They had arrived quite early, and the family of Feng Zejiao's eldest son had not yet arrived. She exchanged greetings with a few of Gu family's madams and young ladies, and they began gossiping about trivial matters. After saying a few words to introduce Meng Ting, she made him leave and explore on his own.
In any case, they were in the Gu family's courtyard. Feng Zejiao was not worried about what could happen to Meng Ting. Of course, even if something did happen, she would not really care. Besides, if he was implicated in a marvellously shameful matter, she may be able to make He Wan more satisfied.
Meng Ting was completely unaware of Feng Zejiao's thoughts. However, in his heart, he was originally vigilant towards the Meng family so he would not think that they held any goodwill towards him. When Feng Zejiao told him to go play on his own, he even sighed in relief. Finally, a chance to hunt for food.
This kind of gathering would naturally not lack any beverages or delicacies. In a completely self-service mode, Meng Ting strolled around in a circle and did not bother being polite anymore. He grabbed a plate and piled it full, then found a place to sit before quickly digging in.
After finishing a plate, he filled it again; his speed of eating did not decrease at all. To Meng Ting, the plate was too small. It was very troublesome, travelling back and forth. Furthermore, it was too stingy, the amount that these desserts had been cut into. He could stuff several into his mouth at once.
Of course, Meng Ting did not actually do so. The information that Uncle Wen had crammed into him for a whole afternoon finally had its uses. He learnt that if he ate with large mouthfuls, it would be vulgar and indecent at the banquet. Other people would mock him.
Meng Ting was someone who was determined to be married off. How could he let other people discover his 'rice tub' nature before he was married? It would not be good if his future husband refused to take him as a wife because his appetite was too big, and delayed him from leaving the Meng family.
Meng Ting felt a bit happy since he was able to think of so much for himself. Ah, sure enough, he was someone who had lived an extra lifetime.
With each bite, Meng Ting had a small piece of dessert. He ended up having several plates, and his eating speed was very fast. Feng Zejiao was unable to keep smiling at the womenfolk of the Gu family. Meng Ting's actions made it appear as if the Meng family did not feed him properly, even though the reality was such.
With an utterly fearless mindset, Meng Ting once again filled up another plate. He piled it up higher than before, then returned to his place. When he finally realised that Feng Zejiao's eyes were twitching more and more, he hesitated for a moment, before leaving his position and hurrying out of the hall.
Once again, Meng Ting felt really pleased. Fortunately, his speed of eating was quick, and he was already half full. Otherwise, he would now have to experience that sullen feeling of an empty stomach. Although he had experienced it many times in the past, it would still be difficult to bear if it happened again.
Meng Ting placed his empty plate down on a small table in the courtyard. After that, he strolled around in the parterre where the light was not every bright. He found a desolate area, then finally climbed up an old tree and half laid down on it.
He did not want to go with Feng Zejiao and meet other people, especially the Meng family. No matter whether it was the main branch, the second branch, or even the Meng family's property, Meng Ting was very clear in heart that they were not something he could participate in. Hence, he would just avoid it all.
It would be great if someone could take him as their wife, regardless if they were a man or a woman. Meng Ting could not help but think about this again.
The evening breeze in early summer felt quite comfortable. Meng Ting was barely full, but he rested there for a while, eyes fluttering shut. Subsequently, a heated quarrel caused him to be startled awake.
"Meng Qi, didn't I already message you and tell you? We're over!" Su Siyu looked at the man opposite him as he tilted his head and spoke decisively. However, the reason why Meng Qi had come at this moment was precisely because he was unable to accept this kind of ending.
"Ah, break up?" The man walked forwards and leaned in, pinning Su Siyu against the trunk of the tree as he kissed him.
Unable to understand why this was happening, Meng Ting's eyes suddenly widened. He could not make heads or tails of the event currently unfolding; why did they still have to kiss after breaking up?
Su Siyu resisted in the beginning. However, he clearly stopped after being overbearingly pushed down by Meng Qi for a while. The fireworks between the two was so strong that even Meng Ting felt it. Of course, he also knew that right now, he must not make a single sound.
Who knew if they had some sort of secret relationship. If they found out that he was watching, would they...commit murder to silence him? Meng Ting retrieved his line of sight and breathed in lightly, trying his utmost to not expose himself.
But, these two people have been kissing for too long, right? It was to the point that he began feeling bored.
"Little demon, I didn't satisfactorily feed you, so you wanted to break up?" Meng Qi's hand was already sliding towards a certain place on Su Siyu's body. His gaze burned fiercely with passion as he spoke, words dripping with lust. He hugged Su Siyu, wanting to turn him around.
Su Siyu gripped Meng Qi's wrist. His back still leaned against the tree, not allowing Meng Qi to succeed. The confusion and lust on his face gradually cleared as he resolutely stood up and repeated, "Meng Qi, let's break up."
Now, even Meng Qi who had originally been unwilling to accept the reality had to face it squarely. He narrowed his eyes, the expression on his face slowly turning dangerous. His hand finally fell from Su Siyu's body and he retreated a step.
"Why?"
Su Siyu glanced down, the hesitation in eyes thoroughly dissipating. He looked up at Meng Qi again, the expression in his gaze firmer than before. "We were only playing. Saying that you were sincere to me, do you really believe that?"
A mocking expression floated onto his face. He lightly kneaded his own wrist, then continued, "My grandmother will arrange my marriage matters. I will accept it and treat him well."
The sense of danger surrounding Meng Qi grew denser. He lifted a hand and touched the side of Su Siyu's face softly. "Fine. I'll wait and see exactly how well you treat him then."
After speaking, he retrieved his hand then turned around and left.
Su Siyu watched until his figure could no longer be seen before also departing.
As for Meng Ting, he heaved a sigh of relief after having watched the ineffable scene of the two men breaking up from his perch on the tree. He glanced around then nimbly alighted from atop the tree. However, immediately following that, his expression turned stiff as he looked back. Another man unexpectedly walked out from a pitch-black corner.
Unfathomably, someone else had watched the breaking up scene with the kissing and touching along with him. Meng Ting's face suddenly felt a bit hot. For the first time in his life, he discovered what it meant to feel embarrassed. Just as he was hesitating on whether he should sneak away, the other man who had been present directly marched over.
"I...I didn't do it on purpose. I was sleeping on the tree first," Meng Ting explained when the man closed their distance and was able to hear him. It was quite possible this man was a friend or relative of the other two men, and was coming over to ensure Meng Ting kept his lips sealed.
The man stopped two steps away from him. The light in his eyes sank, as if he was sizing up Meng Ting.
However, Meng Ting thought that the other was doubting what he said. Meng Ting truly was not good with words; after stammering for a long time, he did not want to continue staying here anymore. After all, people had just kissed and touched each other here so the atmosphere was still quite awkward. "I won't tell anyone."
After he said this, Meng Ting retreated a step and prepared to turn around then leave.
However, before he could completely turn around, the other man reached out his hand and grasped Meng Ting's wrist.
Leaving aside the fact that Meng Ting had later systematically studied Sanda, even when he was the crowned as the invisible boss during those three years at that sealed highschool, it was impossible for him to so easily allow others to grab his wrist and take control of his weaknesses.
Without warning, the two of them began fighting. Needless to say, the end result caused Meng Ting to feel quite resentful. After only five moves, Meng Ting's hand was captured and half of his body was embraced by the other man.
Of course, this kind of hug did not have any friendly or pleasant meaning. In Meng Ting's perspective, it was instead extremely dangerous.
The other man was dangerous. Since Meng Ting was unable to defeat him, that made him even more dangerous.
"You are Meng Ting?"
Currently, it was already eight to nine o'clock and the sky had darkened long ago. It was only very far away from the parterre that there were a few bright lights and colourful lanterns.
In regard to Meng Ting, whose face could be considered quite recognisable, Yan Sui had read through his files again before coming to the banquet. Hence, he knew the identity of the youth as soon as he leapt down from the tree.
Naturally, Yan Sui did not forget to introduce himself. "I'm your future husband, Yan Sui."
Meng Ting, who had been about to jab his elbow into Yan Sui's ribs, suddenly paused. Eyes wide, he asked, "Husband? I'm going to marry you?"
The surprise tinged with happiness in Meng Ting's tone could not be concealed at all. He no longer struggled and turned around, facing Yan Sui's gaze with narrowed eyes. Then he earnestly examined Yan Sui's features, as if he wanted to commit them firmly to his memory.
Meng Ting believed that this kind of observation was essential. Otherwise, he might really make the mistake of not being able to recognise his own husband in the future.
While Meng Ting was staring seriously at Yan Sui, the other man was doing the same. Compared to his photo, the real person looked even more handsome, especially the eyes. They did not appear seductive like in the photos, but were instead the complete opposite. They were pure, and very clean.
However, this place was not suitable for talking. Yan Sui grasped Meng Ting's wrist again. This time, Meng Ting did not resist and obediently allowed Yan Sui to lead him away.
He was still immersed in the joy of finding out that he would soon be married and be able to eat his fill.
Meng Ting's line of sight rose from his wrist which was being grasped by Yan Sui to the other man's tall and broad back. "You didn't lie to me, right? I'm really going to marry you?"
Although he wished to marry out of the Meng family even in his dreams, Meng Ting knew that it would not be very likely in reality. It would take one to two years, or at least a couple of months. However, he had not expected that he would be able to marry out of the Meng family after only arriving at the Meng residence for two days.
Yan Sui glanced back at Meng Ting, then replied softly with an en. He truly had not known that Meng Ting's feelings were already so deeply rooted.
Perhaps it was because Meng Ting's happiness was so unadulterated that he was unexpectedly unable to feel any dislike.
Meng Ting was brought into one of Gu family's greenhouses by Yan Sui. It was not very large, with many pots of gorgeous blooming flowers with a rattan table and several rattan chairs. Gu Lang, Gu family's eldest young master, could be considered Yan Sui's close childhood friend. He had come here quite a few times, and it was a private place suitable for talking.
The lights in the greenhouse were sufficiently bright, and Meng Ting once again conscientiously etched Yan Sui's appearance into his memory.
Meng Ting stared at him with wide eyes, and Yan Sui calmly accepted the youth's scrutiny.
"When are you going to marry me?" In both his lives, Meng Ting had not learnt how to speak implicitly or equivocate. He was unable to control the corner of his lips from curving up as he spoke, his elation evident in his words, "Ah, I want to marry you as soon as possible."
Yan Sui did not reply. He continued surveying Meng Ting, to the point that Meng Ting began to lose confidence.
He thought of a phrase he had once heard from somewhere—a married couple should treat each other honestly¹. He had always interpreted it as such.
[1] 以诚相待: It's hard to translate in English what the author originally wrote, since it is something that makes more sense in Chinese. Basically, 以诚相待 (yǐ chéng xiāng dài) has several possible translations as 相待 is 'treat' and 以诚 could be 'honest/sincere/true'. However, here, YS is basically saying that he believes that the 诚 (chéng) in 以诚 refers to the 诚 (chéng) in 诚实 (chéng shí), which translates to honest.
"I...I'm a bit stupid, no, very stupid. I eat a lot, and can't cook. I don't know how to wash clothes, and I'm not good at housework..."
It was not that Meng Ting was lazy, but rather that he really was unable to learn how to do them. In regard to taking care of himself in daily life, what Meng Ting lacked was not just a little bit. In any case, he had already given up hope in this aspect.
Without any attempt to hide, Meng Ting finally listed out his own shortcomings one after the other. He sighed, then continued to clumsily to market himself to Yan Sui. "But I can fight. You saw it just then as well; although I couldn't defeat you, I'm still quite strong. I can fight for you."
Meng Ting turned it over in his mind. That was the only shining point that could be found on his body.
"You…will you go back on your words?" As he spoke, Meng Ting began to feel disheartened. He truly was stupid, and he was indeed not good enough. "Could you not do that? How about, you marry me first. It's okay if you go back on your words after that."
Today, Yan Sui had come bringing his vigilance and attitude from his negotiating experiences at conferences. Yet, Meng Ting's behaviour from the moment he appeared to now was completely contrary to his expectations. He did not answer the youth because he could not grasp an appropriate method of approach and manner of speaking.
"I won't go back on my words." Yan Sui replied to Meng Ting's question very seriously. Although, his reason for not doing so was not because of Meng Ting himself.
Upon hearing this, Meng Ting sighed in relief. The corner of his mouth lifted up again and he stared up at Yan Sui. He pledged earnestly, "I will be obedient, and listen to your words."
"Good." Yan Sui submitted to his conscience and gently smiled.
Meng Ting did not know that this smile was very rare. He nodded, then patted his own stomach. It seemed to be a bit bigger. Meng Ting put forward a request which he did know was excessive or not. "Then, will you be able to let me eat my fill?"
"The Meng family doesn't give you food to eat?" Yan Sui immediately asked, his smile disappearing as his brows knitted together slightly. An oppressively imposing manner suddenly erupted from him. He had not yet curbed it when he realised that Meng Ting seemed to be unaffected.
Meng Ting's hand which was covering his stomach stayed there as he looked over at Yan Sui. As a result of the other man's assurance of not reneging on his words, Meng Ting's confidence to complain once again increased by a bit. He nodded, "I only ate two eggs yesterday, and they were from the school cafeteria."
"Today, I had two sandwiches and two bottles of milk..." This meagre amount of food was not even enough to refuel his energy lost from running. As for the food he has just eaten at the banquet, they had basically all been digested after his nap so he was a bit hungry again.
"I...I should be able to endure for a few more days. Therefore, you have marry me as soon as possible."
To have to marry a poor little thing who had already been starved until he was all skin and bones...Yan Sui did not know that his own mentality had already been skewed by Meng Ting; he subconsciously considered the youth to be one of his own people.
"Starting from tomorrow, I will send people to bring you food."
However, hearing him say this, Meng Ting hesitated. He tugged Yan Sui's sleeve lightly, "Will I be troubling you? I can still endure."
Meng Ting believed that enduring would be worth it if it meant starving for a period, but being able to be full for a longer time.
Yan Sui could not help his brows from twitching. The resolution and determination that Meng Ting's family had installed in him far overpowered his instinctual need for food. Yan Sui, who had never been so openly liked by another person, was unable to discern his own thoughts at the moment. However, he knew for certain that he did not hate it.
Of course, presently, he did know that this was a misunderstanding. If another person were to marry Meng Ting, he would most likely have the same attitude.
"It's no bother." Yan Sui was unaware that his own manner of speaking had softened by a large margin. He had never spoken to another person like this.
"Remember, you are mine²."
[2] Translates literally to: You are my, Yan Sui's, people. But that sounds a bit awkward, so… ╮(╯ _╰ )╭
Meng Ting suddenly had the illusion of being backed by a big shot and being able to walk horizontally. He smiled at Yan Sui. Since he felt somewhat grateful, Meng Ting's lips curved higher and he was no longer stingy with his smile. "I'll remember it."
Although he still did not know what Yan Sui's name signified in Haicheng, and in the Xia country, it was unable to hinder his joy.
"What do you want to eat? I'll have people send it over."
Yan Sui took out his phone and glanced at Meng Ting, whose eyes has curved into crescents. He was suddenly certain of a point. His mother most likely had not met Meng Ting, and did know about his...cute and lovely temper. Otherwise, he was afraid that she would not want Meng Ting to marry him.
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The author has something to say: Xiao gong's misunderstanding is so big, hahaha~~~
Yan Sui: So it turns out that you like me that much? Speak, since when did you start liking me?
Meng Ting: ...I like you because you can let me eat my fill, does that count?
Yan Sui: ...