwrap the bandage on her right arm with her left hand. He felt a pang of guilt.
He walked over and sat beside her, taking her right hand and reaching to unwrap the bandage on her arm.
"I can do it myself, you let go..."
"Don't move!"
Meng Jingwei struggled, but Qing Muye's sharp reprimand immediately silenced her, and she allowed the man to wipe the blood from her wound, apply medication, and bandage it.
His movements were skilled and executed in one fluid motion.
Throughout the entire process, Meng Jingwei quietly observed Qing Muye, who was focused. Only after he had finished bandaging did she say, "It's late, I'm going to sleep."
She got up, her anger returning, and went back to her room, closing the door with a bang.
Qing Muye, sitting on the sofa, clenched the bandage in his hand, gazing at the closed door, his feelings a complex mess.
That night, unlike before, Meng Jingwei did not come out to watch television. She stayed in the bedroom.
Until the next day, when Qing Muye, as usual, woke up to cook congee for her. By seven o'clock, he still hadn't seen Meng Jingwei come out. He went to knock on her door, but received no response.
Qing Muye pushed the door open and was shocked to find the bedroom empty.
She was gone.
The man at the doorway froze for a moment, then pulled out his phone and called Meng Jingwei.
The first call went unanswered; it was only on the second call that she picked up.
"Something wrong?"
"Where are you?"
"From today onwards, I will not be returning to the Night Serenity Apartment, and you don't need to know where I am. Goodbye."
Meng Jingwei hung up the phone directly, without any further words for Qing Muye.
She had initially thought that since Madam Qing had recognized her as her god-granddaughter, Qing Muye would restrain himself. However, she had overestimated that man who was worse than a beast.
To avoid being violated again, she decided to rent a place to live.
That morning, Meng Jingwei took leave from Xiao Cheng and found a one-bedroom apartment online for two thousand yuan a month. She paid the rent annually and bought some daily necessities.
This money was from the transfer Xiao Meiyan had sent her. She had spent almost all of it on renting the apartment and buying daily necessities in a single morning.
After finishing everything, it was already ten o'clock in the morning.
Exhausted, she lay on the sofa in the living room, too tired to move for a long time.
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone on the table rang.
Meng Jingwei glanced at the phone screen, where an unfamiliar number was displayed.
She picked up the phone and answered, "Hello, who is this?"
"May I ask if you are Meng Jingwei?" a woman's voice sounded from the other end, sounding somewhat familiar.
"It's me."
"Whoosh... That's great, I've finally found you. Meng Jingwei, I'm Shu Yao. Where are you? I'm in Lancheng right now."
"Uh..."
Since their last encounter, Meng Jingwei and Shu Yao had not been in contact.
Although she had inexplicably been kidnapped abroad by hiding in Shu Yao's car, she had also unexpectedly gotten to know Shu Yao.
However, Meng Jingwei felt that Shu Yao's identity was too mysterious and her background too deep, so she did not wish to form a close relationship.
"I'm at Xilin Cafe, on Minquan Road."
She lied and gave a nearby address.
"Okay, wait for me, I'll be right there."
The other party hung up.
Meng Jingwei then got up, tidied herself, went through the back gate of the community, and arrived at Xilin Cafe on Minquan Road. She ordered a cup of coffee and waited for Shu Yao at a window seat on the second floor.
Twenty minutes later, Shu Yao appeared before her.
Her style of dress was as usual: an irregular white vertical striped suit with a cinched waist, a belt at the waist, paired with black trousers and high heels. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders, exuding an aura of intellectual grace and a capable career woman.
She waved at Meng Jingwei. "Hi, long time no see."
Meng Jingwei took a sip of her coffee, looking at Shu Yao with a questioning gaze. "Why did you suddenly think of contacting me?"
"Haven't I just returned from abroad? Wait a moment, let me order a cup of coffee first, I'm quite thirsty."
As she spoke, she beckoned to the waiter beside her. "Waiter, a latte, please."
"Since we're meeting again, I should return your things."
Meng Jingwei took off the necklace that Shu Yao had exchanged with her from her neck and placed it on the table. "This is yours." She then pointed to the necklace on Shu Yao's neck. "Yours should be returned to me."
"Meng Jingwei, is this how you treat people?"
Shu Yao covered her neck with her hand. "You've already gifted me these things, how can you possibly take them back?"
Fortunately, besides her relationship with the Li family, Meng Jingwei did not have a very complicated background. Otherwise, she would have suspected that Shu Yao was approaching her with ulterior motives.
"But our relationship hasn't gotten that close yet."
"Hasn't it? We've been through life and death together." Shu Yao pushed the necklace back towards Meng Jingwei and chuckled. "To be honest, the reason I came to find you is because you have a good relationship with Qing Muye."
Shu Yao candidly revealed her true intentions, showing no intention of hiding anything from Meng Jingwei.
Meng Jingwei looked at her suspiciously. "Who exactly kidnapped you?"
The fact that they could hire mercenaries indicated that it was no simple matter.
"Can... can I not say?"
Shu Yao asked.
Meng Jingwei remained silent, but she shook her head.
Seeing her demeanor, Shu Yao seemed helpless and took out a business card from her pocket, handing it to her.
Meng Jingwei picked up the business card and read the contents. She murmured, "President of Yaoyao Cosmetics Co., Ltd.?"
Yaoyao Cosmetics Co., Ltd. was located in the office building right next to Songyu Group.
She was not unfamiliar with this company.
It was a newly established brand that focused on the mid-range market with extremely high product quality. It had carved out a niche for itself in the fiercely competitive market and established a foothold in the country.
Even the special makeup products Meng Jingwei bought were from this Yaoyao Cosmetics company.
"So?" she asked, shrugging.
Shu Yao raised her eyebrows. "Isn't it obvious enough? I want you to introduce me to Qing Muye so that we can cooperate with his company."
It was clear that she did not want to reveal her background.
Meng Jingwei hesitated. She glanced at Shu Yao, then reached out with her left hand, her index finger and thumb rubbing together, a clear indication of something.