My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: I Only Want You.

The night breeze blew, carrying the lingering chill of late spring. Looking at the flickering shadows of leaves and branches in the distance, Meng Qingwu suddenly felt that relationships were truly troublesome.

“Ms. Meng.”

A calm voice came from behind her.

Meng Qingwu turned around to see Tan Li standing there, wearing a black dress paired with a white shawl. She looked elegant yet slightly mysterious. Meng Qingwu nodded in greeting.

Tan Li stepped forward, tilting her head to observe her expression. A faint smile played on her lips. “What are you thinking about so intently?”

Meng Qingwu was a beautiful woman; her long, slightly wavy hair accentuated her charm with just the right amount of radiance. Even when staring blankly into the distance, she was as stunning as a statue.

Meng Qingwu didn’t speak immediately. She continued to watch the branches that looked like clawing talons in the dark, her brow furrowing slightly. Someone from the Cheng family would naturally attend this banquet; seeing Tan Li, she knew Cheng Zhan was here today. But at a time like this, she didn’t want to see anyone associated with Cheng Yi.

Tan Li didn’t mind the cold shoulder. She stood beside her, watching the night scene, then suddenly remarked out of the blue: “I heard you and Cheng Yi broke up?”

Meng Qingwu: “…” Hadn’t she and Cheng Yi broken up a long time ago?

Sensing her expression, Tan Li corrected herself: “Wait, I mean, your ‘lover’ relationship has been terminated.”

Meng Qingwu: “…” What exactly did this person come over to say?

“Mom and Dad know about your situation now.” Since she and Cheng Zhan were now engaged, Tan Li had naturally started calling them Mom and Dad.

Meng Qingwu: “…So?” So they know. Is this something that needs to be hidden? Yet, for some reason, she felt a slight flutter of panic in her heart.

“No ‘so.’ I just feel that since you’ve been apart for so many years, if you really can’t be together again, you shouldn’t waste each other’s time.” Tan Li smiled, thinking of the man hiding nearby who was too cowardly to step forward. To what extent had Meng Qingwu disciplined him? He didn’t even dare to come up and say a few words, leaving her to deliver the message.

Meng Qingwu fell silent. She stared quietly into the distance, reflecting on those words.

Stop wasting each other’s time?

It seemed true. Since her return to the country, how much time had they wasted on each other? If they continued this messy entanglement, they would both be entering their thirties.

Seeing that she had nothing more to say, Tan Li, feeling she had delivered the message, arched an eyebrow and left.

“How was it? How was it?” As soon as she went back inside, she was pulled into a corner by Cheng Zhan, who had been waiting. He whispered his questions urgently.

Tan Li smiled. “I’ve said the words to her. As for whether she took them to heart, I can’t guarantee that.”

Hearing this, Cheng Zhan’s face relaxed slightly. He squeezed her hand and smiled. “As long as it’s been said, that’s fine. As for whether she listens, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Their relationship had triggered the “wicked sense of humor” in the family elders. Talk about bad luck.

…

After Tan Li left, Meng Qingwu stood in the cold wind for a while longer. She went back into the hall, chatted briefly with a few people, and then took her leave from the host.

On the way back, she leaned quietly against the car seat, looking out the window. The city, where nightlife was just beginning, was filled with dim yellow streetlights and multicolored neon—a bustle that seemed to hide both indulgence and decay.

Thinking back, it seemed everyone around her was now in pairs. Only she remained stuck in the mire of a relationship, unable to move forward or back. Once, she was the one with the most enviable relationship among her peers; now, she was the most failed.

When she got home and opened the door to total silence, she froze. Lately, she had spent so much time with Cheng Yi that she had once again grown accustomed to having that person around. Facing this solitude again made her feel lost. Her heart felt empty. She wanted someone to fill it.

She immersed herself in the darkness, her mind replaying what Tan Li had said. What do we really want? How do we break this deadlock?

Time slipped away. During this period, Cheng Yi didn’t show up in front of her again. From what she knew, Cheng Yi had once again thrown herself into her research. Perhaps “unlucky in love, lucky in business” held true; Meng Qingwu had now become a rising star in the investment world. When people mentioned her, she was no longer just “Ms. Meng’s daughter,” but the “investment star with a sharp eye.”

As more people noticed her, they naturally began to pry into her romantic life. Some even proactively began arranging blind dates between her and their eligible daughters.

…

One day, Meng Qingwu returned to the Meng family ancestral home. Sitting on a single sofa, she looked at Meng Shuyu and Lan Xining beside her, feeling a literal ache in her teeth.

Lan Xining was leaning on Meng Shuyu as if she had no bones. Meng Shuyu was looking at a tablet, handling work, yet she allowed Lan Xining to do as she pleased, even adjusting her posture to make it easier for her. These two acted like “dry wood meeting a raging fire”—their passion was so intense that even young couples in the honeymoon phase would feel inferior.

Regarding the teasing, Lan Xining was unapologetic, hugging Meng Shuyu even tighter. She acted as though it were perfectly natural; she was a clingy lover, and after suppressing herself for so many years, the rebound was naturally fierce. As for Meng Shuyu, perhaps feeling she had owed Lan Xining for too many years, she indulged her in everything, as long as it wasn’t too excessive.

The more harmonious and affectionate her mother’s relationship became, the more it highlighted how lonely and cold Meng Qingwu’s life was.

Seeing Meng Qingwu’s expression, Lan Xining—still draped over Shuyu—arched an eyebrow and exchanged a subtle look with Meng Shuyu. The time was right.

Receiving the signal, Meng Shuyu immediately understood. She quickly finished her work, opened another file, and handed the tablet to Meng Qingwu.

Meng Qingwu: “???”

“Take a look,” Meng Shuyu said calmly.

Meng Qingwu took it and looked down. Her expression turned strange. On the screen was a woman—a beautiful woman with a perfectly poised smile. One could tell at a glance that she was highly cultured.

What does Ms. Meng mean by this? Why is she showing me this?

“Do you like her?” Meng Shuyu asked, seeing her eyes on the screen.

Meng Qingwu: “…What does it matter if I like her or not?”

Meng Shuyu arched an eyebrow. “It matters quite a bit. I’m arranging a blind date for you. If you don’t like this one, swipe left; there are others.”

Meng Qingwu’s face flickered. She swiped as instructed. Another woman appeared on the screen, this one with two sweet dimples when she smiled. She continued to swipe expressionless. The types of women Ms. Meng had prepared were very diverse, as if to say: There is bound to be a flavor that suits you.

Meng Qingwu: “…” Had her mother truly been possessed by another soul?

She turned to Lan Xining and asked seriously: “Auntie, are you sure you don’t want to check her? Are you certain she is the Meng Shuyu you love?” This person’s style of doing things is way too different from before!

Lan Xining beamed. “Nope. I’m certain she is exactly the Meng Shuyu I love.” As she spoke, she hugged her even tighter. A deep smile spread across Meng Shuyu’s face, looking like a comforted Siberian forest cat.

“But I don’t want to go on a blind date right now.” Meng Qingwu held her forehead. She had tried to start over with blind dates before, but wasn’t she “sold out” by Ms. Meng back then, only to end up meeting Cheng Yi?!

Thinking of this, her gaze toward Ms. Meng became even more suspicious. She wouldn’t be trying to pull a second one, would she?

Meng Shuyu took back the tablet nonchalantly. “Suit yourself. I just heard that tomorrow night, Cheng Yi is going on a blind date at the Yuyuan Sky Hotel. I just wanted you to have a date there too. I want the Cheng family to see that the date we found is better than theirs.”

Meng Qingwu: Is there really a need to compete over this?

Wait… Cheng Yi is going on a blind date? So, had she finally thought through their relationship? Had she decided to give up and start over with someone else?

“So, are you going? If you don’t go, I will. I’m quite interested in the kind of blind date she would take a liking to,” Lan Xining said.

Meng Qingwu: “…” It’s our business, why are you joining the chaos?

She grit her teeth: “I’ll go!”

…

After Meng Qingwu left, Lan Xining wore a satisfied smile. She hugged Meng Shuyu and laughed. “Tomorrow, we just need to wait and watch the show!” To a woman who loved drama, what could be more exciting than a grand emotional show?

Meng Shuyu looked at the woman with sparkling eyes and wore a helpless yet doting smile. “You’re watching Qingwu’s drama, but have you thought about how you’re going to face your father and brother when we go back?”

Now that they were together, many derivative problems would arise. Although the Lan patriarch doted on her, he likely wasn’t mentally prepared for his daughter to be with a woman—let alone a woman who was once his own daughter-in-law. Furthermore, no matter how much time had passed since the divorce, the fact remained that Meng Shuyu was once her sister-in-law. For a brother and sister to have loved the same woman… people would inevitably find the relationship scandalous.

Lan Xining looked at her seriously, noting the faint fine lines at the corners of her eyes. In truth, she had them too; it was proof they were no longer young. Since they were no longer young, in the time they had left, why not treat themselves well and live according to their hearts?

She reached up to caress the lines by Shuyu’s eyes and smiled gently. Her gaze held only one person, soft enough to melt.

“There’s nothing to ‘face’ or not face. I only want you.”

Since I have chosen to want only you, then anyone else’s gaze or opposition no longer matters to me.

All in, sincere and burning—she had always been this way, like a fiercely burning flame.

Meng Shuyu hugged her back. She suddenly felt that perhaps now was their best time. When they were young, they didn’t know how to cherish; even if they had stayed together then, it might have ended in tragedy. But now, after the passing of years, they knew exactly how much the other weighed in their hearts.