Regarding her money-obsessed behavior, Meng Xici immediately thought, if Dad were here, how could she be poor?
A second later, she realized… they were not actually in a real husband-and-wife relationship.
So, Dad usually doesn’t give her pocket money?
But what about the New Year’s money?
It’s even more than hers.
Meng Xici was also a bit confused.
Anyway, she couldn’t guess her dad’s thoughts.
…
The Meng family’s relatives are few, but with the family background, many social interactions are inevitable.
During the Chinese New Year, guests would come to the house, and Meng Xici also received quite a few New Year’s gifts.
Some things didn’t need to trouble Sang Miao, with Uncle Zhou and Shao Ying around, everything was taken care of.
She only needed to play the role of the villa’s hostess at the right moment.
However, the role of hostess was quite demanding.
After a few days of entertaining guests, she finally sat down to rest.
But since the Sang family was her maternal family, she still needed to find a time to go back.
After discussing, on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Meng Peisheng cleared his evening schedule to accompany her back for dinner, while Meng Xici stayed at home.
Sang Miao also understood that Meng Peisheng was just going through the motions; Meng Xici didn’t need to go.
They had agreed before that she would stay at home for two days, and he would return first.
It was impossible for the two of them to stay together; staying too long would be suspicious in front of her uncle, and it was more convenient for her to stay alone.
She could also ask her cousin about some things.
Since they were only going back for a day or two, Youyou was left at the villa for Meng Xici to take care of.
When they left, Sang Miao comforted the clingy little one for a long time, but still couldn’t bear to leave without giving it attention.
In the end, Meng Xici used snacks to lure it away so she could leave normally.
On the fifth afternoon, Sang Miao and Meng Peisheng arrived neither too early nor too late.
Seeing the two standing together, Sang Jinglin’s face was filled with a satisfied smile.
Living here felt like a distant memory to Sang Miao.
The years she spent here weren’t truly her.
But she still remembered, after her parents passed away, her uncle’s reluctant and compassionate gaze as he took her and Sang Ruilian in.
Her uncle truly thought she had found a good home, which was why he showed such a moved expression.
In that moment, many years of time seemed to fade away, and she was back to the days before the incident, losing some of the strangeness of her new world.
Facing her elders, Meng Peisheng was gentle and polite, not as stern as at work, and had softened his imposing aura.
As long as he wanted, he could easily engage in friendly conversation.
Sang Miao sat beside him on the sofa, occasionally responding to her uncle’s concerns, and had to force herself to tell a few lies.
Fortunately, dinner was already being prepared, and after less than half an hour of conversation, the family was ready to eat.
Sang Rui originally was also in the film crew during the New Year period, but today she took a leave specifically to come back.
She remembered clearly, just like in her past life, that Meng Peisheng came back with her on this day, and Meng Xici didn’t accompany them.
It seemed the same now, just going through the motions, no different.
And Meng Peisheng certainly wouldn’t stay the night; her sister most likely would go back after dinner, just like her.
She felt a sense of relief and comfort in her heart, but when she saw Meng Peisheng and her sister acting like a normal married couple, her heart felt a bit strange.
It seemed Meng Peisheng wasn’t as indifferent as she had remembered.
Perhaps it was just her illusion…
Sure enough, halfway through dinner, when her uncle asked if they would stay the night, Meng Peisheng declined, citing being busy as an excuse.
It was no different from her past life; after all, they couldn’t stay in the same room.
Sang Jinglin thought that Sang Miao was also going back with Meng Peisheng and felt a bit regretful, but didn’t insist as an elder.
He only sighed, “Miao Miao rarely comes back…”
Then, Meng Peisheng continued, “Miao Miao will stay for two days.
She said she hasn’t been home to accompany you in a long time.”
… Miao Miao?
Both Sang Miao and Sang Rui froze, their expressions different.
Sang Miao almost spat out her tea.
Seeing Meng Peisheng’s calm gaze fall on her, she quickly nodded in cooperation, saying, “Yes, I’ll stay for two days and then go back.”
What’s going on?
Does the detail have to be acted out so precisely?
Why didn’t he say it in advance?
Sang Jinglin seemed quite happy: “Good, the room has already been prepared, just waiting for you to come back and stay.
If you’re not busy, you can stay for a few more days.”
Sang Rui instinctively sensed something off but couldn’t pinpoint it.
It was just a form of address; maybe they were acting in front of her uncle, and they didn’t have any intimate gestures.
They also made an excuse not to stay together, which seemed to be the real situation.
Suppressing the slight discomfort in her heart, she smiled and said, “Sister is staying here? That’s great.”
At the dinner table, Sang Miao’s aunt and her daughter were also present, though there weren’t many people.
Because of work, Sang Yichen was familiar with Meng Peisheng, and they talked about work.
Meng Peisheng wasn’t one to avoid such topics, so the conversation felt harmonious at the table.
At the start of dinner, Sang Jinglin asked the servants to pour whiskey for Meng Peisheng and Sang Yichen.
He then asked the others, “Would you girls like some red wine?”
The Sang family usually didn’t drink much at home.
They only drank occasionally, and since Sang Miao had grown up here, it was not an everyday thing.
Father and son rarely drank together and didn’t talk about deep matters over drinks.
Today, with Meng Peisheng around, Sang Jinglin remembered to offer some alcohol.
Sang Miao was still chewing her food and hadn’t swallowed yet when Meng Peisheng calmly spoke for her: “She’s allergic to alcohol, so she can’t drink.”
“Alcohol allergy?” Sang Jinglin asked with concern, “When did Miao Miao become allergic to alcohol?”
“A while ago, she drank some at a wine event,” Meng Peisheng apologized, his voice low.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t know about it, and I still brought her to a wine event yesterday.”
Sang Miao finally swallowed her food and quickly responded, “It’s a mild allergy, not serious.
I didn’t know about it myself when I drank.”
Sang Yichen listened with a neutral expression and then asked, “Should I get you some juice or something else?”
“Juice will be fine,” Sang Miao nodded.
With the back-and-forth exchange, Sang Rui felt an inexplicable irritation rise in her heart.
She placed her chopsticks down, but as the servant poured her wine, her movement accidentally made the glass tilt.
The wine splashed out, dripping down the edge of the table and staining her clothes with dark wine spots.
The servant was startled and quickly apologized, worried she might be displeased.
Sang Rui suddenly stood up, and without thinking, she almost wanted to lash out, her words of reproach nearly slipping out.
Upon realizing that there were more than just family members present, she quickly glanced at the people around her, restrained herself, and then forced a smile at Sang Miao and the others, saying, “It’s fine, it was an accident.
You all eat first, I’ll go change my clothes.”
The servant carefully observed her expression and, with a lingering sense of dread, sighed in relief.
It was probably because there were guests today that the second young lady had to hold back her temper.
Back in her room, Sang Rui didn’t immediately leave after changing her clothes.
She casually threw the soiled dress into the trash can, feeling vaguely uneasy.
The past few days had been filled with parent-teacher meetings and wine parties.
Meng Peisheng and her sister’s attitude seemed a little too gentle.
Was there something off inside?
After dinner, they sat for a while, and then Meng Peisheng stood up to bid farewell.
Sang Miao walked him to the garage.
The man was still dressed in an exquisite suit and coat, his tall and elegant figure standing out.
The two walked side by side, his long legs straight and slender, his steps leisurely, walking slower than usual as though matching the pace of the person beside him.
The Maybach was parked in its spot, and Sang Miao stopped as she reached the car, saying to him, “Alright, goodbye.”
“Mm, you should head back,” Meng Peisheng calmly replied.
“Okay” Sang Miao turned to take a step, but suddenly turned back.
Meng Peisheng lowered his gaze to her, his eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses calm, and the line of his lips softened slightly.
“Can you ask Meng Xici to feed the cat some treats when you get back?” Sang Miao said.
Meng Peisheng replied, “…Got it.”
Sang Miao returned to her room, sent a message to Sang Yichen, and then went upstairs to find him.
Sang Yichen was waiting for her in the study.
Seeing that she brought a document in, he realized she was here for something serious.
Once inside, Sang Miao directly sat in front of him and got straight to the point, “Cousin, I want you to take a look at a project.”
Sang Yichen raised an eyebrow, not expecting her to be here for business.
While Sang Yichen looked through the project proposal, Sang Miao explained the general process: “I originally wanted to find a partner, but I think it’s easier to just start a company and then invest in production.
In the future, we can invest in or cooperate on other projects.”
“A game project,” Sang Yichen smirked,
“Why don’t you ask Meng Peisheng?
Meng’s investment in the game industry isn’t small.”
“Ah, I haven’t told him about this yet,”
Sang Miao hadn’t thought of mentioning it to him.
“Is everything going well at the Meng family these days?”
Sang Yichen’s tone was light, not answering the question directly but asking with slight concern.
Sang Miao genuinely nodded, “It’s going well…”
“Money and leisure, life’s pretty comfortable.”
Her tone was light and not forced. Sang Yichen smiled faintly, “That’s good.”
“From what I can see, the project has good prospects. I’ll have someone do a data analysis and let you know the results.”
“If you have long-term plans and aren’t limiting it to just a studio-produced game, starting a company is better. It’ll be easier to either produce on your own or cooperate in the future.”
Sang Miao, having no prior experience, felt reassured by his approval: “Yeah, that’s what I think too.”
Although for now, the priority is to finish this project.
Whether there will be other projects in the future is uncertain.
But it’s not a bad thing to consider possible future directions.
Sang Yichen asked, “Sixty million, is the investment amount enough?”
Sang Miao replied, “It should be enough for now, but if not, would you be willing to invest part of it?”
Sang Yichen chuckled lightly, “If you need it.”
“Right, when it’s done, can you lend me two lawyers?”
“Mm,” then Sang Yichen grew serious, “By the way, the two million you helped with for the company, once the debt issue is completely settled, I’ll transfer it to you in shares. What do you think?”
Sang Miao thought for a moment and agreed, “Sure, whatever you think is best, I’m fine with it.”
When she had given the money before, it was meant to help, not to earn a profit.
Given the situation back then, it seemed like there was no benefit to the money.
But now it was different.
Her cousin’s abilities were undeniable. He had managed to save Yun’an.
Meng Peisheng had taken over the Meng family for many years, so he couldn’t engage in an unprofitable deal.
Therefore, based on his reputation, her cousin and Yun’an must be worth investing in.
Even though she trusted these two people’s abilities and reputation, Sang Miao still felt that holding shares in Yun’an wasn’t a bad thing.
She didn’t consider herself a genius investor, so it was much more beneficial to follow the big shots.
Sang Rui came up from the living room and saw Sang Miao coming out of her cousin’s study.
She stopped and spoke to her, “Sister, you’re still looking for Cousin in the evening?
Is something going on?”
“It’s nothing, just haven’t seen him for a while and wanted to chat a bit,” Sang Miao casually replied.
“Sorry,” Sang Rui suddenly spoke in a quiet voice, with guilt in her tone that carried a hint of probing, “If I hadn’t been so willful before, you wouldn’t have had to go to the Meng family.
Are you doing okay at their house?”
Sang Miao wasn’t sure what game she was playing, so she replied casually, “It was my own decision; it doesn’t really concern you.”
“Go to bed early,” Sang Miao said, glancing at her, not interested in engaging in any more idle chit-chat, and turned to head upstairs.
Sang Rui watched her go upstairs with a complex expression.
She had just figured some things out.
Whether in a novel or script, it’s impossible to write every small detail of daily life, and they couldn’t explain every person and every conversation.
Some deviations were normal.