Volume 1, Chapter 32: Do You Want Me or Her

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Meng Huaijin said nothing. Compared with that fleeting moment when he had seen her in the café, he was now so calm that his thoughts were impossible to read.

His imposing presence, powerful enough to awe all under heaven, and his steady, capable bearing always left people with nowhere to hide.

With practiced ease, the man removed the magazine from the gun pressed against her chest, then discarded the bullets and the gun frame.

Shu Wan’s lashes flickered. She lowered her eyes and said nothing.

She suddenly remembered something: she had known how to use a gun since she was eight, all because of this man.

He had taught her.

During that visit to her relatives, Shu Wan had not only been threatened by him in the room with words like, “Cry again and I’ll let the dogs in.” Later, she had sneaked into his training grounds and hidden in a corner to watch him shoot, only to be caught red-handed.

And so, at eight years old, unable even to hold a gun steadily, she had been rigorously taught by Meng Huaijin how to grip a weapon and how to strike the bull’s-eye swiftly, accurately, and decisively.

Back in the present, after throwing away the bullets, Meng Huaijin took the hand with which she held the gun and inspected the bloody wound in the web of her thumb, torn open by the recoil. He then turned, retrieved a first-aid kit from the cabinet, and bandaged it himself.

“Next time you fire a gun, remember to take proper precautions. Otherwise, you’ll get hurt easily.” He even reminded her with painstaking care.

Shu Wan did not speak until the wound had been bandaged.

One of them sat beneath the balcony, while the other sat on the sofa with her knees drawn to her chest. He did not question why she had shot Jiang Jie in the head, and she offered no explanation.

When it came to endurance and self-control, Shu Wan had always been the one to lose. After more than ten minutes passed like this, she slowly said, “Over the past six months, I fell in love with you unilaterally and caused you trouble. I’m sorry.”

At that moment, Meng Huaijin lit a cigarette. He took one drag, felt it was not enough, and inhaled deeply twice more.

“I am nothing more than an insignificant mayfly, yet I foolishly imagined I could shake the century-old alliance between the Meng and Jiang families, both rooted in Beicheng. I overestimated myself. After failing to obtain what I wanted, I drove myself into a desperate situation. That was my own problem.”

At this, the girl turned her eyes slightly and met those unfathomably deep eyes through the drifting smoke.

Meng Huaijin’s Adam’s apple moved. He did not even notice when the cigarette burned his fingers.

The girl continued, “You simply have no feelings for me beyond familial affection. But no one is obliged to love anyone else. This was never your fault. You have your mission and your responsibilities. I was immature before. I’m sorry.”

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“I give up. From now on, I’ll define my place properly. I won’t cross the line or overstep my bounds. I’ll behave myself and be nothing more than family to you.”

The girl rose to her feet. In an instant, she seemed five years older. Without looking back, she walked toward her bedroom. “I won’t attend your engagement banquet with Jiang Jie. I’ll wish you both… Never mind. I won’t wish you anything. Do whatever you want.”

With a soft click, the bedroom door closed, shutting her away and shutting him out as well. Silence filled the room, and not another sound could be heard.

.

The news of the Meng and Jiang families joining together in marriage had long since grown wings and flown throughout every corner of Beicheng. No one in either political or business circles was unaware of it.

At the end of June, the engagement banquet for Meng Huaijin, a young and promising man of immense power, and Jiang Jie, the equally young, accomplished, and beautiful eldest daughter of the Jiang family, was grandly held at the Kyoto Grand Hotel.

This powerful union brought together the political and business elite and became the talk of Beicheng. The banquet hall was packed with distinguished guests, while music and ceremonial hymns drifted through the air.

Madam Meng stood in the front hall, welcoming the guests who had come to offer their congratulations.

Inwardly, she sighed with emotion. Although her elder son had failed to fulfill her wishes, at least her younger son had ultimately stepped onto this broad road to prosperity.

With such a powerful alliance, her son’s position in Beicheng’s political center would remain unshakable and grow ever more prominent. It would also ensure that the Meng family would never lack a successor, with resources enough to last forever.

At the thought of this, the woman kept the corners of her mouth lifted throughout the evening, smiling from ear to ear.

In the dressing room, Meng Chuan urged him, “Brother, the guests are waiting. Aren’t you going to change into your formalwear?”

Meng Huaijin leaned against the windowsill, tossing the ring box in his hand as though it were a gun.

From where he stood, he had a perfect view of the hall. Every voice reached his ears, only to vanish moments later.

“This really is the alliance everyone’s been waiting for!”

“Of course. The political scene hasn’t been this lively in ages. The Meng family may claim they want to keep things low-key, but there’s clearly more going on beneath the surface. Even the chefs have prepared state banquets before.”

“Exactly. From now on, Beicheng may well become the Beicheng of the Meng and Jiang families!”

“Speaking of that, didn’t Director Meng receive a disciplinary sanction recently because a child in his family played with his service weapon?”

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“That’s nothing. It won’t shake that man’s position in the slightest…”

Suddenly, a girl ran through Meng Huaijin’s field of vision. Her knee-length skirt was white as snow, her skin pale, and her slender back straight. Her long hair was braided to one side, while two large blue hair clips adorned the other. She hopped along like a rabbit in the snow.

Meng Huaijin paused and straightened slightly, his gaze following her. A moment later, the figure turned to face him, and he saw her clearly. The depths of his eyes settled once more into a dull gray.

It was not that face.

She had said she would not attend the engagement banquet. During the half month that followed, she kept a regular schedule every day and honored her promise. She no longer clung to him.

Just then, his phone rang in his pocket. Meng Huaijin took it out and glanced at the screen. His gaze stilled before he answered.

“Shu Wan.”

“Meng Huaijin.” The girl’s low voice, mingled with the sound of torrential rain, drilled into his ears. “This is the last day I love you, and it is also the wonderful day you and Miss Jiang are joining together in marriage. The truth is, I’m so heartbroken I can hardly breathe.”

“Where are you?” Beicheng was not raining. Meng Huaijin’s voice was heavy as he asked.

“I’m in Nancheng, in front of my parents’ graves.” Her voice was calm to the extreme, but the sound of a bullet being chambered was deafening.

Meng Huaijin’s tone turned cold at once, like a wind clawing its way out of hell. “What are you doing? If you dare do anything reckless to yourself, I will destroy you this time. I mean every word, Shu Wan.”

“The next flight from Beicheng to Nancheng is in two hours. Add the two-hour flight, the half-hour from the airport to the cemetery, and the half-hour from where you are to the airport. That makes five hours in total…”

After a brief pause, the girl continued, “You want me? Come see me in five hours. You want her? Then we will never see each other again!”

“Do you want me, or do you want her?”