mesbooks Chapter 5 A Sober Depravity
Chapter 5 A Sober Depravity
After having dinner with his elders at the club, Meng Jiangyu went straight back to Hanhai Capital.
The floor-to-ceiling windows of his CBD penthouse office offered a panoramic view of Beijing's bustling cityscape, but he found the view somewhat jarring.
He irritably loosened his tie, attributing his inexplicable mood to the sweltering heat of late summer.
That girl named Shen Qingyao, with her excessively clear eyes, and that smile that shone like starlight when glimpsed in the crowd…
These images, which shouldn't have left a mark on his heart, seemed to have taken root and would pop up from time to time.
Disgusted by this feeling of being out of control, Meng Jiangyu turned on his computer and pulled up his schedule for the next week.
He picked up the intercom, his tone as cold and hard as ever: "Fill all the gaps in my schedule for next week. I'll personally go to the European project."
Assistant Jason paused for a moment on the other end of the line, then hesitated before saying, "Mr. Meng, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to adjust your schedule a bit this week..."
"Do as I say." Meng Jiangyu interrupted him, leaving no room for negotiation.
"We have collected Shen's personal information. Do you wish to receive it again?"
"Need not!"
After hanging up the phone, he looked at the schedule on the screen, which was filled with dense work, and his tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Only by keeping yourself busy, so busy that you don't have time to think about unimportant people and things, can you suppress those unnecessary ripples.
In the following days, Meng Jiangyu completely transformed into a work machine.
During the day, he works non-stop between meeting rooms and negotiation tables; at night, he handles social gatherings with ease; and in the early hours of the morning, he is still processing documents in the office.
The intense work was like an airtight net, enveloping him and successfully leaving him no space to think about that girl.
He thought that this would completely erase that insignificant connection, but he didn't realize that deliberately forgetting is itself a form of caring.
Meanwhile, Shen Qingyao was living the typical life of a freshman, participating in military training.
The September sun was still scorching. The freshmen, dressed in baggy camouflage uniforms, stood in neat squares on the playground. Sweat streamed down their faces, soaking their collars and sticking stickily to their skin.
Shen Qingyao stood in the line with her back straight and her eyes looking straight ahead. Even when sweat got into her eyes, she just blinked hard and didn't dare to move.
The instructors' commands were loud and clear, repeating "At ease," "Attention," and "Forward" over and over again.
The monotonous movements were repeated over and over again, and some people fainted from exhaustion and were helped to the side to rest, but Shen Qingyao gritted her teeth and persevered.
She had helped with farm work since she was a child, so she was physically strong. More importantly, she didn't want to fall behind.
During the break, Xiang Yu, who had taken leave, secretly came over and handed her a bottle of water: "Qingyao, you're amazing. You've been standing for so long without even turning red or out of breath."
Shen Qingyao unscrewed the bottle cap and took a big gulp, then wiped her face: "I got this from doing farm work back home."
Xu Huihui, whose skin was fair and slightly red from the sun, said aggrievedly, "This sun is too strong, I feel like I'm going to melt."
Lu Ying took out sunscreen and handed it to them: "Apply some of this, otherwise your skin will peel when you get back."
Lu Ying went to the hospital and got a certificate stating that she could skip military training due to health reasons.
Lu Ying came to the playground to bring fruit and snacks to her roommates.
The four girls sat under the shade of a tree, sharing sun protection tips and snacks, and the fatigue from training seemed to lessen considerably.
In addition to military training, the school also arranged various lectures for freshmen, ranging from professional introductions to safety education, from library usage guides to mental health counseling.
Shen Qingyao attended every show, sitting in the front row and taking notes diligently.
You need to have a solid grasp of professional knowledge and make good use of the school's resources. Those seemingly boring lectures actually contain a lot of useful information.
Shen Qingyao walked back to her dormitory with her notebook in her arms, the setting sun casting a long shadow over her.
Her life was simple and regular: military training, lectures, organizing notes, previewing lessons, and occasionally eating and chatting with her roommates in the cafeteria.
That evening, Meng Jiangyu finished his social engagements and leaned back in the car, slightly drunk.
The assistant was giving a work report and mentioned the recent university-enterprise cooperation project of Beijing University, saying that the university hoped to have a face-to-face meeting with him next week.
"Next week..." Meng Jiangyu closed his eyes, his brows furrowed slightly, as if recalling the schedule.
"You are currently available for next Wednesday at 3 PM."
Meng Jiangyu remained silent for a few seconds, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing his knee.
That name was like a tiny needle, gently piercing the barrier he had built with his busy schedule.
He opened his eyes, the drunkenness in them dissipating somewhat, and his voice regained its usual calmness: "Arrange for the vice president to go. In the future, there's no need to inform me about any collaborations related to Jingbei University; just arrange for the vice president to go directly."
Normally, this kind of project shouldn't be disclosed to Meng Jiangyu, but the boss's unusual behavior naturally caught the attention of his assistant, Jason.
Silence fell over the carriage.
Looking at the neon lights flashing past the window, Meng Jiangyu loathed this uncontrollable expectation.
The night outside the car window grew darker and darker.
The car drove smoothly through the night. Meng Jiangyu leaned back in the back seat, closing his eyes to rest.
The streetlights outside the window stretched out in a continuous ribbon of light, making his eyelids heavy. Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.
In his dream, Shen Qingyao wore a pure white wedding dress with a light veil, standing at the end of the red carpet and smiling at him, her eyes shining brighter than the chandelier in the church.
He walked over and took her hand. His fingertips touched her slightly cool skin, and his heart pounded like a drum.
As they exchanged rings, her fingertips trembled slightly as she whispered "I do," her voice barely audible, yet striking a deep chord in his heart.
Married life was like being immersed in honey.
When she woke up in the morning, she would always snuggle in his arms, her messy hair brushing against his neck.
On weekends, the two of them would snuggle on the sofa to watch movies. She would rest her head on his lap and fall asleep without realizing it, her breathing as even as a spring breeze.
Later, clutching a lab report in her hand, she threw herself into his arms with red eyes, her voice trembling with tears yet unable to hide her joy: "Meng Jiangyu, we're having a baby."
He stood there stunned for a long time before carefully embracing her, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world, even softening his breathing.
On the day of her prenatal checkup, he canceled all his social engagements and accompanied her to the hospital on time.
Looking at the tiny gestational sac on the ultrasound report, he felt for the first time how inadequate his words were. All he could do was touch her belly again and again and whisper, "You've worked so hard."
But pregnancy brought more than just joy; her emotions became like the summer weather.
One second she was laughing and saying she wanted to eat candied hawthorns from the south of the city, the next second her eyes welled up with tears streaming down her face because he bought the wrong flavor: "You don't care at all! Do you think I'm a nuisance?"
He panicked and clumsily wiped away her tears, holding her tightly in his arms: "It's my fault, I'll go change it right now, don't cry, it breaks my heart to see you cry."
She struggled in his arms, gently pounding his chest with her small fists, complaining in a tearful voice, "My legs are so swollen, I can't sleep at night, and you've upset me again..."
He let her hit him, his voice soft and gentle: "It's all my fault. From now on, I'll massage your legs every day. If you can't sleep, I'll talk to you. I'll talk to you all night long."
After she had finished crying and leaned on his shoulder, still sobbing, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head and kissed the top of her head, feeling both heartache and tenderness.
So this is what it means to care for someone: wanting to see them as an extension of yourself, yet fearing to break them.
"Mr. Meng, we've arrived." The driver's voice woke him from his dream.
Meng Jiangyu opened his eyes, and outside the window was the familiar Yu Garden.
He raised his hand and pressed it to his brow; his fingertips were actually a little hot.
The air in the carriage was very quiet, but the scene in my dream was exceptionally clear. Shen Qingyao's smiling face and her crying face were etched into my heart.
He opened the car door, and the cool evening breeze swept over him, slightly dispelling the heat in his heart.
Meng Jiangyu's lips unconsciously curled up slightly. Perhaps in the future, this dream will not just be a dream.
Meng Jiangyu held his suit jacket in front of him and went straight back to his room, where he took a cold shower.