Meng Chu didn’t know how she left that restaurant.
She was aware that Professor Han had been praising her endlessly, seemingly still trying to set her up with Li Huaiqian.
Fortunately, Wen Chengdong arrived in his car. The entrance of the restaurant didn’t seem like the right place for such discussions anyway, so after Xue Yi exchanged brief greetings, she ushered them into the car.
Once inside, Meng Chu’s mind remained as sluggish and heavy as a thick paste, so dense it nearly paralyzed her ability to think.
“Chuchu jiejie,” Wen Yu, seated beside her, turned to look at her silent figure and called out.
But Meng Chu, who usually responded to her every request, seemed not to hear her at all.
She simply sat there in silence.
The streets of Shanghai at night were dazzling under the brilliant lights. Though the dark car windows obscured the vibrant nightscape, they couldn’t block out the clamor outside.
Yet even this clamor failed to register in Meng Chu’s eyes.
No one knew the turmoil she was experiencing at that moment.
Countless questions swirled in her mind, but at the core of it all, one remained:
—If Li Huaiqian was the one Xue Yi had arranged for her to meet, then who was Cheng Jinyu?
She had thought the trajectory of her life was unfolding as she had envisioned.
Marrying Cheng Jinyu might have been a bit reckless, but from the looks of it, it still seemed like the right choice.
Yet now, she was being told that the man she had chosen was a wrong option from the very beginning!
No-not just wrong.
An option that shouldn’t have existed but had inexplicably appeared.
As the lights outside the window flickered like scenes from a film, Meng Chu was abruptly pulled back to their first meeting.
It was about five months ago.
That weekend, Xue Yi had called her in advance, inviting her over for a meal.
Meng Chu, of course, didn’t refuse.
But when she arrived, she found only the housekeeper at home.
Xue Yi texted her, saying she had taken Wen Yu out shopping and would be back later, asking Meng Chu to wait for a while.
Meng Chu had visited Xue Yi’s home often before, so the housekeeper was very familiar with her.
Within ten minutes, the housekeeper mentioned needing to run to the supermarket for some missing groceries.
Suddenly, Meng Chu was the only one left in the house.
She didn’t mind, sitting quietly on the sofa while still handling work matters.
Though it was only early May, the cicadas outside seemed to have already begun their chorus, lending a leisurely, unhurried air to the afternoon.
Then Meng Chu received a call from Wen Yu.
As soon as she answered, she heard Wen Yu whisper urgently, “Chuchu jiejie, run! Get out of our house now!”
“Huh?” Meng Chu was baffled by her frantic tone.
Patiently, she asked, “Xiao Yu, what’s wrong?”
Wen Yu, seemingly unable to speak freely, continued in a hushed voice, “Mom is scheming with someone to set you up on a blind date. She told the guy to come over so she could stage an ‘accidental’ meeting between you two.”
Meng Chu froze.
Then she burst out laughing.
No wonder Xue Yi had asked her to come over but then took Wen Yu out shopping instead.
Normally, Xue Yi would have dragged her and Wen Yu along to go shopping.
And the aunt here too-she left as soon as she arrived.
“If I leave, Aunt Xue will be in a tough spot,” Meng Chu said softly.
Wen Yu was shocked: “Chu Chu-jie, don’t tell me you actually want to go on a blind date?”
Meng Chu paused, not answering immediately.
Wen Yu, still in high school, was at that youthful stage where her fantasies about love and marriage were still tinged with dreamy idealism.
She said, “You’re so beautiful-of course you should date a super handsome guy.”
Meng Chu teased her, “How do you know the guy Aunt Xue arranged for me isn’t a super handsome one?”
“Would a super handsome guy even need a blind date?” Wen Yu retorted emphatically.
Meng Chu countered, “Weren’t you just praising me for being beautiful? Yet here I am, seemingly needing a blind date too.”
Wen Yu grew anxious: “Chu Chu-jie, I’m secretly tipping you off here-how come you’re siding with my mom now?”
Meng Chu was used to teasing Wen Yu, so she chuckled and coaxed her.
“Alright, alright, I’m on your side, Xiao Yu.”
Wen Yu said, “Then you should slip away before that guy shows up. If my mom asks later, just don’t tell her I warned you.”
“Mm, thanks, Xiao Yu,” Meng Chu said with a light laugh.
But after hanging up, Meng Chu didn’t leave.
It wasn’t that she wanted to go on the blind date-but since Xue Yi had arranged it, she couldn’t just walk away.
Over the past few years, Xue Yi had practically treated her like another daughter.
This was because her mother and Xue Yi had been close friends since childhood.
From a young age, Meng Chu would receive beautiful clothes sent from Shanghai by Xue Yi.
Back then, she was practically the prettiest and most stylish girl in school.
Even when her parents divorced, Xue Yi immediately returned from Shanghai to stay with Xu Qingying for a while.
She even invited the two of them to visit Shanghai during holidays.
Even Song Yumian often said she wanted to be lifelong friends with Meng Chu, just like them—unwavering and inseparable.
When Meng Chu was about to graduate from undergrad, Xue Yi returned from the U.S.
It was only then that she learned about Xu Qingying’s cancer diagnosis.
That was the first time Meng Chu had ever seen Xue Yi get so angry at her own mother.
But after the outburst, Xue Yi hugged her mother and broke down in tears.
Later, when Meng Chu was pursuing her master’s at J University, Xue Yi frequently invited her over for meals since Wen Chengdong was a professor there.
Even her roommates had tasted Xue Yi’s home-cooked treats.
So of course Meng Chu didn’t want to leave and put Xue Yi in an awkward position.
But the real reason she stayed was something else.
Just last week, her mother had come to Shanghai for a follow-up checkup.
Ever since Xu Qingying recovered from breast cancer, she had been going for regular checkups.
After all, cancer could always relapse.
No matter how busy she was, Meng Chu would take time off to accompany her to the hospital.
The two of them were sitting quietly on a bench in the hospital, waiting.
Then, out of nowhere, Xu Qingying turned to her and said softly, “Chu Chu, do you think my marriage was a failure?”
Meng Chu fell silent.
After a long pause, she whispered, “Why are you bringing this up now?”
Since Xu Qingying and Meng Haichuan divorced, they had almost never talked about it.
“I’ve always had an avoidant personality. When your father cheated, I thought everything would be fine if I just didn’t think about it. But I’ve come to realize that my avoidance has ruined my health and completely affected you.”
Xu Qingying’s voice was filled with melancholy.
Meng Chu immediately responded, “It hasn’t.”
She looked at Xu Qingying: “Is this because I don’t have a boyfriend? Actually, most people my age aren’t in relationships. Look at Yumian—her parents have such a good relationship, yet she doesn’t have a boyfriend either.”
“But at least Yumian has had relationships before. She’s dated.”
Xu Qingying gazed at her.
Meng Chu fell completely silent.
Her personality hadn’t always been like this.
As a child, she was lively and cheerful.
At school events, because of her pretty face, she was always placed in the front row.
She was the little princess her parents doted on.
But then Meng Haichuan had an affair, and the other woman even got pregnant and came to their home to make a scene.
This incident didn’t just hurt Xu Qingying.
It also left an indelible scar on Meng Chu.
With her looks, she’d never lacked suitors growing up.
Yet she had never been in a relationship.
If she were to tell Xu Qingying now that it wasn’t because of their divorce, no one would believe her.
Meng Chu said softly, “Mom, you shouldn’t dwell on these things. The doctor said you need to keep your spirits up and not overthink. It’s not good for your health.”
Emotions affect the body.
Even the most authoritative doctors would agree with that.
“I know, I just regret it so much. If only I hadn’t been so wrapped up in myself back then, if I’d guided you more, you wouldn’t have been hurt so deeply,” Xu Qingying’s eyes shimmered with tears.
Meng Chu fought back her own sob and said firmly, “Mom, it was my choice. I wanted to focus on my career.”
“But at the root of it, it’s because of my failed marriage with your father that you’re like this. You can make this choice, but it shouldn’t be because you’re carrying the burden of our mistakes.”
Finally, Meng Chu couldn’t hold back anymore: “What fault is yours? You’re the victim in all this.”
Seeing the usually composed Meng Chu on the verge of tears, Xu Qingying immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t keep bringing this up. It’s true that many young people nowadays don’t date or marry. I should accept your generation’s new way of life.”
But she couldn’t help worrying: “I’m just afraid for my health…”
Though Xu Qingying had recovered now, the possibility of relapse made her anxious.
She worried about her Chuchu, living alone in this world.
It was this very fear that had driven her to seek help from her ex-husband Meng Haichuan when she was first diagnosed with cancer.
Back then, Meng Chu was still in college-just a twenty-year-old child.
If she were gone, Meng Chu would be like an orphan.
Even though Meng Haichuan cared for Meng Chu, he had started a new family and had a son of his own.
She couldn’t rest easy about Meng Chu.
She had to live.
Even if it was a struggle, she had to survive.
Yet this worry didn’t disappear even after her cancer went into remission.
Instead, it was Xu Qingying who often woke from dreams in the middle of the night.
Meng Chu reached out to hold her hand, whispering softly, “No, Mom, you’ll always be by my side.”
After Xu Qingying’s medical check-up was completed, Meng Chu sent her back to her hometown.
Her hometown was near Shanghai, just an hour away by high-speed train.
It was during this trip home that Meng Chu discovered her mother was taking sleeping pills.
Turns out, she occasionally became so anxious she couldn’t sleep.
This guilt over worrying that her failed marriage would affect Meng Chu had already escalated to anxiety levels.
If dating and getting married could make Xu Qingying happy, she was willing.
Just like how her mother, afraid of leaving her alone in this world, had once swallowed her pride to borrow money from Meng Haichuan for medical treatment.
What her mother could do for her,
She could do the same for her mother.
* * *
Suddenly, the doorbell ringing interrupted her thoughts.
Meng Chu instinctively gripped her phone, then let out a light, self-mocking laugh.
Why so nervous?
She stood up and walked to the door, opening it wide.
It was midday, when sunlight was at its brightest and most abundant.
As the door swung open, she saw a man bathed in the radiant sunshine.
That strikingly handsome yet aloof man seemed momentarily surprised the instant she appeared in the doorway.
His dark pupils, like a quiet lake suddenly stirred by wind, rippled briefly before settling back into calm concealment of all emotion.
This fleeting yet decisive change went unnoticed by Meng Chu.
Because she was equally astonished herself.
Meng Chu stared at this handsome, detached man before her that all-too-familiar face.
“Cheng Jinyu?” she asked uncertainly.
It wasn’t strange that Meng Chu knew Cheng Jinyu. He was a renowned figure in investment circles, and his company primarily invested in internet AI industries.
When Meng Chu and Gu Ting were starting their business, they’d approached various investors.
Naturally, they’d memorized all the prominent names in the industry.
But what was strange was-Cheng Jinyu was her blind date?
A man like this… went on blind dates??