When Yan Sui heard these words, he slowly fell back down to his seat, while the strong killing intent that was exuding from his body vanished without a trace in mere seconds. Compared to the flowers in spring that bloomed overnight, seeing what he just saw would make a person feel even more shaken up. With eyes wide open, Secretary Wang felt he saw a miracle. He never thought that this miracle would ever happen.
Who was the person on the other side of the phone? Was it the little devilish boy that made his boss smile from not long ago? What a torture this must be. One moment, this person could make his boss enraged. Then next, this person could make his boss smile. With this in mind, Secretary Wang finally began to ponder as he circled his eyeballs.
Yan Sui's gaze fell on Secretary Wang before he slightly raised his hand, but he was asked to leave instead.
Without any hesitation, Secretary Wang bowed before he withdrew from the office.
Just a moment ago, there was a split second — out of impulse — he actually wanted Secretary Wang to set up an arrangement so he could go snatch this person from the Mengs' residence.
"Meng Ting…" In a low voice, he called out his name again. He could not fully explain what he felt in his heart when Meng Ting confessed how dearly he liked him. Perhaps, it was… he was worried about Meng Ting for being so straightforward and that he could get hurt, and Yan Sui was worried about himself where he might take Meng Ting's deep affection for granted. And, there were also some rather faint and hidden fondness he had toward Meng Ting. Where he, himself could not ignore.
"Yeah?" Meng Ting was puzzled. He waited for Yan Sui to continue.
However, Yan Sui was unable to say 'I like you, too.' He felt that these words were not enough to represent his feelings and emotions [1]; to say these words over the phone was also not earnest enough. Having this in mind, he slowly let out a breath which allowed his voice to soften, "What do you want to eat tonight? I'll get someone to deliver it to you."
([1] 「情感不够」It can be shortened to "the feelings and emotions were not enough". Just depends how each individual interprets these words. The author is very vague about this.)
"You don't need to deliver any to me tonight." Meng Ting's voice carried a strong sense of loss. Yan Sui thought he was disappointed because he did not hear the words he wanted to hear. As a result, Yan Sui suddenly felt he was a jerk because of Meng Ting's disappointment.
"I'm having dinner with the Mengs tonight, I think I'll be able to eat until I'm full?" He spoke from the depth of his heart that carried with deep concern and that would also make one feel he was pitiful yet funny. No matter what, he was still regarded as the Seventh Young Master of the Mengs. However, he had to rely on his future husband to smuggle food in, just so he could have a full meal.
Yan Sui's brows twitched slightly. Unlike before, this time, he directly skipped the irrelevant and useless self-criticism, "I'll send you a midnight snack."
By now, the food was not going to be delivered by others. Instead, it was going to be delivered by him personally.
Unfortunately, Meng Ting did not pay attention to the difference. His attention was all on 'midnight snack.'
"That's fantastic…" Meng Ting subconsciousness wanted to say thanks. However, he hesitated for a short while before changing his words, "Yan Sui, you're so nice, I like you."
The redness of Yan Sui's ears slowly spread. He could not help but let out a low cough. He felt he had lived for twenty-eight years, yet he somehow could not even resist the enthusiasm and sincerity of a seventeen-year-old. 1
"What do you want to eat?" Yan Sui asked as his voice unconsciously softened. Then unknowingly, the depth of his eyes emerged with gentleness. Every time when Meng Ting had said things like this, he felt he would fall for him a little bit more. He thought that it would not be long before the day he would completely fall for Meng Ting.
"Mild spicy noodles…" Meng Ting lied on his bed as his eyes twinkled. He recalled the time when he was working at the laboratory. There was an assistant who cooked delicious noodles. If she was not a woman who only liked women, he would have given a shot to be with her for the sake of it.
Of course, this kind of idea only crossed his mind when he first tasted the noodles she cooked. Thereafter, that assistant announced to the whole lab that she liked women and she intended to pursue a female doctor within the lab.
That was the time when he realized that in their country, not only men and women could get married. Men and men, even women and women could get married, too. As long as they were willing to do so.
Therefore, when he decided to take the 'good-for-nothing' road of marriage, he was ready to marry a woman or a man. Thus, when Yan Sui told him that he was his husband, he did not hesitate at the slightest and accepted it unperturbed.
"Ok." Yan Sui agreed. With his discernment, if Meng Ting was in front of him, he would definitely notice that Meng Ting was thinking about someone else at this moment. To be exact, it was the 'noodles' that was cooked by someone else that he was thinking of. However, since they were separated by the phone, naturally he was not able to see and discover that. So, he simply took note of this dish as another one of the dishes Meng Ting liked.
"If Meng Qi dares to touch you, don't show mercy and just smash him fiercely. Remember, you're mine. You don't need to be afraid of him."
Even though he knew Meng Ting would not suffer any loss, he still could not help to be enraged when he remembered Meng Qi actually wanted to kiss him and wanted to touch him. With this in mind, the words that came out of his mouth also became serious and stern.
"I'll keep that in mind." Not only did Meng Ting say this, his brain unconsciously interpreted Yan Sui's words otherwise, "We're going to get married, and I'll be your man soon."
Being protected by someone who appeared to have such a powerful aura like Yan Sui, he could certainly live the perfect and ideal life that he wanted, where he could sleep and eat to his content, like a rice weevil. 3
"Hmm." Yan Sui said. Hearing those words from Meng Ting, his emotions immensely fluctuated and even he, himself had noticed it. Nonetheless, he urged again, "Give me a call if there's any issues. Otherwise, text me if it's inconvenient to call."
"Hmm, I'll keep that in mind." Meng Ting agreed obediently. Since he was not able to think of any exquisite love words, he merely used what he thought of from before, "You have to eat well, too."
"Ok."
Yan Sui waited for Meng Ting to hang up the phone before he hung up.
After Meng Ting put down his phone, he rolled back and forth on the bed straight away in happiness. He would be able to have supper tonight and he did not need to worry about not having enough to eat.
Yan Sui's truly great. I'll definitely repay him well when there's an opportunity.
Meng Ting pondered for a while, yet he still could not think of any good opportunities. However, he knew he would definitely find a suitable opportunity since the future was so long.
After only a short while of pondering alone in the room, Uncle Wen came over again with a few servants to drop off the tailored made suits that was ordered before. Uncle Wen even tactfully picked out a suitable piece for Meng Ting. However, seeing Meng Ting did not catch his intent as he was still in the midst of pondering which piece to wear, Uncle Wen gave up on being tactful.
"This white one. You will definitely look good wearing this. It's also suitable in the evening." Uncle Wen suggested directly.
Although the suit was in western style, it was not the type that was too formal. The suit was tailored to be extremely slim-fitted. Although, Meng Ting was still underaged and his body was still growing, dressing up like this has made him look more mature and more refined.
Having someone helping him to make such a difficult decision, Meng Ting was naturally happy about it, "Thank you." while he incessantly nodded.
Uncle Wen gently nodded and said, "Banquet will begin at six o'clock."
"Hmm, I won't be late." Meng Ting stood before Uncle Wen and gave him another nod. However, he had no intention to go downstairs before six o'clock.
His decision was not wrong at all. When he came downstairs at six, there was only him and Meng Qi at the dining room. Meng Ting looked at the dinner table. It was arranged with empty dishes. He looked around and saw that there was not even any food.
Meng Qi sneered at Meng Ting, "Heh..Heh.." without looking at him in the eyes.
Meng Ting asked Uncle Wen. He sat in his own seat, and then stared at the empty table. He felt he was deceived by Uncle Wen. His gaze fell on Meng Qi. He thought that Meng Qi was the culprit. Uncle Wen was his accomplice who helped him lie. Not only did he not keep his words, but he was also very stingy, humph!
Meng Ting took out his mobile phone and texted Yan Sui. 'They lied to me. The truth is, there's nothing to eat. I'm so angry."
"Be good, I'll deliver some food over to you in a while." Yan Sui quickly messaged back.
Meng Ting focused on the word 'food' and then looked at the words "Be good." He did not know which part was good, but he still texted back, "I'm good." Try to be nice!
Yan Sui was holding a meeting with the company's senior executives. When he saw these words, his brows raised. He felt he could not resist when Meng Ting was 'acting spoiled.' He hesitated for a moment before texting back with "Hmm." then put down the phone, looked up to a suddenly-quiet crowd and coldly said, "Continue."
Everyone paused, before they continued again.
Their president sent text messages in the middle of the meeting. It must be related to the lifeblood of the company. It must be a very important message!
Secretary Wang, who vaguely had an idea about who texted the boss, gave Yan Sui a look. There was no obvious change in the boss' expression, but in his heart, whoever was able to make his boss text during an important meeting, was certainly the magical 'goblin.'
Uncle Wen indeed deceived Meng Ting. He let him come an hour earlier, mainly for Meng Ting's sake. At half past six, the Meng Family's members started coming in, one after another. The first to come was Meng Ting's half-brothers from the same father.
The Third and Fourth Young Masters, Meng Jiang and Meng Bo, respectively, twenty-three years old and twenty-one years old. One was a university student who just graduated while the other was a sophomore.
When Uncle Wen introduced Meng Ting, they softly said "Hm."
As soon as they sat down, they talked with each other, completely ignoring Meng Ting. Meng Ting had no opinion. He was still obediently sitting on his seat… Waiting for the food to be served.
The next one to arrive was the other two children of his biological father, Meng Yide: Fifth Young Master Meng Xiao and Sixth Young Miss Meng Qin, twenty-years old and nineteen-years old, respectively. Their ages were close to Meng Bo's.
This showed that Meng Yide, at that time, had at least three affairs. It was not known how many more affairs he had.
Meng Xiao and Meng Qin did not hide their inquisitive look, and even showed Meng Ting some hostility, knowing that they would not see that Meng Ting's face often. Coupled with Meng Jiang and Meng Bo, who coldly paid no heed to him, it made them think the same that Meng Ting was somewhat subtle and deep. It was hard to say when he would be in their way.
To make their point, Meng Xiao and Meng Qin kept asking so many questions. In fact, they asked too fast. When Meng Ting was still pondering over the previous question, they would ask the next one. He naturally began to ponder over the next question. When this continued, Meng Ting started to become dizzy.
Meng Qi, who sat diagonally across Meng Ting, saw his confusion and could not help the twitching on his lips and hold his laughter. His confused face was also cute, although they were both beautiful, Meng Ting and Su Siyu were two completely different people with different tempers.
Then, Meng Yide and his wife Han Xuejun finally arrived. When Meng Yide saw Meng Ting, he was stunned for a moment.
Looking at Meng Ting's face made him think of Meng Ting's biological mother. He reminisced for a bit, then he gained back his bearing.
Except for Meng Ting, everyone felt that he was different from his biological mother, as for how Meng Ting would turn out, nothing was conclusive. However, Meng Xiao and Meng Qin were even more on guard against Meng Ting, that was for sure.
"Father, Mother." Meng Ting greeted them politely. Han Xuejun asked about his well-being, and once Meng Ting nodded, she turned to talk to her own biological sons. She talked to them warmly and attentively. The difference in her attitude was vast.
Meng Yide and Meng Ting stared at each other. In the end, he only let out a quiet "Hmm" sound before he went and sat at the other table. Soon, he got up to greet Old Master Meng and his elderly mother Li Yifei. Their attitude toward him was much more colder compared to the time when Meng Xiao and Meng Qin came home. It seemed, the shock they were in was just an illusion.
Meng Yihan and his wife Gu Ping, Meng Yigui and his wife Shen Susu, the four of them arrived almost simultaneously. Second Young Master Meng Hong and Third Young Lady Meng Xiang did not return as they both studied abroad. The youngest member, Eighth Young Lady was still in primary school. Hence, Meng Yigui and Shen Su did not bring her along since she need to sleep early. 6
Close to seven o'clock, Old Master Meng arrived in the dining room on time.
The people who showed up together with him was his first wife Feng Zejiao, as well as his second wife, Li Yifei who was carefully supported by Meng Yide.
"Serve the meal."
As he took his seat, everyone else followed and took their respective seats. Meanwhile, the servants consistently brought out the dishes one after another.
The ancestors of Old Master Meng originated from Hunan, the cuisine from that region was extremely hot and spicy. Therefore, all of this Chinese cuisine that has been served were hot and spicy without exception. Meng Ting quite liked eating spicy food, too. Unfortunately, he could only handle very mild spiciness. After taking only a couple of bites, he immediately begun to drink soup before he realized that the soup was also spicy. With no other choice, he could only lower his head and eat the plain rice from his bowl.
But, not being able to get used to the spiciness does not affect his basic instinct as a 'Big eater' [2]. To be able to eat more of the delicious food on the table, he had already filled up his bowl with rice three times. He has truly lived up to his reputation as a ���Big eater.' Out of all the relatives that came to the Mengs' residence for dinner, he became a person with the biggest appetite in history.
([2]「饭桶」Literally Translation: "Rice Bucket/Barrel". Describes a person who can eat a lot.)
"Rice bucket!" Meng Xiao mumbled in a low voice, but Meng Ting did not respond. Meng Qi on the other hand, glanced at Meng Xiao with an unknown intent. This glance alone made him swallow any of the mocking words he had directed at Meng Ting.
No one at the dining table chit chatted during dinner because it was not a habit in the family. The right time to chat was after dinner when light refreshments were served. Meng Ting had eaten too much rice so he stared helplessly at the very fragrant refreshments. He resisted with all his might, since he had to leave some room in his belly for the supper that Yan Sui was going to bring for him. This was something he anticipated dearly.
"Today's banquet is held for two main reasons which will be announced.��� Old Master Meng said. As soon as those words were heard, all the chattering noises and whispers disappeared. Even Meng Ting looked toward Old Master Meng as he waited for him to continue to finish his words.
"Firstly, Meng Ting returned home." He spoke continuously without pausing, "Secondly, it's about the marriage between the Mengs and the Yans. The wedding will be held on the 7th of next month. All of you must attend. Gu Ping and Shen Susu, remember to give Xiang'er and Hong'er a call."
"Yes." Gu Ping had already learned this from Meng Yihang, so at this point she was not very surprised. On the other hand, Shen Susu stared blankly for a while before she followed with a "Yes."
Not wanting [3] everyone to speculate too long, Old Master Meng directly announced, "It's Yan Sui, the master of the Yans with Meng Ting from our family."
([3]「也打算」Original text: 'also intended to', ie. He intended to leave everyone to speculate longer. We are guessing it was an error to the original text. Sticking with current translation as it makes more sense when he 'directly' told everyone.)
In the past, Old Master Meng had never personally announced the return of an illegitimate child. And now, the first words that was spoken was of Meng Ting. But, this was not because he was special. The reason why he mentioned him was because of Yan Sui.