Under the moonlight

"In other words, they put on this show to create discord between the two of you, so that they would be one less threat," Chen Zhi said, looking at Zhao Meng and Xu Xinyi.

"Hmm, not bad, but those are minor matters. As for that incident, we still don't know if it actually happened." Zhao Meng looked at Xu Xinyi. She was so drunk at the time, even if it did happen, how much could she possibly remember?

"Whether it happens or not is no longer important. Even if it doesn't happen that day, it might happen someday in the future. Women, never think about surpassing men. Once they feel threatened, they will no longer treat you as a woman. They will use all sorts of despicable means against you. Humph, I'm already used to it."

Huang Meng looked at Xu Xinyi's calm and composed expression as she spoke these words, wondering how much courage it must have taken. "But, is this really going to be left like this?"

"What else can we do? They did everything so meticulously just to control you. We can only accept our defeat." Xu Xinyi rolled her eyes at Huang Meng and said irritably.

"Yes, this was a trap set by someone, and you couldn't escape it, so that's how it is," Zhao Meng said patiently to Huang Meng.

“I’ve made this all clear from beginning to end. I felt guilty when I saw you like that that day, so I stayed in the room and didn’t go back. Later I found out that you had mistaken me for someone else, and it was also later that I realized how you felt about me.”

Zhao Meng looked at Xu Xinyi and said calmly, "So it's necessary to explain this to you clearly, because I don't want you to misunderstand my feelings for you, and I don't want you to waste your time and energy on me."

"Zhao Meng, if it weren't for that incident, I probably wouldn't have confessed my feelings to you. I've always liked you, and it was only after that incident that I thought you felt the same way about me, which is why I confessed to you. But you rejected me. I thought it was because I hadn't done enough, so I tried harder and harder to prove myself." Xu Xinyi's eyes were filled with tenderness and sorrow as she looked at Zhao Meng.

"You like me, but you don't understand me."

"It's not that I don't understand, it's that I'm unwilling to accept it." Xu Xinyi looked at him and burst into tears.

How could she not understand his directness and frankness? It was just that she was unwilling to accept it. No one could remain indifferent to the person they admired.

"Ah, well, matters of the heart can't be forced. I'm sure you understand this principle, given how well you manage in business. Sometimes, you just have to learn to let go, hehe~"

Seeing that the conversation between the two was about to fall into another vicious cycle of "I love you, but you don't love me," Chen Zhi quickly spoke up and nudged Huang Meng, who was standing next to him, with his elbow.

"Yes, yes, feelings should be followed, they can't be forced," Huang Meng said quickly, seeing the hint in Chen Zhi's eyes.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Meng suddenly turned to look at her. His eyes held a questioning gaze, an expectation, and boundless tenderness. When Huang Meng met his gaze, she felt inexplicably guilty and quickly lowered her head.

"I've already made myself clear, so I don't think I need to repeat myself. I'll call a car to take you home in a bit." Zhao Meng looked at Xu Xinyi, whose face was no longer flushed. He knew from the beginning that with her alcohol tolerance, she wouldn't get drunk easily; she was just trying to test his limits.

“Okay, by the way, about that thing you mentioned to me this afternoon, we were originally going to do business with that manufacturer too, so it wasn’t entirely for your sake. Don’t overthink it. They have plenty of stock, and the goods will arrive here when you get back. Just give me the payment later, and I’ll give it to them all at once.” Xu Xinyi stood up, suddenly remembered this, and turned to Zhao Meng to say.

"Okay, thank you." Zhao Meng stood up, looked at his bathrobe, and waved to Chen Zhi. The latter immediately understood, put down his food, and jogged over. "Let's go, I'll take you downstairs," Chen Zhi said with a smile to Xu Xinyi.

She glanced back at Zhao Meng. This man, in the end, did not belong to her. People usually have a premonition about what does not belong to them. What truly belongs to you will not require so much effort from you.

As if she had suddenly figured something out, she smiled calmly at Zhao Meng, turned around deftly, and followed Chen Zhi away.

After Zhao Meng closed the door, Huang Meng realized that she and Zhao Meng, who was wearing a bathrobe, were the only ones left in the room.

"Um, well, I'll head back now." She was about to slip away when Zhao Meng reached out and blocked her way.

"What, you want to leave after hearing the story?" Zhao Meng put one arm in front of her and the other on his hip, looking at her flustered face with amusement.

"No, no, it's just that it's getting late, we should go to sleep." Huang Meng stared straight ahead, not daring to wander her eyes. As Zhao Meng moved, one side of his bathrobe had come undone, revealing his strong, tanned skin underneath.

Zhao Meng looked at her determined gaze fixed on the door and chuckled, "What, is the door that pretty?" With that, he withdrew his arm. Just when Huang Meng thought he was going to let her leave, she turned her head and, oh my god, he had taken off his bathrobe!

Huang Meng stood there, frozen in place, before her Zhao Meng's strong, broad back, and several scars of varying sizes and shades.

“These scars, if it weren’t for you, there would probably be even more,” Zhao Meng said softly with his back to her. “Back then, they were slashing at me with knives without any regard for my safety. I really thought I was going to die there that day.” After saying that, Zhao Meng put his bathrobe back on.

"Huang Meng, you saved me. I've always wanted to tell you in person how brave you were back then," Zhao Meng said gently, turning around to look at the stunned Huang Meng.

"I... I don't know what I was thinking at the time, I just felt that I couldn't watch them hurt you."

Huang Meng's memories were pulled back to that day. The Zhao Meng in front of her and the Zhao Meng of that day began to overlap. The same sharp eyebrows and the same arrogant eyes. Even when he fell in a pool of blood, he did not say a word of weakness.

She spoke her mind, saying, "You were almost beaten to death by them, you know? All they wanted was for you to back down, right? A real man can bend and stretch, why were you so stubborn! I couldn't just stand by and watch them treat you like that. I didn't think about anything else, I just felt that you couldn't be hurt, you couldn't, um~"

Huang Meng's words were silenced by his kiss. Zhao Meng watched her anxiously express her innermost thoughts at the time, and his heart warmed. All his concerns and worries were thrown to the back of his mind. Her tender red lips kept talking about her worries for him. How could he resist? Even if she would be angry, he would kiss her first!

Zhao Meng still didn't dare to use force, but only kissed her lips very gently. He was afraid that she would be afraid of him, would back down, and would not dare to be presumptuous.

He stepped back immediately, looking at the person in front of him who was staring at him in a daze. He longed to hold her tightly in his arms and pull her into his body, so that he could make up for all the years they had missed each other.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong." Zhao Meng saw her eyes widening and quickly admitted his mistake, reluctantly taking two steps back to give her some breathing space.

"Why are you doing this? Can't you talk properly?!" Huang Meng was caught off guard by his sudden kiss. She tried to push him away, but he stepped back first, leaving her with nowhere to vent her frustration.

"I'm going back now," she said to Zhao Meng. He had learned his lesson and quickly opened the door to let her out.

"Good night." Huang Meng glanced back at Zhao Meng standing behind the door, said nothing, quickly took out her room card, opened the door and went in. Only after watching her enter did Zhao Meng close the door.

Leaning against the door, I closed my eyes. Before me was her. I reached out and touched my lips, a deep smile in my eyes. Hmm, tonight was worth it.