As before, he woke up in the midst of a frightening dream. Meng Ting calmed himself for a moment, then his memory came back little by little. Thinking about the phone call he had with Yan Sui last night, that kind of joy instantly dispelled the unpleasantness brought about by the frightening dream. The sky was still a little darker than the former days, but Meng Ting still got up and went on his morning run.
Halfway through the course, it started to rain, however, Meng Ting still carried on, and continued finishing his scheduled morning run. With wet hair and clothes, he returned to the living room of the mansion.
The living room was bustling. Old Master Meng, Feng Zejiao, Li Yifei, Meng Qi and Meng Xiao were all in the room.
Meng Xiao's hands were tied with gauze and bandages that hung around his neck. When he saw Meng Ting, he became furious.
Meng Xiao could be much more difficult to handle than those who came after Meng Ting in the past. After they were beaten, they would tend to be afraid of him. However, Meng Xiao was not only not afraid, but he was also holding a grudge against Meng Ting. Meng Ting and he were destined to be enemies.
"Apologize to Meng Ting."
When Old Master Meng spoke, even though Meng Xiao was not willing to, he still had to do what he was told.
"I'm sorry. Yesterday, I wasn't thinking clearly. Please forgive me." With Meng Xiao's back facing the crowd, his voice was filled with regret, but his look was different. It could be inferred that he was provoking Meng Ting.
With a click, Meng Ting suddenly took a photo of Meng Xiao. He took a few steps forward and looked at Old Master Meng, "Look, he's got this expression when he looked at me. It's ugly and hateful."
These days, Meng Ting did not have much to do so he discovered the different functions in his phone. The camera function was the same as with the one from his past life. However, this was the first time he used it to take photos, even though it was the photo of the person who hated him. After Old Master Meng saw it, he immediately deleted it.
Meng Xiao was dumbfounded. Meng Qi's lips could not help but twitch. He took the mobile phone from Meng Ting and went to Old Master Meng.
"Evil child!" Old Master Meng was very angry as he roared. Meng Xiao's feet became weak and he directly knelt on the ground.
"Grandpa, I… I…" There were photos. He was at a loss what to say to justify himself. How could he think that Meng Ting would be so cunning?
"Grandpa," said Meng Qi, who was standing beside Old Master Meng, then he slowly whispered, "I'm sorry to say this but he wasn't a bit sincere about his apology. Since Fifth Brother's attitude is so poor, I think it's good to give the coffee shop under his name to Seventh Brother as an apology."
This coffee shop was given to Meng Xiao after he pleased Li Yifei for many years. He spent a lot of effort in obtaining it and suddenly, it was given to Meng Ting. It seemed that Meng Ting was not only going to marry at once, but Old Master Meng's heart was obviously on Meng Ting's side, too.
A coffee shop was nothing to them. However, even if the mosquito's legs were smaller, it was still meat. It was a significant property. The tender smile that Li Yifei maintained was too difficult to be sustained.
"I think Qi'er is good at paying attention." Li Yifei was not happy but Feng Zejiao was definitely pleased. She gave the Meng Family a great in-law. It was time for her to get her reputation. Old Master Meng barely hesitated answering back.
"A'Wen, take charge of this and give the restaurant, along with the coffee shop upstairs to Meng Ting."
"Yes." Uncle Wen nodded. His work efficiency was naturally high. He certainly would not need two days to get the job done for Meng Ting.
Meng Xiao felt a pain in his heart. The restaurant made more money than the coffee shop. The source of the customer was sufficient and the management for both had formed a system so Meng Ting did not need to spend too much to think about it. There was a lot of money to be earned. Although it may not be enough for Li Yifei and Feng Zejiao to buy jewelries, but for the juniors, it was absolutely enough to spend.
Meng Qi undoubtedly would not be short of money; however, for Meng Xiao who was an illegitimate child, it would make him very short of money if he would not change his lifestyle and withdraw from this matter of joining the nouveau riche lifestyle.
With the restaurant downstairs and the coffee shop upstairs, how could Meng Xiao not cast his greedy eyes on him? Now, not only did the restaurant become Meng Ting's, but the coffee shop that originally belonged to him also became Meng Ting's. In an instant, he breathed heavily like a cow [1]. If his hands had not been broken, he would want to rush and go fight with Meng Ting again.
([1]「喘气如牛」huff and puff)
"You're short-sighted. Ting'er has just returned. What's wrong with you giving him a present as his elder brother?" Li Yifei did not want to let Meng Xiao continue to lose face. Her words were more effective to Meng Xiao than Old Master Meng's words.
Meng Xiao lowered his head and did not dare to say anything.
As for the rest, there were Uncle Wen and Meng Qi who did the follow-up work last night; however, they could not make much of a difference. Because of this, Meng Xiao did not only suffer a physical injury, but his wealth also took a hit.
Even if this matter passed, both Meng Xiao and Meng Ting knew that their feud was still not over. As long as Meng Xiao was given the chance, he would surely attack Meng Ting when he was down and find opportunities to persecute him.
Meng Ting always had no idea about schemes and intrigues. He only knew that Meng Xiao still wanted to harm him, and he did not know what to do. He could not really kill anyone. Of course, deep in his heart, he preferred to beat Meng Xiao a few more times, until Meng Xiao would become afraid of him for good!
Old Master Meng and Feng Zejiao left one after another. Li Yifei also asked Meng Xiao to send her back to her house. Uncle Wen went to do the restaurant and cafe's transfer of ownership procedures. Aside from a few servants who passed by, there were only Meng Ting and Meng Qi who were left in the hall.
"Oh, Little Seventh has become smarter."
He took away Meng Ting's phone and quickly pressed a few keys before returning it to Meng Ting. "That's my number. In the future, if you have any problems, give me a call. No matter what, I'm also considered as your eldest brother."
"Isn't it just taking a photo? You don't know how to use it?" Meng Ting took his phone and put it back in his pants' pocket. This relieved him. He was really afraid that Meng Qi would not return his phone. This phone was given to him by Yan Sui.
Meng Qi was speechless. He could only say that he did not expect him to know how to use it.
"Achoo," He had stayed in the living room with his wet hair and wet clothes for a long time. Meng Ting could not hold back his sneeze.
"Why did you run in this kind of weather?" Meng Qi looked at him with knitted eyebrows. He looked toward a maid in the living room. "Xiao Fang, get a towel."
"No need. I'll go back and take a bath."
Meng Ting nodded to Meng Qi and turned back to his room on the second floor. Just when he was about to reach his room, he sneezed again, twice in a row.
His previous body was not this bad. When he ran the whole course under the rain, he would still attend class as usual in the next day. He thought about it for a while. It seemed that because he has not slept well lately, his body had gotten worse.
"Achoo!" He sneezed again.
After taking a quick hot bath, Meng Ting was planning to nestle in his bed and cover his body with a blanket so that he could sweat a little and get better soon.
Meng Qi actually had a real friendly affection for Meng Ting these days. Meng Ting also beat him, but who told him to look good? He took some medicine and knocked again on Meng Ting's door.
After knocking for a long while, he saw Meng Ting with his wet and messy hair as he opened the door.
"Are you stupid? Your hair hasn't dried up and yet you already rushed to bed and went to sleep."
Meng Ting's hazy eyes opened wide, then he touched his own hair. It was indeed wet. He glared at Meng Qi. "This is sweat, you don't understand."
It was not at all easy for him to conceal his sweating, but it was really necessary to take a shower and wash his hair again.
Meng Qi was simply overwhelmed by Meng Ting's 'don't understand' attitude. He put his hand against the door and leisurely said, "Go dry your hair. I'll have someone change your quilt. This is cold medicine. Take it and then go rest again."
Meng Ting looked at Meng Qi then he turned around and looked at the bed that he messed up. At last, he nodded and moved aside to let Meng Qi come in.
Meng Ting measured Meng Qi with his eyes in a glance and ensured that Meng Qi would not mess around his room before he entered the bathroom.
Meng Qi personally experienced it once, and once again, he looked at Meng Ting, who was afraid that he might mess up his room. Even if he still had evil intentions, he did not have the courage to harm him. Furthermore, besides Yan Sui who was backing Meng Ting up, he could not afford to offend the entire Meng family.
As he had said, he had people come in and change Meng Ting's bed sheet. Afterwards, he considerately poured him water to drink. When the servant came to deliver Meng Ting's breakfast that was provided by Yan Sui, he also acted on his behalf to accept it.
However, Meng Ting stayed in the bathroom for a very long time. By doing this, he seemed to not understand how to show consideration to Meng Qi. Meng Qi also felt that he was a very understanding person. This was his first time to appear like this. He knocked on the door again 'bang bang bang' , "Meng Ting, did you pass out in there?"
"If you won't come out, I'll break the door!"
Meng Qi was going to change his words when Meng Ting opened the door. He wore long-sleeved pajamas, wrapped himself tightly, and dried his hair. His face was slightly flushed. Meng Qi did not know whether it was because he took a bath or because he was feverish.
Meng Qi raised his hand to touch his forehead, but in a split second, Meng Ting's gentle eyes turned swift and fierce.
Meng Qi quiveringly withdrew his hand. "Here's the medicine. Remember to take it and there's breakfast over there."
"If you still feel sick, just say it. It is not an inconvenience to invite a doctor at home."
"Okay," said Meng Ting. Then he stared at Meng Qi but Meng Qi seemed to be unable to pick up what Meng Ting wanted to imply so he could only tell Meng Qi directly, "Thank you. Now I want to rest. It's not comfortable if you're in my room."
Meng Qi continued to stare at him again, but he had no choice but to get out of Meng Ting's room. When he was about to leave, he turned around again and said, "I'll go back to my place. If you've got something, go find Uncle Wen. Don't hide it and not say anything."
Meng Qi swore that he had never fended off this old maid's [1] heart, but Meng Ting obviously did not understand that he rarely does this.
([1] May be referring to Meng Ting but it's not clear.)
"Thank you." Meng Ting politely said to Meng Qi and then closed the door.
Meng Ting was actually not completely oblivious of Meng Qi's good intentions for him, but Meng Qi was a member of the Meng Family, so it was inevitable for Meng Ting to be unable to open his heart up to Meng Qi. He looked at the food container, the medicine bottle and the water on the table. He stepped forward, picked up the bottle and finally threw it into the garbage bin.
He opened the food container and took a few bites. He looked completely relieved now. He pulled out his phone from his pajamas' pocket, then sent a text message to Yan Sui.
"I'm eating breakfast and it's delicious."
After he finished his breakfast, Meng Ting waited for a while until Yan Sui replied to his text message, then he nestled back in to his bed. During the entire day, he was muddle-headed, but no one was aware of Meng Ting getting sick except for Meng Qi, who had already left the old house.
As for Meng Ting, he got caught up once again in the cycle of a never-ending nightmare. He did not even notice that his mobile phone vibrated a few times already.
"This is Young Master Meng Ting's room," Uncle Wen received a notice at noon that Yan Sui would come to the Meng's residence, but now that he received the person himself, he still felt that it was unreal.
On one hand, Yan Sui came here to chat with Old Master Meng; while on the other — which was more important — he came to see Meng Ting and in passing, took him to go and get their marriage certificate. Originally, Secretary Wang said that as long as he had both of their photos, he would be able to do it for them, but Yan Sui rejected him.
He thought that Meng Ting was hoping to marry him, so he should be very happy to get the certificate by themselves. Of course, for one thing, it was to make him happy and for another, the call last night had made Yan Sui rather worried about Meng Ting. He could not be at ease at all if he did not see Meng Ting in person. Besides, he had a few reasons, so he could come over.
Uncle Wen had been knocking on Meng Ting's door for quite a while, but still no one opened it. He was in a bit an awkward situation, so he could only continue to knock.
After a long time had passed, only then did Meng Ting came and open the door.
His face was even more ghastly than earlier that morning. Because of his continuous nightmare, of course his mood became quite bad and now, he was even awakened by this monotonous and constant knocking sound. Naturally, his expression became more dire and a bit irritated.
"What's the matter… Yan Sui?" Meng Ting could not help but to rub his eyes. He was afraid that he was still sleepy, so he was in a daze and mistakenly saw a certain person; however, even after he finished rubbing his eyes, Yan Sui was still right before his very eyes. His eyebrows were slightly knitted, and he was looking at him with slightly cold expression.
Aside from good intentions and maliciousness, Meng Ting was not sensitive to others' emotions; moreover, at this moment when he was sick, he would naturally be a bit slower. He rushed forward and leaned halfway to Yan Sui. He reached out and touched Yan Sui's cheek. "It's warm. It's a real person. It's not a dream."
There was a flash of helplessness in Yan Sui's eyes. He took Meng Ting into his embrace and looked toward Uncle Wen.
Although Uncle Wen was very surprised by Meng Ting's 'impudent' behavior to Yan Sui, with his experience as a housekeeper in that place for many years, he was able to maintain his expression and slightly bowed as he left and did not return.