Chapter 111: Meng Tan

Ni Mengxue thought about the strength of her team and frowned. It was severely lacking.

’If only I had more time.’

If she could enter her industrial workshop, she could manufacture powerful weapons, but even that would take time.

Just as Ni Mengxue was worrying about the lack of time, Meng Xiaoni’s mother came to visit her. Her name was Meng Tan.

All the children of the Meng family had taken Meng Tan’s surname because Meng Xiaoni’s father loved his wife deeply.

He had never cared whether his children inherited his surname and had willingly allowed all of them to carry Meng Tan’s family name.

When Meng Tan appeared, Ni Mengxue quietly observed her.

The woman was calm and carried an intellectual air. There was also an elegance about her that suggested she had once lived a privileged life.

However, her injuries and weakened body had stripped away much of that former elegance, making her look far more worn out than she probably would have otherwise.

Meng Tan walked over and said calmly, "Thank you for rescuing us."

Ni Mengxue waved her hand. "There’s no need for such an insincere thank-you."

She could already sense the sarcasm hidden beneath Meng Tan’s polite words.

Meng Tan was hardly fazed. She sat down on the sofa opposite Ni Mengxue.

"So, what method are you planning to use to take my son away?"

Ni Mengxue shook her head.

"I won’t force your son to leave with me. Since he wants to stay behind, I’ll let him make his own choice. I won’t stop him."

She paused before looking directly at Meng Tan. "However, I do need your help."

Meng Tan narrowed her eyes.

This Ni Mengxue was nothing like the woman she remembered.

The words Meng Xiaoni had told her suddenly resurfaced in her mind.

He had said that the current Ni Mengxue wasn’t the same person as the previous one.

At the time, Meng Tan had thought her son was simply saying such ridiculous things because he was still emotionally attached to Ni Mengxue.

But now, she realized that wasn’t the case. She took a slow breath.

"What do you need?"

By evening, when Meng Tan finally left, her expression was strange, and she was carrying a large bag.

Ni Mengxue watched her leave with a trace of remorse in her eyes before turning around and walking toward Lu Yucai’s room.

She knocked on the door. Lu Yucai was awake by then. Ni Mengxue slowly walked inside with a smile.

"Do you want some porridge? I’ll make it for you."

Lu Yucai remained silent. Ni Mengxue smiled again.

"All right. How about egg-fried noodles?"

She sat beside him.

"The woman Su is quite capable. She even has animal husbandry. I’m planning to take some chickens and pigs with us and raise them in my space. What do you think?"

She paused.

"I don’t know much about raising livestock, but I heard that before you became a soldier, you were responsible for taking care of the animals at your orphanage. So you should know how to raise them, right?"

Lu Yucai finally looked at her. "I don’t need your comfort."

Ni Mengxue walked over and hugged him. "Can you forget about dying?"

Her voice trembled.

"Lu Yucai, I’m truly scared. Even when you’re right here beside me, I feel as though you’ve already left me."

Lu Yucai remained silent. After a moment, he raised his hand and gently patted her shoulder.

Ni Mengxue trembled at the touch. She hugged him even tighter.

"I truly can’t afford to lose you, Lu Yucai. Please reconsider."

Lu Yucai was silent for a long time before finally speaking. "Mengxue, I’m truly grateful for everything you’ve done."

Ni Mengxue shook her head. "No. This must be some kind of dream, right?"

She buried her face against his shoulder.

"How can the ending still be the same? Why hasn’t anything changed?"

As she murmured those words, she continued holding him.

Lu Yucai didn’t say anything else. He simply closed his eyes.

For the rest of the evening, Ni Mengxue stayed beside him without moving an inch.

She was afraid that the moment she looked away, he would disappear.

Or worse, that he would give up on her completely.

...............................

Meng Xiaoni stared at the evidence in front of him with a strange expression.

Finally, he looked at Meng Tan. "Was all of this given by Ni Mengxue?"

Meng Tan nodded.

Meng Xiaoni narrowed his eyes and let out a mocking laugh. "Well, she’s quite a... generous woman."

Meng Tan paused.

She stared at her son in slight surprise.

This was the third time she had seen Meng Xiaoni display such an emotion.

Even when he experienced strong emotions in the past, he had always expressed them in the same calm, almost robotic manner.

It wasn’t that he had been pretending. That was simply how his mind worked.

But this time, he had actually stepped outside that usual pattern.

Meng Xiaoni took a deep breath and mechanically gathered the evidence.

"I don’t know how I’ll repay all the kindness she’s shown me. But after I do, I’ll divorce her."

Meng Tan stared at him. Then she calmly said, "I won’t allow it."

Meng Xiaoni frowned.

His mother continued, "I didn’t object when you married Ni Mengxue before because it was already too late by the time I knew everything."

She looked directly at him.

"This time, however, I am here, and I want you not to give up on her. Stay with her for at least one year before you consider divorce."

Meng Xiaoni chuckled.

"Mother, I only need three months to repay everything. Do you really have to make things difficult for me?"

He paused.

"And why has your opinion of Ni Mengxue changed so much that you’re making such ridiculous demands?"

Meng Tan wasn’t a domineering woman. On the contrary, she had always been gentle, understanding, and kind.

This was the first time she had insisted on something so firmly. She didn’t argue with him.

Instead, she simply said, "Meng Xiaoni, do as I say and trust my instincts."

Meng Xiaoni clenched his fists before slowly relaxing them. "Alright."