mesbooks Chapter 124 records our lives
Chapter 124 records our lives
Shen Qingyao nestled in Meng Jiangyu's arms, her fingertips repeatedly tracing the patterns on the two gold locks. Her tears gradually stopped, leaving only a slight redness at the corners of her eyes.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the carpet.
"Ah Yu." She looked up at him, her voice hoarse from crying, "When did you prepare this?"
Meng Jiangyu lowered his head and placed a light kiss on the corner of her reddened eyes. His fingertips slowly slid down her hair, his eyes filled with tenderness. "When you got hurt in your freshman year."
Shen Qingyao was stunned. "So early?"
"That day you lay on the ground, barely alive, and my heart was breaking," Meng Jiangyu said in a low voice.
"Later, I looked up your information and found out your birth date, so I went to the temple and asked for this lock."
"I thought to myself, one day, I will put it on you myself and tell you that the rest of my life, Meng Jiangyu, is bound to you, Shen Qingyao."
Shen Qingyao couldn't hold back her tears, but this time they were sweet.
She kissed his lips first, filled with joy.
Meng Jiangyu's eyes suddenly darkened, and he held the back of her head, deepening the kiss, his lips filled with her scent.
After a moment, he released her, paused, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "I don't want to experience that darkest moment again."
Shen Qingyao's cheeks instantly flushed. She buried her face in his chest and said in a muffled voice, "No, I will protect myself, and I will protect you too."
"Okay." Meng Jiangyu chuckled softly, the vibrations in his chest coming through his clothes, which made him feel particularly at ease.
He raised his hand, pinched her chin, and forced her to look up at him. His possessiveness was undisguised, yet his gaze was filled with extreme doting affection.
Shen Qingyao twirled Meng Jiangyu's tie with her fingertips, her voice soft and slightly coquettish: "Ayu, are there any photos of you from when you were little here?"
"have."
"I want to see."
"Okay, I'll go to the study to get it for you." Meng Jiangyu turned and walked towards the study.
A moment later, Meng Jiangyu took out a gold-embossed leather photo album with rounded edges, indicating its age.
She opened the photo album, and the first page was a yellowed old photo of Meng Jiangyu, an infant, frowning and clutching a rattle drum.
"You were this cool even as a child," Shen Qingyao couldn't help but laugh, lightly tapping the little fist in the photo with her fingertip. "And you're frowning, is the rattle drum not fun enough?"
Meng Jiangyu looked down at her, a faint smile playing in his eyes, but said nothing.
Turning the pages, you'll find traces of his childhood.
Some children flew kites while riding on their fathers' shoulders, some chased butterflies in the yard, some rode horses, and some had their hair braided by their mothers while sitting on the sofa.
The little boy in the photo is gradually developing his features, losing his baby fat, and his outline is becoming more defined.
As I turned the pages, by the time I got to junior high, I still had three or four photos left: pictures of me winning awards at sports meets and group photos with classmates.
Flipping to my high school photos, there was only one picture: my high school graduation photo.
He stood in the last row, his white shirt buttoned all the way up, his back ramrod straight, his face expressionless.
After that, there was only one ID photo, which looked almost exactly the same as now.
Shen Qingyao's fingertip paused on the ID photo, and she looked up at him: "Why are there no more photos after that?"
Meng Jiangyu leaned back on the sofa, his fingertips casually tracing the edge of the photo album, his voice as calm as water: "The previous photos were all taken by my father."
Shen Qingyao's heart skipped a beat, and she instantly understood what was going on.
With his father's unexpected death, the weight of the entire Meng family suddenly loomed over him. He didn't even have time to grieve, let alone have the mind to keep any photos.
She didn't ask any more questions, but turned around, hugged his waist, pressed her cheek against his warm chest, and said in a muffled voice, "From now on, I'll take pictures of you, to record our life."
"We'll take the photo album back with us. I'll put photos of our life in Yu Garden, our vacation in the South of France, our birthday celebration in Shanghai, and our skiing in Switzerland in it."
Meng Jiangyu held the girl in his arms, his fingertips gently stroking her thin back, his deep voice unusually hoarse: "Okay."
-
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm, golden glow on the mahogany mahjong table.
Shen Qingyao sat opposite Grandma Meng, with a gentle-smiling aunt on her left and Meng Jiangyu's third sister-in-law on her right. The four of them sat around the table.
"Yaoyao, don't be shy, just make yourself at home." Grandma Meng smoothed her graying hair, finished building the wall of cards first, and spoke in a kind tone.
In the first game, Shen Qingyao had good luck and got two pairs of generals right from the start.
Aunt Meng played her cards slowly and methodically, discarding a "30,000".
Third Sister-in-law was decisive and ruthless, showing no mercy when taking tiles, her eyes glancing at Shen Qingyao from time to time.
Shen Qingyao's movements when drawing cards were steady and decisive, and she remained calm and composed even after winning.
After a round, Aunt Meng lost a few rounds but didn't get angry; instead, she became even more gentle.
Shen Qingyao remained calm and composed, yielding the cards she should and fighting for the cards she should fight for, neither deliberately trying to please or go easy on others, nor being overly aggressive.
Third Sister-in-law couldn't help but tease, "Qingyao looks gentle, but she plays cards with great skill and composure."
Aunt Meng nodded in agreement, her smile deepening: "She's a steady child, unlike some girls who get carried away when they win and droopy when they lose."
Grandma Meng didn't speak, but slowly played a "get rich" card after a long while. Her gaze fell on Shen Qingyao's face, and she finally showed a satisfied smile.
Meng Jiangyu was playing chess with his elder brother not far away, glancing at Shen Qingyao from time to time.
-
As dusk settled, a round banquet had already been set up in the main hall of the Meng family's old residence. Warm yellow palace lanterns hung under the corridor, illuminating the blue brick floor.
An elderly woman sat at the head of the table, while Shen Qingyao sat next to Meng Jiangyu. Their conversation was filled with laughter as they clinked glasses.
After a few rounds of drinks, the eldest cousin, Meng Jianglin, stood up, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. He laughed loudly, "Fifth brother, you've been hiding this well! We've always tried to introduce you to potential partners, but you always used work as an excuse. Today you've finally brought your future sister-in-law out. It wouldn't be fair if you weren't punished with three drinks!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone at the table chimed in, "That's right!"
"Exactly! Fifth Brother is very tight-lipped!"
"So it turns out she already had someone she loved."
Meng Jiangyu raised his eyebrows slightly, picked up the glass of baijiu in front of him with his well-defined knuckles, tilted his head back and gulped it down, the curve of his Adam's apple bobbing was neat and beautiful.
"I'll drink the wine," he said, putting down his glass and glancing at everyone at the table. His tone carried a hint of domineering indulgence. "She was too young before."
Shen Qingyao was held protectively in his arms, her cheeks slightly flushed. When she looked up, she met his deep eyes, which were filled with tenderness.
The old lady couldn't stop smiling. "Look at how protective she is of her offspring!"
The old lady joked, and everyone at the table burst into laughter again.
Shen Qingyao was so embarrassed that she secretly pinched Meng Jiangyu's waist. Meng Jiangyu winced in pain, but just looked at her with doting eyes.
Lin's mother smiled and shook her head, but her eyes were full of relief. She put a piece of food on Shen Qingyao's plate and said, "Yaoyao, eat your food and don't pay attention to them."
Shen Qingyao's ears turned bright red, almost bleeding, but her heart was filled with sweetness. "Thank you, Auntie."
Looking at her shy expression, Meng Jiangyu couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
At this moment, Third Sister-in-law spoke up with a smile: "Yaoyao, tell us, what are Jiang Yu's shortcomings?"
Shen Qingyao tilted her head and thought for a moment, then smiled slyly: "He doesn't seem to have any flaws."
"You're just seeing things through your lover's eyes." Everyone burst into laughter again.
Afterwards, everyone continued to toast and drink, creating a very lively atmosphere.