His buddy, who usually seemed quite wise, never thought that one day he would be played by a woman.
Oh no, it wasn't just his buddy who was played. Even he, who always prided himself on being good at judging people, had been kept in the dark.
He was afraid that Ling Qianchen might lose his temper and then do something stupid, like going to fight Yuan Yibai...
"Achen, it was you who let Yuan Meng down. Let's be magnanimous and not make a fuss about it."
Ling Qianchen felt something was off. It wasn't until he met Lu Ziyan's panicked eyes that he understood.
"Don't worry. I won't."
Hearing this promise, Lu Ziyan reluctantly let out a sigh of relief.
When Yuan Meng's real identity was revealed, those who had previously taken advantage of the situation to attack her had now turned into either those who were enviously sarcastic or those who were carefully trying to curry favor for fear of receiving a lawyer's letter from Yuan Yibai.
Whether it was the former or the latter, it had a certain impact on the Ling Group.
Lu Ziyan wanted to help, but Ling Qianchen sent him away on the pretext that there was another important matter that required his personal supervision.
After sending Lu Ziyan away, Ling Qianchen didn't start working as he said. Instead, after hesitating for a moment, he clicked on Yuan Meng's contact information.
It was the first time he had called this number since the divorce.
He couldn't tell what he was feeling. He only knew that he had to make this call!
Yuan Meng was planning to take a nap during the flight, but unfortunately, there was a little assistant beside her who was prone to sentimentality and could get excited about a small thing for a long time.
When she was scolded, Yan Ke'er was so angry that she almost cried. When her identity was announced, Yan Ke'er immediately beamed with joy and kept telling her how awesome General Manager Yuan was.
After a few hours on the plane, Yan Ke'er's little face showed no sign of fatigue because all her worries had finally been temporarily resolved.
After getting off the plane at the airport, Yuan Meng turned on her phone.
She immediately noticed several missed calls in the address book and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
If it had been someone else, she might not have been so surprised. But the person who called her was the last person she expected...
Oh no, maybe these calls were to question her.
Thinking of this possibility, Yuan Meng just smiled it off.
Whether it was Ling Qianchen or Li Qianchen, since they were already separated, there was no reason for her to be bothered by these annoying things!
"Mengmeng, whose call was it?"
Yan Ke'er was in a great mood. She even bounced as she walked and leaned closer to Yuan Meng.
"It's nothing. Just a few spam calls."
As she said this, Yuan Meng put her phone back in her pocket and smiled. "Let's go. Let's go back to the hotel and rest."
Since the organizer didn't know when she would arrive, they had booked a room in a big hotel near the competition venue early on. All she had to do was check in after she arrived.
She was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
Just as they reached the hotel lobby, Yuan Meng frowned slightly and glanced sideways.
Yan Ke'er also sensed something and turned to look. She exclaimed, "So handsome!"
Flattered by the compliment, the man smiled and replied in the most broken Chinese, "Thank you. You're beautiful too."
Yan Ke'er covered her mouth shyly.
In contrast to Yan Ke'er's shyness, Yuan Meng had a half - smile on her face.
This foreign man's sudden approach was probably not just for this compliment. He must have another agenda!
While she was sizing him up, the foreign man was also looking at her with a smile.
It had to be said that the man was good - looking. When he smiled, he gave an air of being unruly. But if you looked closely, you could still catch a glint of shrewdness in his eyes.
The man's current appearance was probably a mask to disguise his true self.
"I wonder if I have the honor to ask for the young lady's name?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking someone else's name?" Yuan Meng replied with a smile.
"My name is Jake. As you can see, I'm a native of this city." Jake smiled. "Beautiful lady, I think I've fallen in love with you at first sight."
Yuan Meng just smiled without saying a word.
Seeing this, Yan Ke'er couldn't help but click her tongue in her heart.
They said that foreigners were enthusiastic and direct. It seemed to be true.
She was a sucker for good - looking people, but it didn't mean that she would lose her mind just because someone was good - looking.
This man wanted to steal her Mengmeng right under her nose? Dream on!
"Hey, beautiful lady, you still haven't told me your name." Jake said.
"Mengmeng, I'm tired. Let's go up and rest quickly!"
Yuan Meng didn't say a word, but Yan Ke'er retorted directly.
"We never said we were going to tell you our names!"
Yuan Meng raised her eyebrows in surprise. Why did this girl suddenly become so defensive?
Afraid that Jake would continue to pester them and that Yuan Meng would be deceived by Jake's sweet talk, Yan Ke'er started to act coquettishly.
"Mengmeng, let's go up and rest, okay? I'm so tired."
"I'm not tired." Yuan Meng deliberately went against Yan Ke'er.
Not caring whether Yuan Meng cooperated or not, Yan Ke'er simply grabbed her and left.
As soon as they left, Jake wanted to follow, but Yan Ke'er was extremely vigilant. She even gave him a warning glare and wouldn't let him follow.
Following someone was indeed not a gentleman's act. Jake smiled helplessly and could only watch the beautiful woman who had captured his heart disappear from his sight.
After Yuan Meng's real identity was revealed, the Ling Group was no longer peaceful, especially among the shareholders. They were all being sarcastic.
What they said was nothing but mocking Ling Qianchen for being a poor judge of character and blind.
At first, they didn't dare to be so blatant. It was only after Ling Qianchen accidentally overheard them that they dared to say it to his face.
Ling Qianchen was already in a bad mood. He not only had to suppress the unfavorable public opinion on the Internet but also face the sarcasm from the shareholders. He got angry on the spot.
"Now you know to say I'm blind. What were you doing before? Oh, weren't you colluding with the Bei family to scheme against me and the Ling Group?"
Ling Qianchen's words were like a fine needle, piercing straight into their hearts.
Indeed.
When they said Ling Qianchen was blind, weren't they just as blind?
Back then, they thought Yuan Meng couldn't help Ling Qianchen or revive the Ling Group, so they all sided with Yu Luqing and Bei Mo, putting pressure on Ling Qianchen.
After Yuan Meng's identity was made public, all the things they had said were like invisible slaps in the face!
Since they had a guilty conscience, those shareholders who thought they were the most confident suddenly became mute and didn't dare to say another word.
Ling Qianchen didn't want to stay any longer because this place made him feel so suffocated that he could hardly breathe!
He thought that leaving the company and going home would make him feel better, but unexpectedly, he saw this scene.
It turned out that after confirming that there was no fraud in Yuan Meng's identity, Yu Luqing started to sigh.
Yes, she regretted it.
Beside her, Bei Mo forced a smile and spoke with a bit of caution, as if trying to persuade and flatter at the same time.
The Ling and Bei families had announced the engagement, but the engagement banquet hadn't been held yet. Everything was still uncertain. If even this old woman Yu Luqing were to switch sides, then she would...
"Auntie, Yuan Meng clearly played us for fools. This is too much!"
To prevent Yu Luqing from regretting even more and then asking Ling Qianchen to win Yuan Meng back, Bei Mo could only casually say bad things about Yuan Meng in Yu Luqing's ear.
If it had been before, Yu Luqing might have been a little angry, but at this moment—
Not getting the expected reaction, Bei Mo was frustrated.
Just as she was about to continue her persuasion, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ling Qianchen standing in the living room. Her eyes lit up with surprise.
"Achen!"
"Son! Hurry, go find Mengmeng!"
Yu Luqing reacted faster than Bei Mo.
At this moment, Yu Luqing completely forgot how she had treated Yuan Meng before. She kept urging Ling Qianchen not to just stand there stupidly but to hurry up and go find and win back Yuan Meng.
"Mengmeng loves you so much. As long as you say a few soft words, Mom believes that Mengmeng won't be so heartless as to ignore you!"
Yu Luqing not only talked to herself but also seemed to have imagined a scene where Yuan Meng had already nodded in agreement, returned to the Ling family, and even had Yuan Yibai help the Ling Group. She laughed stupidly.
However, this beautiful scene was instantly shattered by Ling Qianchen's cold snort.
"Didn't you always want to match me up with Bei Mo and say that Yuan Meng was a disaster? Now that you've got your wish, and you're asking me to say soft words to Yuan Meng. Isn't that inappropriate?"
Yu Luqing was speechless.
Yes, she had said these things and indeed done some excessive things.