My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Meng Qingwu, Who Gave You the Nerve?!

The newly renovated space still carried the faint, sharp scent of formaldehyde. It wasn’t pleasant, but the two people inside didn’t seem to notice at all.

Meng Qingwu’s face was numb. Her heart had reached a state of eerie tranquility. Looking at the two of them, she only had one question: When did they get together?!

On closer inspection, “together” might have been an overstatement. Jin Le’s hands were currently pushing the other woman away, and the moment she broke free, she delivered a sharp backhand slap.

Meng Qingwu’s brow twitched. Seeing Cui Lanyu’s cheek turn red and swell instantly made her own teeth ache in sympathy. That was harsh. Lanyu’s face is quite pretty; how could she bear to strike it?

At that moment, the other two finally noticed her. Their expressions froze simultaneously for a beat, before Jin Le’s face darkened completely.

Meng Qingwu arched an eyebrow. She casually set her handbag on a nearby table and spoke slowly, “So, care to explain? What was that just now?”

Jin Le: “…”

Cui Lanyu hissed in pain, clutching her cheek with an awkward laugh. She glanced at Jin Le’s grim expression and sighed inwardly. “What else could it be? Didn’t you just witness it? I forcibly kissed her!”

Meng Qingwu: You sound awfully proud of that.

She turned to Jin Le.

“She’s sick,” Jin Le said bluntly.

Cui Lanyu: “…That’s a bit much, isn’t it? We’ve kissed before. Why does doing it again make me ‘sick’?”

Jin Le: “…”

Meng Qingwu began to piece it together. “So, let me get this straight. You like her,” she said, pointing first at Cui Lanyu and then at Jin Le.

Cui Lanyu admitted it frankly.

Then Meng Qingwu pointed back at Jin Le. “But you… don’t like her?”

Jin Le’s face stiffened. Seeing that expression, Meng Qingwu understood everything. She looked at her two best friends and found them fascinating. Their acquaintance had started in chaos; it was beginning to feel like a classic idol drama.

She stopped prying. They were both adults capable of handling their own emotions; she just had to wait for the outcome.

“Want to grab dinner?”

Seeing that Meng Qingwu wasn’t going to interrogate them further, they both visibly relaxed and nodded. They ended up going to Cheng Yi’s house (the place Meng Qingwu was currently staying), as Cui Lanyu’s swollen face made it inconvenient to eat out.

“You hit so hard. What if you disfigured me?” Cui Lanyu complained while applying an ice pack, still looking at Jin Le.

Jin Le ignored the complaints entirely, focusing on her food. Meng Qingwu sat across from them, feeling that their bickering had a distinct “flirting” vibe to it.

“Could you two show some consideration for the single person sitting across from you?” Meng Qingwu finally spoke up.

“You’ve been single for so many years; aren’t you used to seeing this by now?” Cui Lanyu retorted casually.

The moment the words left her mouth, Jin Le’s cold gaze fell on her, a chilling sneer playing on her lips.

Cui Lanyu: “…” Wrong move. Her expression turned miserable.

…

During the meal, Meng Qingwu and Cui Lanyu discussed future plans. Once they left, the large house suddenly fell quiet, feeling incredibly empty.

Meng Qingwu’s thoughts turned somber. She sat on the sofa, staring blankly ahead. She had been single for many years. Was it time to start a new relationship? She was twenty-five—not old, but a perfect age for a fresh start.

She gave a bitter laugh, letting her mind wander. She couldn’t spend her entire life hung up on Cheng Yi just because they had dated once, could she?

Acting on impulse, she messaged Madam Meng.

[Meng Qingwu]: Mom, I want to start dating again. Help me look for some suitable candidates for a blind date.

[Madam Meng]: Meng Qingwu, who gave you the nerve to run wild over my head?

Receiving the request, Meng Shuyu stared at the message. Her daughter wanted her to help find blind dates—specifically, women.

Looking at the words “wants a woman,” Meng Shuyu’s face was livid. She felt she was already being generous by not forcing her daughter to marry a man, and now the girl wanted her mother to play matchmaker for a girlfriend?

Meng Qingwu laughed out loud. Has Madam Meng been a CEO for so long that her texts even sound like a domineering boss? She suppressed her laughter and sent a voice note in a long, drawn-out tone: “Mom~ Did I forget to tell you something earlier?”

A bad premonition rose in Madam Meng’s heart. It came true with the next text.

Meng Qingwu: When I left the auction today, Ye Xiuyu stopped me and asked me to dinner. You know Grandpa wants us together, and I know exactly what he’s thinking. [Meng Qingwu]: So, I told him I had to go home to eat the dinner my girlfriend made.

Madam Meng: …

Her face was dark. She wanted to scream, but the person who deserved the scolding wasn’t in front of her. She felt like she was going to have a heart attack from the sheer frustration.

Meng Qingwu: (Voice note) And you know Ye Xiuyu isn’t exactly a gentleman. I imagine the news has already spread through the social circles by now.

Meng Shuyu slammed her phone face down on the desk, fury dancing in her eyes. Does this girl have any idea that doing this makes her a target for criticism?!

Sure enough, over the following days, many people began discreetly asking her about the truth of the rumor. Some even offered to act as matchmakers to introduce “suitable” women to Meng Qingwu.

Meng Shuyu: “…”

Looking at the situation, she felt a sense of confusion. Is society really this accepting of same-sex relationships now? To the point where people are enthusiastically acting as matchmakers? She was dazed. Was the world truly different from the one she knew years ago?

…

Since coming out to Madam Meng, Meng Qingwu felt as though a shackle had been broken. She no longer pushed away everyone with “intentions”; instead, she began trying to be approachable.

“Miss Meng is truly a charming woman.”

The woman sitting across from her wore a tailored suit, her hair pulled back strictly—a classic image of a capable career woman.

Meng Qingwu smiled faintly. “Miss Yang is quite impressive herself.”

“Is there a possibility for us to take a step further?” Miss Yang raised her wine glass.

Meng Qingwu went silent for a moment before clinking glasses. “Let’s start as friends.”

The woman laughed. Seeing such a serious person laugh was actually quite stunning. She nodded in agreement.

…

Cheng Zhan’s birthday was approaching, and he planned to invite Meng Qingwu. However, since the rumor that she liked women had spread, their “relationship” had naturally ended. Fortunately, they hadn’t made a grand public announcement about being a couple, saving them a lot of trouble.

However, one thing was unavoidable. The Cheng parents knew she was the one Cheng Yi loved. Facing them now would be incredibly awkward. She wondered if they had a negative opinion of her—after all, their daughter loved her, yet she “dated” their son, only to break up and claim she liked women. She looked completely unreliable.

Meng Qingwu felt like she had dug a hole for herself. But there was one silver lining: Cheng Yi still thought she was with Cheng Zhan.

Except, on the other side, Cheng Yi received a call from a friend.

“Yi-yi! Do you want to hear some big news?!” her friend Lily shouted over the phone.

Cheng Yi had been distracted lately and wasn’t very interested in “big news,” knowing Lily tended to exaggerate. But she didn’t want to spoil the fun. “What is it?”

“You won’t believe who I saw! I saw your ex-girlfriend!”

Hearing “ex-girlfriend,” Cheng Yi’s heart skipped a beat. “So? What about it?”

“Do you know what she was doing?! She was on a blind date!” Lily was even more agitated now. “She’s on a blind date! How could she…”

“Lily!” Cheng Yi’s voice was sharp, cutting her off. She lowered her eyes, looking exhausted. “We broke up. I’m the one who failed her. She can do whatever she wants.”

But… did she break up with Cheng Zhan?

The other end went silent, and eventually, the call ended. Cheng Yi sat in a daze for a while, before her gaze slowly focused.

If she’s single and on blind dates… does that mean I can pursue her again?