Chapter 41: Meng Yao's Visit

  Linze County has a famous community called "Corruption Village", the reason is simple, because most of the people living inside are high-ranking officials or wealthy businessmen worth hundreds of millions.

  A quiet path, the street lamps on both sides clearly spilled onto the road surface. The huge street lamps emitted exceptionally bright light, as far as Guo Ming knew, it was said that one lamp alone cost tens of thousands of yuan. The ground was paved with beautiful tiles, and the grass and flowers were lush and blooming on both sides. None of the buildings on either side were high-rise, all were uniform three-story villas, in a European-style architectural style. Guo Ming had some disdain for it, but deep down he couldn't help but admit that living here was indeed pleasant.

  Guo Ming looked at Xiao Jun in surprise and chuckled: "I didn't expect your home to be in Corrupt Village?"

  "Corrupt Village? Xiao Jun was shocked and looked at Guo Ming with confusion, his eyes filled with incomprehension. "This is Dawn District, not Corrupt Village."

  Guo Ming saw that her expression didn't seem fake, but in his heart he was coldly laughing. Ah, the Dawn District, it's just that all of you are children of influential families who live here, how many ordinary people can afford to live in a place like this? Of course, he wouldn't scold this young girl. From her gentle and quiet demeanor, she seemed to rarely ask about such things. Moreover, her heart was very kind, Guo Ming couldn't bear to burst her bubble, so he casually said, "Maybe I just remembered it wrong?"

  The girl stopped in her tracks and pointed quietly at a small villa beside her: "I'm here."

  Guo Ming nodded and glanced at Xiao Jun before turning around to leave.

  Xiao Jun was taken aback and hastily shouted: "Don't go!"

  Guo Ming stopped and turned around, saying: "Something's up?"

  "Hmm, you haven't left your contact information yet? How will I find you in the future?" The soft glow shone on the girl's cheeks, and she spoke with a gentle tone. A faint blush rose from her face, adding to the girl's beauty.

  Guo Ming couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion as he gazed into the expectant eyes of the young girl. If it weren't for this chance encounter, how would he have ended up helping her? He was still just a troublemaker in everyone's eyes, and no one in his class looked up to him, let alone Chen Ziyu showing him favor. All of this seemed like a dream, evoking endless emotions. As he thought about it, Guo Ming couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy wash over him.

  The girl's beautiful face could no longer attract him. Guo Ming shook his head and said faintly, "If fate permits, we will meet again."

  Xiao Jun stared blankly at Guo Ming's back as he walked further and further away under the streetlights, until he was no longer visible, a strange sadness flashing in his eyes.

  "Auntie, hasn't Guo Ming come back yet? Shui Mengyao, wearing crystal slippers, with a gentle wave of her small curled hair in the air, asked softly."

  "Meng Yao, come and sit in the house," Yu Xiang said with a smile. She had seen Meng Yao lingering outside the door for some time, her expression seemingly filled with inexplicable anticipation. As a married woman, Yu Xiang naturally understood that this was the behavior of a young girl experiencing her first love. She deliberately kept Meng Yao waiting, refusing to open the door until Meng Yao was about to leave, at which point Yu Xiang pretended to open the door to throw out trash and "accidentally" saw Meng Yao.

  Gently pulling Water Dream Jade's hand to sit on the sofa, Yu Xia chuckled and said: "Dream Jade, how did you do this time? You must have been admitted, right?"

  "It's okay," Water Dream Jade heard the words and a faint smile appeared on her face. If nothing else, her grades were the biggest barrier that made Water Dream Jade proud of herself among her peers.

  This was Yu Xia's cleverness. Before, Shui Meng Yao rarely came to Guo Ming's house, and even if she saw Yu Xia, it was just a greeting. Now that she was sitting in the other person's home, Shui Meng Yao naturally found it hard to adapt, feeling a bit uneasy inside. Yu Xia knew that girls all had a competitive heart, especially outstanding girls like Shui Meng Yao who seemed weak on the outside but was actually stronger than anyone on the inside. She had heard before that last month, in order to surpass Chen Zi Yu, Shui Meng Yao slept less than four hours every day.

  Yu Xia successfully brought up the topic, which made Shui Mengyao's expression relax. Yu Xia may look like a housewife, but at home, apart from doing chores, she likes to read books. Reading is her hobby, and it seems that there are no famous stories or local customs that she doesn't know about. Shui Mengyao was completely absorbed in what Yu Xia was saying. As a diligent student who only knew how to study, she wouldn't have known these things. Occasionally inserting two or three sentences, for the rest of the time, she quietly listened with her bright big eyes shining with excitement.

  Since that day, Yu Xia felt that Shui Meng Yao liked her own son, and she had the idea of cultivating her as her own daughter-in-law. When the two really talked, Yu Xia only discovered that she had always had a regret, which was that she didn't have a daughter. Shui Meng Yao's gentle temperament and lovely appearance made an unstoppable thought arise in her heart. It seemed that Shui Meng Yao was the daughter given to her by heaven.

  Shuimeng Yao's mother had been working in the provincial government for a long time, and her father often stayed out all night to keep up appearances. She was left alone at home. Yu Xia gave her a gentle warmth and a sense of long-lost kinship. As she looked into Yu Xia's eyes, she couldn't help but feel drawn to her, and gradually they both realized that they seemed to have known each other for a long time, with a strong feeling of having met too late.

  Time passed slowly, and two hours had unknowingly slipped away. Yu Xia glanced at her watch and exclaimed in surprise: "It's already 10 o'clock!"

  "En, Shuǐ Mèng Yáo nodded cleverly and smiled softly, saying, Auntie's knowledge is so profound, I really want to listen to Auntie tell stories all night. I didn't know that our country has so many ethnic festivals, the Manchu people's Yuanxiao Festival, the Mongolian people's White Moon Festival, the Uyghur people's Gurban Festival... just hearing these names makes me realize how little I knew."

  "If you don't mind, Auntie wouldn't mind having a long conversation with you all night. Her husband won't be back until tomorrow and this little one probably won't come back either. I'm scared to be alone at home, so it's great that you can accompany me." Yu Xia said softly, holding Shui Mengyao's hand.

  "Ah, Shui Mengyao called out softly, her face turning red. Now she didn't dare to agree casually, the girl still had some necessary thoughts, staying overnight at someone else's house, what if others saw her and how would they think of herself, those who knew were fine, but those who didn't know wouldn't know what to say."

  Seeing her hesitant appearance, Yu Xia also reacted and smiled: "It's Auntie who didn't think it through well, I'll send you back."

  "No need, it's very close, I can handle it myself. Water Dream Jade wouldn't let me, and she hastily refused."

  Yu Xia didn't argue with her either, smiling as she accompanied her out the door.

  As soon as the door opened, Shui Mengyao's words of refusal had not yet left her mouth when her gaze was drawn to a figure. The person who came in wasn't particularly handsome, and he wasn't much taller than herself, but this figure she found very hard to forget. It was him who stood up for her at her most desperate moment. The feeling of being protected was something that would be hard to forget for the rest of her life. However, his current state wasn't too good; the mischievous expression on his face had disappeared, replaced by sadness and a hint of melancholy. More importantly, there were several bloodstains on his crisp white long-sleeved shirt.

  Yu Xia also discovered her son's abnormality and hastily pulled over Guo Ming's hand, anxiously saying: "Ming Er, what exactly happened?"

  "It's nothing," Guo Mingqiang said with a smile.

  "What's going on? What's with the blood on your body? Yu Xia was shocked, her son had never looked so defeated even when he got into fights before, it seemed like something big really happened."

  Shui Mengyao also stared at Guo Ming with a worried face, she knew Guo Ming's strength, ordinary people couldn't hurt him. After taking a closer look, she said softly: "Auntie, this isn't Guo Ming's blood, it belongs to someone else."

  Yu Xia was taken aback and secretly let out a sigh of relief. Her expression turned serious as she said, "Come on in and tell me what's going on."

  "Mom, don't worry, I haven't been involved in fights or disputes for a long time. Today, some hooligans were trying to insult a girl, so I stepped in and chased them away. The blood on me is theirs."

  "How come you're back so late? What did you go and do again?" Yu Xia continued to ask.

  "Of course, I'll send the girl back home," Guo Ming said with a bitter smile. He was feeling very annoyed in his heart right now, and he knew that this might be the demon of his heart, if he couldn't get rid of it, his cultivation would never progress.

  Yu Xia asked and then exclaimed in regret, hastily making eye contact with Guo Ming. However, Guo Ming was not in a state to notice these things at this time. What he urgently needed now was to be alone quietly, hoping to dispel the demons in his heart.

  As expected, Shuimeng Yao's body trembled slightly, and she saw a faint sense of loss and sorrow in Guo Ming's eyes. She said softly: "Auntie, I'll leave first."

  Yu Xia was about to shout, but in the end she pinched her son hard and glared at him. Guo Ming didn't understand what was going on and looked at his mother blankly, leaving Yu Xia completely speechless with rage, turning around and storming off.

  Guo Ming seemed to remember something and turned around to look at Shui Mengyao, shouting: "Mengyao, wait!"