Qing Muye put away the examination report and walked into the ward. Looking at her receiving an IV drip, he asked, "How do you feel?"
"Much better. This is a hundred times better than being on the mountain."
Meng Jingwei lay on the bed, her previously dirty little face having regained its usual delicate fairness, though it was pale and colorless, evoking pity.
"What about you? Are you okay?" she asked.
"Mm, quite well."
Qing Muye nodded in response.
He turned and walked to the sofa to sit, while Xiao Cheng glanced at Qing Muye, then at Meng Jingwei, a fleeting light in his eyes.
After a moment of contemplation with lowered gaze, he patted his pocket and stood up, "Xiao Weiwei, I... I have something I want to tell you."
Xiao Cheng, dressed in a suit, handsome and distinguished, lacked his usual wicked arrogance. Instead, his sudden seriousness highlighted his increased maturity and composure.
This Xiao Cheng made Meng Jingwei feel somewhat unfamiliar and unaccustomed.
"What is it?"
She was startled by Xiao Cheng's actions.
"Do you know why I sent you to Liangchuan County?"
Xiao Cheng placed one hand in his trouser pocket, tightly clenching whatever was inside.
"Why? Didn't you say it was for public welfare?"
"Yes, it was for public welfare. But more importantly, Xiao Qitian would also be going to Liangchuan County for public welfare."
"I saw him. So what? Oh, hurry up and tell me, don't drag it out and be mysterious. I'm anxious!"
Meng Jingwei hated it when people were indecisive, almost driving her mad.
Xiao Cheng pursed his lips, licked them, and his face betrayed his nervousness.
"Back then, in front of Xiao Qitian, I said you were my girlfriend. Although it was just a lie at the time, meant to help you out of an awkward situation, this time, I wanted Xiao Qitian to get to know you anew. Only when people see the real you will they accept you. That's why I arranged for you to go to Liangchuan."
He paused, then took something out of his pocket.
Opening his hand, it revealed a sapphire-blue velvet box shaped like a heart. Xiao Cheng opened the box, and inside lay a sparkling diamond ring.
"I bought this ring before you went to Liangchuan County. I was waiting for you to come back, and then... propose to you."
Hearing his words, Meng Jingwei's mind went blank, and she didn't know what to say.
Qing Muye was equally surprised.
He had never expected Xiao Cheng to do something like this, but he remained silent, choosing to observe the unfolding situation.
*Bang—*
Xiao Cheng suddenly knelt on one knee, holding out the ring, and looked at Meng Jingwei with deep affection, "Xiao Weiwei, will you marry me? I... like you. No, I love you, and I want to marry you!"
The direct and bold confession caught Meng Jingwei off guard.
She lay on the hospital bed, her little face freezing, blinking her long lashes, and stared at him incredulously. After a long moment, she finally spoke, "Xiao... Xiao Cheng, stop joking."
Previously, at Shengde Hospital, to prevent her adoptive parents from worrying about her, she had pretended to be in a relationship with Xiao Cheng.
However, she knew very well that she was not good enough for Xiao Cheng.
Qing Muye, sitting nearby, looked indifferent, his slightly furrowed brow revealing his displeasure.
Xiao Cheng was actually proposing to Meng Jingwei?
So this damned woman's repeated rejections were because she liked Xiao Cheng?
The man's fingers tightened involuntarily, but he ultimately just looked down, fiddling with his phone, feigning indifference while keenly listening.
"I'm very serious."
Xiao Cheng's gaze was sincere, his expression serious, showing no sign of jest.
She could see that Xiao Cheng was serious, but she didn't fully understand her own complicated situation. If she were to date Xiao Cheng, it would only drag him down.
"Um... Qing Muye, I'm hungry. Could you help me buy some porridge?"
Meng Jingwei devised a plan to get Qing Muye to leave.
Qing Muye's eyelids lifted slightly, his cool gaze swept over Meng Jingwei, then to Xiao Cheng kneeling on the floor. After a moment's hesitation, he stood up and walked out of the ward.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang.
The door was shut with great force, the impact shaking the entire ward as if it were about to collapse.
Meng Jingwei, lying on the bed, was startled by Qing Muye's inexplicable anger and muttered, "He's got issues."
As a man, Xiao Cheng was naturally much more perceptive than Meng Jingwei.
Although Qing Muye had said nothing throughout, he could still sense Qing Muye's emotions and thoughts.
This was because men understood men better.
"Xiao Cheng, get up quickly. I won't agree."
Meng Jingwei flatly rejected Xiao Cheng's proposal and added, "I don't like you!"
If she didn't like him, she shouldn't agree to it or toy with his feelings.
Her direct refusal surprised Xiao Cheng, and he couldn't help but ask, "Do you like Qing Muye?"
"Of course I..." don't like him!
However, the words "don't like him" were cut short by Meng Jingwei. A flash of inspiration crossed her mind, and she changed her tune, "I like him."
Like him, my foot.
No matter how scummy someone was, they couldn't be as scummy as Qing Muye!
However, to reject Xiao Cheng, Qing Muye was a good shield.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Cheng's face, previously filled with hope, fell, his disappointment evident in his eyes.
He said in a low voice, "He already has a fiancée."
"It's his business that he has a fiancée; it's separate from me liking him."
"You know there will be no outcome, so why are you still so foolish?"
"The reason people have emotions is because these things cannot be controlled, not because they are foolish."
"Although you look exactly like Li Yun'er, you are not her. In the end, you will only become a victim."
"That's all in the future. I haven't thought that far ahead yet."
Meng Jingwei felt Xiao Cheng was rather stubborn and suddenly realized that using Qing Muye as a 'shield' earlier had been a very wise move.
After her repeated refusals, Xiao Cheng also realized Meng Jingwei's firmness and obstinacy.
Although somewhat disappointed, he still stood up, pulled a chair over, and sat beside the bed. Looking down at the ring in his hand, he thought for a moment and said, "Since you don't want to be my fiancée, then let's be brothers."
After confessing to someone and being rejected, it only made their relationship more distant.
Xiao Cheng didn't want Meng Jingwei to become estranged from him, so he found an excuse to suggest being brothers, simply not wanting Meng Jingwei to develop a 'rift' with him and become distant.
"Okay, that would be great."
Meng Jingwei readily agreed.
She had to admit that, in that brief moment, Xiao Cheng's feelings had been sincere and genuine, but Meng Jingwei was more aware of Xiao Cheng's notoriously "licentious" and dissolute nature.
A prodigal son, upon encountering the 'right person,' would have a moment of sincerity and devotion.
But once obtained, his interest would wane.
Despite his debauchery, Xiao Cheng was also someone who dared to take responsibility, making him a good candidate to be a brother.
She thought for a moment and said, "Qing Muye is older than you, so he'll be my eldest brother, and you'll be my second brother. How about that?"
Eldest brother?
Second brother?
Xiao Cheng was somewhat dumbfounded.