Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. Le Wanru vaguely opened her eyes and saw Chen Jiansheng's figure heading to open the door.
She had been tired and gone to bed late last night, so she slept soundly until past 8 AM.
She didn't know when Chen Jiansheng had woken up or what he was doing, but she didn't care.
Suddenly, she remembered that Chen Jiansheng should have been at work by now, but he was still at her house.
Wanru's eyes widened in alarm, and she slowly sat up.
Mei Jin stepped into the house, with Chen Jiansheng following behind her.
Wanru watched the uncle and niece chat about something, looking very natural together.
Seeing Wanru sitting on the bed and looking at her, Mei Jin immediately rushed over.
“Ru, are you okay? Does it still hurt?”
“Hmm, it doesn’t hurt as sharply as it did last night.”
Her sleepy voice was full of weariness.
“It was that Lin Kang, wasn’t it?”
Wanru nodded in agreement.
Mei Jin just sighed and said nothing more. She slowly pulled up the back of Wanru’s shirt to examine the wound, then sighed again.
“He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“No.”
“That lunatic!”
“Breakfast is ready!” Chen Jiansheng said gently as he walked over.
“Oh, that’s right, I bought some porridge for you, Ru. Eat it, then take your medicine.”
Mei Jin had bought the porridge and handed it to Chen Jiansheng to pour into a bowl as soon as she entered.
Mei Jin helped Wanru slowly step down from the bed. Jiansheng carefully wrapped an arm around her waist and carried her straight to the dining table.
Mei Jin, standing behind them, stared blankly at the two. It would have seemed perfectly normal, but Wanru had previously confessed to her that she liked her uncle, so their actions now struck Mei Jin as very suspicious.
“Aren’t you afraid of what your niece will think?” Wanru whispered into Chen Jiansheng’s ear.
“I don’t have the patience to watch a young person shuffle around like an old woman.”
His tone was very natural, devoid of any romantic undertones.
“Then don’t look. Who’s forcing you to?”
Chen Jiansheng set her down on the chair, propping his hands on his hips as he spoke.
“Stop talking nonsense!”
Wanru looked at him in surprise. Her uncle was clearly annoyed with her.
Normally, he would have said, “Don’t joke around!” but today he told her to “stop talking nonsense!”
It seemed their relationship had just leveled up.
The two of them didn’t notice Mei Jin’s astonished expression behind them.
Mei Jin continued to watch them, her face filled with bewilderment.
That day, Chen Jiansheng noted down all the medications for Mei Jin and relayed the doctor’s instructions to her.
Wanru sat obediently on the side, finishing her bowl of porridge.
Mei Jin officially stayed at Wanru’s house until Wanru’s spine stabilized.
Her own emotions, in fact, weren’t very stable at the moment.
She watched the person who, just moments ago, had to be carried to the dining table by her uncle, now swaying by the door with him.
“Are you going to visit me?” Wanru asked softly.
“If you have the strength to come all the way out here, then I suppose it’s not really necessary,” Chen Jiansheng said with a chuckle, then went back to prepare for work.
Wanru was smiling to herself as she turned back inside, only to be met with the disdainful expression of her best friend – the niece of the man who had just left.
“Li Wanru, I’m here worrying about you, and you’re over there flirting with my uncle. Get in here and tell me everything right now.”
Li Wanru lay face down on the bed, while Mei Jin sat on the bed, interrogating her.
“How far did it go?”
“It only went that far.”
“How far is ‘that far’?”
“It went as far as Uncle Cheng only calling me ‘niece’ for the past three months, and then just last night, he started calling me ‘dear’ – that’s when you caught us.”
“Why did he suddenly start calling you ‘dear’?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he got used to hearing me use that term for myself so often. Plus, I was in so much pain last night, he probably just called me that in a panic and didn’t even notice!”
Mei Jin’s expression was thoughtful for a long moment before she asked again.
“Do you really like Uncle Cheng, Wanru?”
“Seriously, I mean it.”
Wanru quickly replied.
“To what extent?”
“So much that I want to be your youngest aunt, Mei Jin!” Wanru grabbed Mei Jin’s hand and shook it.
Mei Jin also doted on this friend, but deep down, it seemed there was something she was hiding from Wanru, and she didn’t know whether she should say it or not.
Despite being from a wealthy family, Mei Jin didn’t develop a spoiled or haughty personality. She always adapted well to any situation and was fiercely loyal to her friends.
From childhood to adulthood, many people wanted to be her friend, but it was always because their families forced them, not because they genuinely treated her well.
She had seen through those manipulative ploys since she was young.
So she didn’t open her heart to make friends with anyone.
She only had one childhood friend, Ming Jian, but due to a slight misunderstanding, that friend went abroad during high school.
It wasn’t until her first year of university that she coincidentally befriended Li Wanru.
Wanru made her feel cared for and shared with, and even though Wanru took advantage of her to ask for money, she didn’t mind.
She had thoroughly investigated Li Wanru’s circumstances, so she turned a blind eye. Moreover, Wanru still treated her sincerely every day.
Because she hung out with her, Wanru was looked down upon by other rich kids. Mei Jin understood that, so she didn’t want to abandon Wanru.
Wanru was gentle and weak. It was only because she felt the sincerity Wanru offered that she couldn’t abandon this friend.
Just because they no longer went to school together, Wanru had been threatened by other crazy people.
If the two of them truly stopped being friends, who knew what else might happen to Wanru.
Chen Meijin genuinely wanted to protect Li Wanru with all her heart.
Mei Jin truly considered Wanru a close friend.
The Li Wanru of the past might have taken advantage of, and betrayed Chen Meijin for personal gain.
But the current Li Wanru was different.
She genuinely cherished this friend.