Meng Jingwei scoffed, "What are you trying to say? Accidental injury?"
She slowly placed the Zisha cup on the table, then picked up the Zisha teapot to pour herself a cup of tea, saying calmly, "But the law won't rule accidental injury as not guilty. Don't you think saying these things is meaningless?"
For a young girl, appearance is exceptionally important.
From the time Shi Ran was injured until now, she had lost nearly ten pounds, despite not being overweight to begin with.
Her once perfectly proportioned figure now appeared particularly slender. The rosy glow had vanished from her face, making her comparable to a brilliantly blooming flower that, deprived of water, gradually withered.
On her face, her radiant smile was gone. She seemed lifeless, like an elderly person devoid of vitality.
Seeing this, Meng Jingwei's heart ached.
Old Chen Tou pulled a bank card from his pocket and placed it in front of Meng Jingwei. "Here is ten million, compensation for Shi Ran. Converted to Renminbi, that's fifty million. Enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life."
He believed that the best form of compensation was money.
Meng Jingwei, who had just picked up her Zisha cup, paused upon hearing Old Chen Tou's words. She abruptly raised her head, her sharp gaze fixing on him. A hint of clarity flickered in her limpid eyes, and her expression turned exceptionally cold.
*Crack—*
The cup she held was crushed in her hand, and the scalding tea splashed all over her fingers.
The water was hot.
But Meng Jingwei didn't even blink. Instead, she threw the shattered fragments in her hand onto the table. "Does Master think Shi Ran lacks this fifty million?"
Calling him 'Master' with every sentence, their relationship had, in essence, become irreparably distant.
Old Chen Tou saw the trace of blood seeping from her fair fingers. His pale brows furrowed, and he sighed helplessly, "I know it's my fault. But I've apologized and offered compensation. What more do you want from this old man? I'm just an old bone; do you want my life as compensation?"
A smile, not quite a smile, curved Meng Jingwei's lips.
He leaned forward, pulled open the tea table's drawer, and took out a dagger, slamming it onto the table in front of Old Chen Tou. "I've been waiting for you to say that!"
Ultimately, he had disappointed her greatly.
Since he entered, she had only spoken of Qing Mu Ye, but Old Chen Tou had evaded the topic, shifting the conversation to Shi Ran.
He was avoiding the important issues.
Meng Jingwei couldn't help but feel annoyed.
This sudden turn of events caught Old Chen Tou completely off guard.
He stared blankly at the dagger on the table, his face etched with years of experience twitching slightly.
Due to his age, faint wrinkles had appeared on Old Chen Tou's forehead.
In the past, when Meng Jingwei saw him frowning, she would reach out to smooth his brow and the wrinkles on his forehead. She would also tug at his white beard, teasing him, "Don't frown all the time, you look like a little old man. You're still young."
Old Chen Tou would always laugh heartily upon hearing Meng Jingwei's words.
The Old Chen Tou before her seemed to have changed, as if everything had regressed to over a decade ago, when she was still an ignorant child.
Back then, she would mischievously climb onto Old Chen Tou's back and have him carry her. She would also tug on his ears, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right.
Meng Jingwei could almost "hear" the joyful, hearty laughter of the old man and the child from that time. It was so pure, so beautiful.
Their deep affection, even without blood ties, was stronger than that of family.
She dreamed of taking care of Old Chen Tou in his old age, of him living to be a hundred years old. She imagined herself pushing his wheelchair when he could no longer walk, taking him to see the setting sun, the rising dawn, and the vast blue sea…
However, for some reason, everything had become fragmented.