Getting Married? I Thought we Were Sworn Enemies - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He and Qi Zhongjing had been arch-nemeses for many years. Once, in their early childhood, the two of them actually had a period of peaceful coexistence; that past history could be traced back to many years ago.

The Qi family and the Meng family were prominent families with deep foundations. They were leaders in different regions and fields, having engaged in business for hundreds of years with profound family heritage. To adapt to development, the elder generation of the Meng family moved their headquarters to City Y, possessing significant influence in City Y and even in their ancestral lands.

Speaking of which, the Qi family was an original “local snake” (established local power) with an even deeper heritage; the Meng family had moved their center of gravity to this core area over twenty years ago and remained at their original site.

In the beginning, the Qi family and the Meng family did not have much intersection. However, the places where rich people lived were mostly nearby or clustered together, so naturally, the social classes where the family’s offspring were educated would also intersect.

So-called children of one class naturally make friends with children of the same class; this is resource integration.

Qi Zhongjing and Meng Lingyao happened to be born in the same year. Being of similar age, enrolling in the same kindergarten was naturally a most normal thing.

In his early childhood, Meng Lingyao was as lovely as carved ice and jade. Especially since Mother Meng had hoped her youngest child would be a cute girl, although he was still a boy, he was lovely and romantic from a young age—a soft little “moe” creature. This did not stop her from taking advantage of the child being small to dress him as a little girl to satisfy herself.

In the same small class, Qi Zhongjing, who was exceptionally dull and brooding due to personality reasons, liked the dazzling, showy, and vibrant Meng Lingyao very much.

He felt that Meng’s chirping and excessive liveliness were particularly cute; he especially wanted to get close and play together, as if he could be infected by that energy.

By a stroke of luck, the two were very good friends through kindergarten and elementary school.

As the youngest child in the Meng family, Meng Lingyao was pampered since childhood; he was willful, arrogant, and bossy—an unlikable disposition. It was only because he inherited his parents’ beautiful appearance that the beautiful young master, even while arrogant and willful, was extremely well-liked.

As an only child, Qi Zhongjing was dull and didn’t speak much. For some reason, he just liked staying with Meng Lingyao and was even very indulgent.

One was tsundere and willful, the other was willing to indulge; they played together very harmoniously.

For example, when Meng Lingyao did something bad, Qi Zhongjing did no small amount of “taking the fall” (scapegoating). When Meng was lazy and didn’t do homework for school, Qi Zhongjing would help by doing an extra copy, and so on; the instances were too numerous to count.

Speaking of which, if things had continued at this level, perhaps the two would have grown up to be very good friends—if not “die-hard” best friends, then at least close in relationship.

Life is full of changes; things did not continue to walk down such a peaceful and waveless path.

The Qi family’s only son—the meaning was very clear: the future heir of the Qi family. For Qi Zhongjing, who supposedly had a “throne” to inherit at home, as soon as his relaxed elementary school career ended, he was thrown into a rigorous “prospective heir” education. It started with skipping grades; his time was squeezed, and the time to play and fool around with his good friend almost disappeared.

As the young master of the Meng family, Meng Lingyao was protected by his parents and older brother. His parents did not force him to do things he didn’t like, as long as he grew up healthy. Upon reaching adulthood, his company dividends would naturally allow him to live a wealthy life forever; every day he happily enjoyed his life as a “rich second generation.”

His good friend skipping grades and being busy had no impact on him. Meng Lingyao was clearly a child who “liked the new and hated the old.” At the beginning, he had looked for Qi Zhongjing, but he was driven away a few times, both explicitly and implicitly, by the Qi family elders. Meng Lingyao was such a pampered and proud child; naturally, his arrogant personality meant he wouldn’t press his “warm face against a cold butt” for long. “If this place won’t keep me, there’s a place that will.” He had already gathered many “second-generation” heirs around him in similar situations. Having new friends to play with, he naturally threw his old friend to the back of his mind.

Qi Zhongjing, who held no power, was completely unaware. He only knew that his friend had distanced himself and was hanging out with some “scallywags.” To win back his friend, he tried to offer advice, but unfortunately, he was clumsy with words and spoke harshly, saying things like “those aren’t good people and will lead you astray.” Meng Lingyao, who responded to soft tactics but not hard ones, was not someone who could listen to harsh words. Furthermore, when comparing an old friend who no longer shared the same worldview with a new friend who shared consistent views, the weight of each was naturally clear.

The childhood friends drifted apart just like that, leaving only Qi Zhongjing standing in place, looking longingly at Meng Lingyao.

Logically, this wouldn’t have made the relationship between the two bad; it was just a case of drifting apart—a difference brought about by differing worldviews and positions.

The trouble lay in the fact that Qi Zhongjing grew up with a good face that was particularly attractive. Fourteen and fifteen-year-old boys and girls always have a natural curiosity about the opposite sex.

It is normal for boys and girls to start becoming interested in the opposite sex at that age due to hormone secretion and various bodily changes.

Especially the second-generation heirs around Meng Lingyao—they weren’t exactly people of good moral character. These teenagers, who had time, money, and doting families, teased cats and provoked dogs at school. Although they didn’t do anything truly evil, it was normal for them to be disliked by students and teachers.

A youth’s secret thoughts—having a good feeling toward a beautiful girl; Meng Lingyao was exactly like this. He fell for an exquisite and cute little girl with excellent grades.

The idle second-generation heirs egged him on to deliver a love letter. To show off in front of everyone, Meng Lingyao staged a grand confession at school that became known to the whole campus.

Then, he was sternly rejected by that girl. Meng Lingyao’s self-esteem was already bruised and frustrated; as someone who always got what he wanted, he suffered a blow and was in a bad mood. Consequently, he turned around and saw the girl he liked getting very close to Qi Zhongjing. In particular, the girl’s attitude of clearly liking the other party was very obvious. He even heard that the girl had confessed to Qi Zhongjing and felt extreme disgust and contempt toward his own previous confession.

Didn’t this make him and Qi Zhongjing love rivals!

The young, unbridled, and showy young master was such a “tsundere” person; when had he ever suffered such frustration? He had no good face for his former friend Qi Zhongjing and was even very angry. Especially since Qi Zhongjing also “hypocritically” stated his stance that he wouldn’t engage in any romance and was focused solely on his studies. This was undoubtedly showing off in front of Meng Lingyao—getting the other’s favor and then acting “good” (innocent).

Didn’t it just show that the girl he took a fancy to didn’t care for him but could care for Qi Zhongjing, and yet Qi Zhongjing didn’t even want her?

As it turned out, he never expected that this kind of thing would extend from middle school to high school. He seemed to have fallen into a strange cycle—unable to escape, unable to hide.

The people he liked would always be attracted away by Qi Zhongjing, who appeared nearby due to various coincidences. The original good friendship reached a point where Meng Lingyao felt loathing and hatred the moment he saw him.

How can he be so annoying!

Perhaps it was just for fun at the beginning, but in the end, it was a matter of secretly competing with Qi Zhongjing, or an urgent desire to prove that his luck with the opposite sex was better than that “sawed-open gourd” (someone who doesn’t talk) Qi Zhongjing.

The more he compared, the more he lost.

The more he lost, the angrier he got.

He couldn’t beat him in studies; his bottom line was just seeking a passing grade. The other party had excellent grades, nearly full marks in every subject, was a prominent figure in school, a typical “stellar student,” and a permanent fixture at the top of the bulletin boards.

Now, the objects of his affection were being attracted away one by one by the other’s “ten thousand changes of light” (radiance). This was simply a devastating blow.

Qi Zhongjing skipped two grades. When Meng Lingyao was in his first year of high school, the other was in his third. The relationship between the two had already become extremely bad, and they had no intersection in their daily lives.

Perhaps this was just his unilateral loathing.

Eventually, Qi Zhongjing graduated and left, and Meng Lingyao also lost interest, settling down for two years.

Qi Zhongjing attended university domestically, preparing to take over the family business. Meng Lingyao, like countless “rich second generations,” went abroad to “gild himself” (get a degree for status). When he returned, Qi Zhongjing had already been in the family company for two years, gradually accepting the reins of power.

Meng Lingyao had no great ambitions and no interest in business. His older brother, the future heir of the family, had already been working diligently in the company for several years. He could comfortably stay with his dividends and be wealthy for a lifetime; eating, drinking, and playing became his primary work. He and Qi Zhongjing were like two parallel lines that did not cross.

Logically, there should have been no intersection points. The blows of his youth meant that Meng Lingyao’s orientation had no fixed standard; he liked beautiful and good-looking things that met his aesthetic requirements, and the person couldn’t be too “low.”

While abroad, he didn’t pick up any bad habits. After all, his family upbringing was there; although he had a bad temper and was arrogant, he wasn’t the kind of second-generation heir who was morally corrupt or broke the bottom line of humanity. During university, he did date a few boyfriends and girlfriends, but they were all short-lived. Basically, they had reached the hand-holding stage but hadn’t even reached the next step before he was unilaterally dumped. Every single reason was bizarre, and they absolutely refused to stay together. Although Meng Lingyao found it strange and even suspected someone was messing with him behind his back, he suffered from being unable to catch the tail of the person in the dark. There were so many fun things to do, and love and romance were not necessities, so he didn’t look into it deeply.

But after returning home, he dated a few boyfriends and girlfriends, and it ended without a result just like it had abroad—as if they were suddenly taken away by someone. At home, it was the family’s territory, and his brother was a doting sort. He couldn’t investigate, but his brother could; naturally, he found out that someone was “undermining” him (stealing his partners) behind his back.

He even caught them in the act: it was that immoral fellow Qi Zhongjing undermining him. Meng Lingyao was simply about to explode with rage. Childhood grudges, new and old hatreds combined, caused his perception of Qi Zhongjing to drop to the absolute bottom, rising to the top of the list of people he loathed most in this life.

The dead nerd can’t find a partner, so he undermines me behind my back and messes with me time and again. Who is he trying to disgust? Does he think I’m made of clay (a pushover)?!

If you’re so capable, do it to my face! Why act like a sinister villain and “steal the home” from behind?

Calculating against him for so many years for no reason—he had even been so foolish as to be completely unaware. What was he in the other’s eyes? A jumping clown?

At that time, Meng Lingyao gave the other a good piece of his mind, pointing at the other’s nose and cursing. Of course, he raised his fist to hit him but was stopped by the other’s bodyguards. If his parents hadn’t stepped in to settle the matter in the end, Meng Lingyao’s temperament would have turned all of City Y upside down.

This matter also became famous in City Y. The public only knew that the relationship between the Qi family heir and the Meng family’s young master was bad and that they had already come to blows.

Given the past performances of Qi Zhongjing and Meng Lingyao, the pressure of public opinion fell on Meng Lingyao; he was considered the bully while Qi Zhongjing was the victim.

The “eat, drink, and play” second-generation heir had no public favor, which made Meng Lingyao furious.

Why should I take such a big loss! Where does Qi Zhongjing get the face to direct public opinion pressure onto me!

Furthermore, this person Meng Lingyao was extremely petty. For years, like a daily routine, he would raise his middle finger three times a day to Qi Zhongjing to “express his respect.”

The other party had never deleted or blocked him, so he never missed a day.

In short, Meng Lingyao and Qi Zhongjing had an irreconcilable feud; Meng Lingyao had always believed so.

Even after taking over the family business, he didn’t forget to send a middle-finger emoji to the other party every day to show his “presence.”

He always remembered the humiliation and hatred Qi Zhongjing brought him.

It wasn’t until he fell into a trap, with the company so busy he couldn’t keep his feet on the ground and his whole person exhausted, that he cut off the daily stable “output” that had lasted for four years.