Chapter 133

Chapter 133

◎Run again and I'll break your legs!◎

Meng Qi noticed that when Ren Suiyi asked the question, he looked very nervous and his eyes were flustered, as if just those few words from Li Qingjiang had already caused him to imagine some epic drama of "Meng Qi retreating from the world due to illness."

This left Meng Qi speechless, while also stirring a peculiar sense of guilt deep inside him: it turned out that "his" departure was not like a cold that would heal quickly for those who truly cared about "him," but rather a rheumatism that aches from the bones every rainy day.

He was saving himself, but also being selfish.

With his escape, he had locked those people in a cold, dark dungeon.

But what could he do? If he wasn't selfish, he would die...

If the Book God was willing to give him a chance to make amends, then once he truly escaped this game of death, he would become more benevolent again.

Thinking this, Meng Qi spoke before Li Qingjiang could, putting on a lighthearted tone as he said to Ren Suiyi, "Don't jinx me, Brother Sui. Right now, I'm healthier than you."

That was no lie—Ren Suiyi still had a fever, and everyone present was healthier than him.

Except for Elder Gu, who had high blood pressure and was still undergoing treatment with Li Qingjiang and hadn't fully recovered yet, Meng Qi silently added in his mind.

After hearing Meng Qi's joking remark, Ren Suiyi clearly didn't believe him and immediately stepped forward two steps to get a closer look at Meng Qi.

But seeing his movement, Meng Qi instinctively stepped back two steps. Although he didn't know why he stepped back, the fact was that he did so without hesitation.

Ren Suiyi's expression hardened, his pupils constricted slightly.

Meng Qi instantly felt as if someone had poured a ladle of cold water down his back, sending chills through him.

Just as he thought Ren Suiyi was going to yell at him, Ren Suiyi said nothing and silently retreated back under the eaves.

This...

If a demon respects me a foot, I respect the demon ten feet! So under Ren Suiyi's gaze, Meng Qi awkwardly stepped forward two steps, returning to his original position.

"Are you two doing the tango here?"

Ren Suiwu, who had been watching the whole exchange between Meng Qi and Ren Suiyi, raised an eyebrow and asked Meng Qi, "I wanted to ask you last night—this time we meet, why does it feel more and more like you and your Brother Yiyi have grown distant? Did he make you angry? Or is the reason you ran so far away because of Suiyi?"

"Don't pin that label on me, Brother Wu! Meng Qi's eyes widened! Afraid Ren Suiyi might misunderstand, he quickly turned to Ren Suiyi to explain, "It really isn't because of you!"

When he saw the words "I'm sorry" written by Ren Suiyi last night, he had felt an urge to explain things to Ren Suiyi.

Although he had always wanted to stay far away from Ren Suiyi, the further the better, ideally never crossing paths again, because he didn't want to be caught in a passive position by having too much involvement with Ren Suiyi, that didn't mean he wanted to make an enemy of Ren Suiyi! As the saying goes, "Better to resolve enmity than to keep it," and "More friends, more paths," and also "A friend is a path, an enemy is a wall"...

In short, wise men throughout the ages have been reminding us in various ways to make more friends and fewer enemies!

Meng Qi's mind raced. Although Ren Suiyi was the male lead, he had felt for a long time that Ren Suiyi wouldn't harm him. So his "running away from home" act, when you looked into it, had nothing to do with Ren Suiyi. He couldn't just casually pin this hat on Ren Suiyi. For one thing, if Ren Suiyi misunderstood, having to explain it would be a real pain.

He had run away to avoid someone else.

Topping the list of "hypothetical enemies" was the stepmother of "Meng Qi" in the book, Li Jintong. Second was his younger brother Meng Kaize. Third was the other male lead, Jiang Baixi. And finally, he even included "Meng Qi's" domineering father, Meng Zhenchao... After all, he didn't know Meng Zhenchao's character well. What if this CEO dad was thin-skinned? If he was furious about "Meng Qi" getting pregnant and having a child, feeling it would make him lose face, and then twisted enough to kill "Meng Qi" when he was most vulnerable to cover up the truth...

In short, the list was long, and Ren Suiyi wasn't on it.

"Since it's not because of Suiyi, this makes it easy," Ren Suiwu said, draping his left hand on Meng Qi's shoulder, patting him in a brotherly way, tilting his head and smiling as he looked at Meng Qi. "As for the reason, if you don't want to say, Brother Wu won't pry. Anyway, it can't be because of me. Now that my brother is ruled out, that means my brother and I can stay here for a while, right? You won't kick us out, will you?"

Meng Qi: ...

So after all that feinting, he was digging a trap here for me to fall into...

Meng Qi certainly wasn't going to take that lying down. He pursed his lips, "If I remember correctly, two bars and two stars should be a lieutenant colonel, right? Brother Wu, aren't you busy? And Brother Sui, isn't he going abroad?"

Last time, when Ren Suiyi went abroad to inspect schools, he brought back a bespoke suit for Meng Qi, complete with a very beautiful tulip brooch. Meng Qi liked it so much that when he left the capital, he even packed it in his bag.

Since the school inspection was done, wasn't he going abroad soon?

Also, a lieutenant colonel is deputy regiment level—could Ren Suiwu really stay here for a while as he said? Even if he wanted to, wouldn't the military have something to say about it? Meng Qi mused.

Ren Suiwu said, "Suiyi isn't going abroad. Who told you he was going abroad?"

"Didn't he go abroad to inspect good schools a while ago?" Meng Qi looked at Ren Suiwu, his eyes glancing at Ren Suiyi.

Ren Suiyi called from a distance, "I inspected them, but wasn't satisfied, so I'm not going. Didn't Auntie Jintong tell you? She asked my mom if I was going abroad, and I told her then that I wasn't."

Meng Qi thought to himself, Li Jintong and I aren't close enough to chat about everything, then shook his head at Ren Suiyi, "No, she didn't say."

"So now you know. I'm not going abroad. You're..." Ren Suiyi paused before continuing, "I don't want to go too far from home."

"Then go back home in a couple of days. This place is pretty far from the capital," Wang Boyuan said.

Ren Suiyi turned to Wang Boyuan, gave him a blank stare for a moment, and was about to speak when Ren Suiwu spoke up, "Home is where the family is. I'm his brother, so wherever I am is his home."

"Perfect timing then. When you go back to the army, take your brother with you," Wang Boyuan said.

"Let's talk about it later. I'm on family leave, forty days." Ren Suiwu held up four fingers and wiggled them.

Meng Qi was marveling at how good Ren Suiwu's benefits were—forty days of family leave. What company gave that much family leave? Thank goodness the country is the best! Qu Liang and Zhao Zheyuan exchanged a glance, then Qu Liang asked Ren Suiwu, "Forty days of family leave? Isn't that the days given for visiting a spouse? Annual leave is usually capped at twenty days, right?"

Ren Suiwu smiled and nodded, "You're right, but I'm not on annual leave. The reason I gave the army for time off was to come see my partner."

Ren Suiyi was shocked, and his face finally showed an expression other than anger or disappointment. "Brother, you have a partner? Since when? Do Mom and Dad know?"

"I'll tell them once I've won them over. It's just a matter of time," Ren Suiwu replied casually, as if winning someone over was as easy as winning a marksmanship contest.

Ren Suiyi brushed off Ren Suiwu's smug demeanor and pressed on asking, "Where's my future sister-in-law? Are you gonna stay here a few days before chasing her?"

Ren Suiwu draped his arm over Wang Boyuan's shoulder and dropped a bomb, "He's right here."

Meng Qi's eyes went wide. He looked from Ren Suiwu to Wang Boyuan, his voice trailing off, "No... not, brother, you two..."

Before Meng Qi could finish, Wang Boyuan turned around and kicked Ren Suiwu. "Get outta here!"

Meng Qi wisely kept his mouth shut, swallowing the rest of his words, very glad he hadn't said anything to upset Wang Boyuan.

Ren Suiwu laughed and jumped a few steps back, then pointed at the tricycle parked in the shed and asked Meng Qi, "Can I borrow the car? I want to grab something from my ride. This road is a nightmare, so I left everything in the car. It's parked by that twisty cliff edge."

Meng Qi pointed to Li Qingjiang, "He has the keys."

Li Qingjiang, Qu Liang, and Zhao Zheyuan seemed to just wake from a dream. They exchanged glances, their expressions more curious than shocked. Then Qu Liang and Zhao Zheyuan both bolted toward the tricycle, shouting as they ran that they were going to town for some fresh air.

Li Qingjiang said, "I'll get the keys," turned and walked to his room, but after grabbing them, he didn't hand them to Ren Suiwu. Instead, he also ran to the tricycle, saying he'd hitch a ride to town to buy some things.

A bunch of traitors.

After Ren Suiwu drove off with Li Qingjiang and the others out of the school gate, Meng Qi finally withdrew his gaze from them and looked at Wang Boyuan.

At this moment, Wang Boyuan's brows were furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly, let alone let someone get near. But seeing Meng Qi looking at him anxiously, he forced out a smile that was more like a grimace, sighed, and said, "It's fine, don't worry. Your brother can handle it."

"If it comes to that, let's run away together and find somewhere else to hide," Meng Qi said as he approached Wang Boyuan.

Ren Suiyi coughed from a distance. "My brother is not a bandit. If you're unwilling, he won't force you. No need to run."

Meng Qi: ...

What kind of superhuman hearing is this?! He had already spoken in a very low voice, so why could Ren Suiyi still hear him?! That's impossible!

Ren Suiyi explained to Meng Qi, "I know a little lip-reading."

Meng Qi: ...

"I'm going to have a private talk with my brother—I mean, with Qi Yun. You go back to your room and lie down. Don't eavesdrop, and don't try to secretly read our lips." Meng Qi pulled Qi Yun and walked out of the school. He needed to find an absolutely quiet and safe place to talk with Wang Boyuan.

Ren Suiyi pondered for a moment and agreed to Meng Qi, but before going inside, he said to Meng Qi, "Don't think about running. If you run again, I'll break your legs."

Meng Qi: ...

When Ren Suiyi said this, he carried the commanding presence of someone in power. Meng Qi could even feel the overwhelming pressure hitting him, making his heart race out of control.

Ren Suiyi was still the same person who had told him to "get lost" that night.

What had possessed him to dare order Ren Suiyi around? ... Indeed, to come out of this in one piece, one must never let down their guard against anyone.