Meng Anzhi stood quietly opposite him, listening as he finished speaking.
" In Shiyan, no one likes a bully. The Shi Household and the Meng Household can be business partners, eat at the same table, and laugh and chat, but they will never become family."
She could not forget the various ways Meng Anci was bullied by Shiyan when he entered the academy, and she could not forget the scene of being blocked at the entrance of the Green Mountain Academy by Madam Shi, who pointed at her nose and cursed her.
If it weren't for her aunt's formidable fighting skills and Master Zhao's protection, Meng Anci would have been forced to drop out of school by the Shi Household long ago, and would never have ended up where he is today.
Meng Anzhi never thought of herself as a magnanimous person. Shiyan could be said to be young and immature, but Madam Shi was an adult.
Shiyan looked regretful and said softly to Meng Anzhi, " Anzhi, I thought those things were all in the past."
"That's all in the past, so we're friends now, but we can only be friends. Shiyan, you're wonderful, but I can't marry you."
Meng Anzhi's words pierced his heart like a knife. He couldn't understand why she couldn't let go of things from so long ago.
Besides, those were things from when he was a child, and he's changed them all now.
Shiyan stood there all alone, like a child drenched in rain, unaware of when Meng Anzhi had left.
Meng Anzhi left the alley without stopping, walking until she reached a less crowded area before stopping. She turned around and looked at the empty space behind her.
"You've been following me all this way, aren't you planning to come out?"
Ruan Xingmian slowly walked out from around the corner, her expression open and honest, showing no embarrassment at being caught. "You shouldn't have spoken to my cousin like that. He's a very simple person. Your words hurt him."
Meng Anzhi glanced at her lightly, "You like him..."
Ruan Xingmian did not deny it, "My aunt intended for me to marry him. For a merchant's daughter, finding a scholar would be the best thing, so I did not object."
You may not like him, but please don't hurt him.
Looking into the girl's eyes, Meng Anzhi said seriously, "When it comes to feelings, the worst thing is to be lingering on and on, to be ambiguous. I have to be ruthless to cut off his hopes."
Whoever marries him in the future should thank me... instead of questioning me like you are."
Ruan Xingmian was speechless after being rebuked. She stared at Meng Anzhi's departing figure for a long time, unable to recover. Was she really only thirteen years old?
When Meng Anzhi returned to the Anzhi Hall, Shen Huaiyu was sitting behind the desk treating a patient. She didn't disturb her, put down her medicine box, and turned to go to the backyard.
Inside the study, Jin Shanyao sat behind her desk, engrossed in writing something. Meng Anzhi walked to the bookshelf, took down a wooden box from the top shelf, opened it, and found Shi Household contracts.
"Auntie, I don't plan to renew the contracts with the Shi Household Escort Agency after they expire."
Jin Shanyao didn't look up, but simply gave a faint "hmm".
"You don't even ask why?"
"What are you asking? Anzhi Hall is yours. You can cooperate with whomever you want." Jin Shanyao raised her head and saw that Meng Anzhi looked listless.
"Tell me, who made my baby angry? I'll go find a ghost to scare him tonight."
Meng Anzhi couldn't help but smile slightly. She glanced at the date on the contract and slowly said, " Shiyan said he likes me and wants me to marry him."
Jin Shanyao an eyebrow, and Meng Anzhi hurriedly explained, "I didn't agree. Not only will I not get married, but even if I do, I won't marry a mother-in-law like the Madam Shi."
Since Shiyan has made things clear, I think we should stop cooperating in the future. Lingering ties don't seem right.
Jin Shanyao initially signed five-year contracts with Shi Household. Except for the first few years when they needed to send out signs, in recent years, customers have almost always come to them.
If it weren't for the fact that Shiyan and Meng Anci were classmates, given Madam Shi's awkward personality, she wouldn't have renewed the contract.
Jin Shanyao put down her brush and looked at Meng Anzhi seriously, saying, "Alright, that's fine. I'll have Wu Yong find a few more escort agencies later, and you can choose one."
Meng Anzhi was taken aback for a moment, "Don't you think I'm being willful?"
Jin Shanyao tapped the table. "My dear, I'm teaching you skills not so you can submit to others, but so you can have the confidence to say no."
Meng Anzhi opened her mouth, but suddenly didn't know what to say. After a moment of silence, she whispered, "Auntie... I'll be fourteen in two months."
Jin Shanyao picked up her brush and continued writing and drawing. "Hmm... I know."
Meng Anzhi cleared her throat. "She's a young lady now."
"Um."
"No... no, I can't call you 'baby' anymore."
Jin Shanyao dipped her brush in ink and wrote as she said, "Understood, my Dabao."
Meng Anzhi:...
Having not seen Shiyan for over a month, Meng Anci invited Zhao Zhiyuan to visit him at Shi Household.
The gatekeeper led the two to the courtyard in Shiyan and knocked on the door of the study.
"Young Master, Scholar Zhao and Juren Meng have come to see you."
There was no movement in the study. Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan exchanged a glance, both assuming that the Shiyan provincial examination had been too much of a blow and that they were unwilling to see them.
A moment later, the door opened, Shiyan appeared with disheveled hair, unfocused eyes, and a body that seemed to hang on a skeleton, completely different from his usual jovial self.
Meng Anci asked in surprise, " Shiyan, what's wrong with you?"
Zhao Zhiyuan stared at him without saying a word.
Shiyan looked up and saw a face that bore an uncanny resemblance to Meng Anzhi. His eyes instantly reddened, and he quickly turned his face away, took a deep breath, and said coldly, "Why are you here?"
Zhao Zhiyuan: "We hadn't heard from you since the provincial examination, so we came to check on you."
Shiyan pointed to a chair nearby and said listlessly, "Sit."
Zhao Zhiyuan and Meng Anci exchanged a glance, then, after settling down, Zhao Zhiyuan comforted Meng Anci, " Shiyan, don't be too sad... You have a solid foundation. You didn't pass the provincial examination this time, but you'll definitely pass it next time."
Shiyan gave a soft "Mmm," then paused for a moment before mustering her courage to look at Meng Anci. " Anci, when you entered Green Mountain Academy at the age of four, I bullied you. Can you forgive me?"
Meng Anci didn't know why he brought up the past, and truthfully replied, "I have already forgiven you."
"Then can you ask Anzhi to forgive me too? She's ignoring me because of this," Shiyan said, tears welling up in her eyes, which startled Meng Anci.
" Shiyan... did you say something you shouldn't have?" Meng Anci's voice turned cold. His sister wasn't the type to turn on him for no reason, unless Shiyan had said something.
Shiyan was so frightened that he stammered, "I... I..." He couldn't utter a word for a long time, and his face turned bright red.
Zhao Zhiyuan's eyes darkened.
Shiyan's eyes darted around, not daring to look in Meng Anci's direction at all. "N-nothing... I didn't say anything."
Meng Anci scoffed, "You'd better not have said anything." He then glanced at Shiyan's appearance and said disdainfully, "A grown man like you, making yourself look like this, isn't it embarrassing?"
If you don't pass this time, you can try again next time. What good will it do you to be so discouraged?
Looking at Meng Anci's fierce expression towards him, Shiyan felt like crying again... It was so similar; Meng Anzhi had the same expression when she scolded him.
No, I can't watch this anymore... Heartbreak is truly the most painful thing.