Chapter 172: Whether there is a substantial marital relationship

Bai Shunan walked up to her, her expression serious and carrying a hint of reproach: "Ruoruo, if I hadn't found you, then how long did you intend to keep avoiding us? You have really gone too far these past few years; is it right for you to just leave like that, and stay away for three years?"

Bai Shuruo's tears continued to stream down: "I'm sorry, sister."

After crying for quite a while, Bai Shunan sighed, then walked up to her and hugged her: "Silly girl, I really want to crack open your head to see if it's made of cotton inside? You don't want Han Yangting anymore, and you don't even want me? And what about Aunt Fen, and that silly younger brother Bai Shuhua—you don't want them either?"

Bai Shuruo didn't care about anything else and just kept crying.

The two sisters held each other and cried for a good while before Bai Shunan said: "Are you busy right now? If you aren't, shall we find a place to talk? By the way, you need to arrange two guest rooms for us; we will be staying here for a day or two."

Bai Shuruo said: "Then... let's go to the rooftop. There is a small garden on the roof that Meng Ze made."

After saying this, Bai Shuruo called out toward upstairs: "Meng Ze, come down for a moment."

Hearing Bai Shuruo call for Meng Ze, the faces of both Bai Shunan and Ling Feng sank.

The reason Han Yangting came for a day and then left, without being able to bring Bai Shuruo back, was presumably because of this Meng Ze.

When Meng Ze heard Bai Shuruo calling him, he ran down before long. At first, he didn't recognize the people, so he excitedly said: "Are there guests again? Welcome."

However, once he recognized Bai Shunan and Ling Feng in front of him, he paused, but the smile on his face did not diminish as he said: "So it's distinguished guests; then you are even more welcome."

Bai Shunan used to have a pretty good impression of Meng Ze, but ever since she found out he had run off with her younger sister, she didn't like Meng Ze anymore.

Now, seeing Meng Ze's cynical appearance again, Bai Shunan didn't even want to greet him.

Ling Feng was the same; he had never had a good impression of Meng Ze to begin with, and now that Meng Ze had lured away his good brother's woman, he had even less of one.

Meng Ze didn't mind how others viewed him, and he said nonchalantly: "Ruoruo, since distinguished guests have arrived, you should go arrange rooms for them first; I can handle things here."

Bai Shuruo nodded, then said to Bai Shunan and Ling Feng: "Follow me up; the guest rooms are on the second floor."

When taking the room cards, Bai Shuruo thought of what Bai Shunan had said about opening two rooms.

She thought to herself, how could it be that three years had passed and Ling Feng still hadn't won her sister over?

Compared to star-rated hotels, the rooms here were truly very average.

However, a homestay's strength lies in its warmth.

The quilts were clean and sent for disinfection every day; the rooms were not large, but Bai Shuruo would place a bouquet of flowers for every guest who checked in. There were many fresh flowers in Dali, and they were cheap, so whenever someone checked in, she would order a few bouquets.

Bai Shunan was quite satisfied with the room, while Ling Feng didn't care; as long as he had a place to stay, it was fine.

Afterward, Bai Shuruo brewed a pot of flower tea and invited Bai Shunan and Ling Feng to sit on the rooftop.

A homestay in Dali has to be romantic; in order to attract guests, the homestays here try their best to decorate in a literary style, so there was also a small garden on the terrace where guests could go up and sit.

No guests came up today, so it was just the three of them.

Bai Shuruo poured tea for them all and then said: "The tea here is average, not as good as what you usually drink; just treat it as a beverage."

Bai Shunan tasted a sip of the rose and jasmine tea and said: "Isn't this quite good? It quenches thirst and relieves dryness. The weather in Dali is truly dry; how have you managed to live here for years? Did you come here from the very beginning?"

Bai Shuruo nodded: "Meng Ze and I came by motorcycle; it took half a month."

They had brought a tent and stayed in it at night, and they traveled only on provincial roads, which was why Han Yangting couldn't find any news about them.

Before Bai Shuruo left, she brought some cash. After arriving in Dali, she found a friend, used that friend's ID card to lease a shop, and also used the friend's ID to open a bank account. In short, she avoided using her own whenever possible.

Bai Shunan reproached her: "To hide from us, you really went to great lengths. You must have suffered quite a bit; it was truly a self-inflicted hardship."

Bai Shuruo knew her sister's feelings; these past few years, she must have been very worried about her, so Bai Shuruo didn't dare to argue back. Whatever her sister wanted to say, she would let her say it.

Bai Shunan asked again: "What is going on with you and Meng Ze? Are you two together?"

Bai Shuruo subconsciously looked down, then said: "It's not really a matter of being together or not; anyway, we have just been living together as husband and wife."

Ling Feng asked from the side: "Then is there a substantial marital relationship?"

Bai Shuruo remained silent.

Bai Shunan said to Ling Feng: "Don't ask about these things right off the bat; it's sensitive. Why don't you go walk around, and Ruoruo and I will chat slowly."

Ling Feng felt that it was indeed inconvenient for him to be here, so he couldn't help but say: "Fine, then you two sisters have a good chat; I'll go downstairs and see if there's anything to eat."

Ling Feng went downstairs on his own. Upon reaching the first floor, he saw Meng Ze sitting in front of the counter and stopped to look at him.

Meng Ze also looked at Ling Feng.

As their eyes met, both had a hint of hostility.

Ling Feng then said: "You are really capable, being able to lure away a brother's woman. That must be a real brother of yours, right? Are you doing this to prove your own strength? The so-called 'nothing tastes better than dumplings'?"

Meng Ze mocked: "I don't want to bicker with you right now; otherwise, if a fight breaks out, I will suffer heavy losses. My place here is just a small shop; I can't afford the loss."

Ling Feng looked around; it looked cozy, but it was truly crude. He couldn't help but say: "From the moment you started approaching Ruoruo, I knew you had bad intentions. You went to such great lengths, yet you can only provide your woman with this kind of environment? Do you even have the nerve to call yourself a man? If I were you, I would have some self-awareness and not let my woman suffer with me; I'd send her back to Beishi and let her live the life of a wealthy lady."

"Who says everyone covets the life of a wealthy lady?"

"You've never lived it, so how do you know if that life is good or not?" Ling Feng asked.

Meng Ze said: "No wonder you've been chasing President Bai for years and probably haven't even held her hand yet? You don't know a damn thing about women."

"You..." Ling Feng clenched his fists in anger, but he thought that fighting was something only children did. If he, at his age, got into a fight with Meng Ze, he would definitely be looked down upon by Bai Shunan.

He had no choice but to say: "Forget it, I won't lower myself to your level. You guy with bad intentions, even if you have obtained Ruoruo's body, you won't get her heart. I can tell that Ruoruo's heart is still with Yangting."

Meng Ze said: "I don't need you to remind me."

Ling Feng walked out and met the owner of the inn across the street. He did the same as Han Yangting, went up, offered a cigarette, and then inquired: "Boss, do you know what the relationship is between that man and woman across the street?"

The owner took the cigarette and asked: "Why is it that people keep asking this question lately? Are you all so interested in them? Seeing that they are a talented man and a beautiful woman, you're itching to break them up, right?"

Ling Feng said: "Just tell me what their relationship is."

The owner saw Ling Feng's playboy attire and couldn't help but say: "They are, of course, a married couple; they even have a daughter. The proprietress is an honest and low-key person; she wouldn't like a playboy like you."

Ling Feng couldn't help but say: "Which eye of yours saw that I'm a playboy? Wait, no—you said they have a daughter?"

The owner said: "Yes, she's already three years old. You're just passing through, here to play for a few days and then leave, so you'd better put away your thoughts and let them live their lives in peace."

Ling Feng: "..."