We moved to Golden Courtyard

"After dinner, I went to see Sakura, and she confessed everything after just a few questions. Hmph, I'm really amazing."

Xu Qi was both amused and exasperated. What was all this... seeing her boyfriend...

Oh, right, Ai Li seduced Xu Qi even though she knew Xu Qi was Mei's boyfriend.

Where Xu Qi couldn't see, Ai Li narrowed her eyes slyly and said, "But you acted way too fast... I haven't even had a chance to get close to Sakura yet."

Xu Qi rolled his eyes. What kind of talk is this?

"And Sakura is really beautiful. You have no idea how shy she was when I asked her. I was smitten just looking at her, let alone you."

Xu Qi grabbed Ai Li's mischievous little hand that was playing pranks on his chest, pulled it out of his clothes, then turned around and looked at Ai Li, who seemed to be playing a prank, with a helpless expression.

Aren't you angry?

"Angry? What are you angry about?"

"Me and Sakura..."

Ellie shook her head indifferently.

"It's me who wants to be with you, what does Sakura have to do with it? Besides, Sakura is my best friend!"

That's what they say... but do all of you guys in the Golden Courtyard have some kind of serious illness?

“I even told her specifically that you’re mine tonight, and you’re not allowed to go see Sakura.”

As he spoke, he stood on tiptoe, reached out and wrapped his arms around Xu Qi's neck, hanging on Xu Qi like a sloth.

"I wasn't planning on contacting her anyway."

"Oh~~ You already did it with Sakura during the day, didn't you... You really like excitement, Xu Qi?~~"

Xu Qi blushed and reached out his hand as if to retaliate, causing the girl to gasp in surprise.

"You're not jealous? Does that mean you don't love me at all?" Xu Qi said, feigning a fierce tone.

"Hmph!" Alicia turned her head away and muttered, "Why aren't you jealous anymore? But I can't do anything about it. I'm the other woman, so what if the other woman is jealous of the fourth woman?"

"What kind of twisted logic is that?"

"But now you're mine. Did you and Mei do naughty things in the room during the day?"

Doing something bad? Forget about the villa, we almost went to a hotel together!

Looking at the adorable Ai Li in front of him, Xu Qi couldn't help but reach out and pinch Ai Li's chubby little face.

It looked very delicate, but it felt quite fleshy in my hand. I wondered what that part was... Xu Qi shook his head, feeling that his thoughts had become increasingly abnormal since he and Ying had done that last night.

"Stop pinching, you're making them fat..."

Xu Qi gave Ai Li a light peck on the cheek.

"I'll still like it even if I gain weight."

"Hmph? ~~Always saying nice things." Ellie thought for a moment and couldn't help but complain, "We made plans the night before last to make it up to you here, but Sakura hooked up with you...she got off easy!"

Xu Qi couldn't help but laugh. What kind of talk is this?

"Why did you run out so early tonight? Aren't you afraid Mei will find out?"

Ellie shook her head.

"She's asleep~~ Mei was a little tired today, so she went to bed early."

Xu Qi frowned.

"What's up with her?"

Still feeling uneasy, Xu Qi decided to go to Mei's room to check on her.

Seeing this, Ellie couldn't help but cling even tighter to prevent Xu Qi from moving, and said jealously, "Are you that concerned about Mei?"

Xu Qi gave a wry smile.

"Ellie, I..."

Seeing Xu Qi's troubled expression, Ai Li obediently let go of him and smiled.

"Okay, okay, go ahead, don't wake her up, okay? She should be asleep by now."

"Ah."

Just as Xu Qi was about to take a step, he thought for a moment, then suddenly hugged Ai Li and kissed the girl's lips.

The kiss came rather suddenly, leaving Ellie stunned on the spot. She could only subconsciously open her mouth to respond to Xu Qi.

The kiss didn't last long before Xu Qi released Ai Li. He flicked Ai Li's nose and said, "Wait here for me. Wait till I get out and see how I deal with you."

"Hmph? ~~Go on your way."

……

Taking advantage of the darkness, Xu Qi sneaked into Mei's room, but to his surprise, the door was not closed... Did Ai Li forget to close it when she came out?

Xu Qi didn't think much of it. He went into the room and saw Mei still fast asleep on the bed.

After thinking for a moment, she tiptoed in, squatted down, and carefully examined Mei's sleeping face on the bed—so cute...

With a smile on his face, Xu Qi noticed that Mei's shoulders were still exposed, so he reached out and covered her with the blanket, murmuring softly to himself.

"Honestly... You're so tired and you don't even cover yourself properly. What if you catch a cold?"

After making sure everything was alright, Xu Qi kissed Mei on the forehead before leaving the room.

however……

The moment the door closed, Mei slowly opened her eyes.

Under the moonlight, those eyes were so bright, how could there be any talk of them being tired?

Alicia... Sakura...

Mei suddenly felt a sharp pain... a tearing agony in her heart, as if it were being stabbed with a knife! It almost made it impossible for her to breathe...

But Xu Qi.

……

"She's asleep~~ Mei was a little tired today, so she went to bed early."

"What's up with her?"

"Are you that concerned about Mei?"

……

Why...why are you so good to me! If you love me so much, why are you still involved with other people? Isn't having me enough?

Or is it something I did wrong that made you unhappy? Mei wanted to confront Xu Qi, but... when he entered the room, gently covered her with the blanket, and left a kiss on her forehead before leaving...

The pain gradually turned into a bittersweet feeling. Even knowing how outstanding Xu Qi was, couldn't this kind of love ultimately be enjoyed by her alone? Mei longed for... just the two of them, Xu Qi, to marry, have children, and grow old together...

Mei didn't know, she really didn't know... She just felt a sharp pain in her heart, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face! She hugged the blankets tightly, murmuring to herself.

"Xu Qi...I love you so much...I really love you so much..."

······

On the top floor, Aponia, who prayed every night, slowly opened her eyes, without sorrow... without joy...

"The gears of fate have begun to turn..."

102. No one can bully Mei except me.

In the living room, seeing Xu Qi come out of the room, Airi, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but ask, "How is Mei?"

"She's already asleep; it seems she was really tired during the day."

"Mei...she's very hardworking..."

"Ok?"

Xu Qi sat down next to Ellie, looking puzzled.

“Every afternoon, Mei has to practice her sword and study. At noon and in the evening, she and Qianjie also have to prepare lunch and dinner for us. Although Fu Hua occasionally helps out, it's still too tiring…”

A look of heartache appeared in Xu Qi's eyes.

This pity was naturally noticed by Airi, who took Xu Qi's hand and said slowly, "Can you tell me about Mei's past..."

Xu Qi was somewhat surprised, after all, Ai Liqi's crowdfunding group ④⑤⑥①贰柒⑨四〇 didn't really like to pry into other people's past.

And whenever she shows such interest, it means... she truly approves of the other person.

Xu Qi took a deep breath. Good...besides, this wasn't some unspeakable past. Telling Ai Li would allow her to offer more guidance to Mei.

Xu Qi actually had a feeling... He always felt that Mei hadn't really gotten over that experience, so he organized his thoughts and said.

"Mei is a very strong-willed girl. When she was in high school, her father was imprisoned for a financial dispute. From that time on, Mei was determined to become a lawyer and wanted to clear her father's name."

You might not know this, but Mei is actually very arrogant. Although she is beautiful, she was not well-liked at school. Even though she was the top student in the school, she seemed to be... isolated by the entire school.

No one would talk to her, not even the teachers. Because she was the daughter of a criminal, and the daughter of a criminal was also a criminal… This saying had been circulating in the school for some time now.

"That's so unfair..." Alicia suddenly understood Xu Qi's heartache.

“Yes, that’s outrageous!” A cold glint flashed in Xu Qi’s eyes as he continued.

"At first it was just passive-aggressive behavior, but later... her desk was inexplicably overturned, her books in her desk would always disappear, and after class there would even be groups of girls who would ambush her."

Fortunately... Mei has trained since childhood and possesses exceptional martial arts skills, otherwise I really... cannot imagine...

But this also made people more afraid of Mei, and the rumors spread wider and wider. People began to say that Mei's father was an economic criminal and that Mei was a murderer.

Wherever she went, she seemed to be subjected to the contempt and disdain of others.

Xu Qi's fists were clenched tightly without her noticing, while Ai Li... she whispered angrily, "This is too much... How dare they treat Mei like this! And what happened after that?"

"later……"

Xu Qi's tone relaxed.

He gave a relaxed smile and said, "To be honest, it's a little embarrassing, but then I ran into him..."

Ellie's eyes lit up. She liked Mei very much, and she also liked Xu Qi very much.

The meeting of two people she liked filled Ellie with gossip.

"Actually, Mei and I met a long time ago, online. I was still in college at the time... I didn't know any of this before, since people don't usually say much online."

During my conversation with Mei, I was mostly the listener. She really needed an outlet for her emotions, and that's when she happened to meet me.

Until one day... the school held a parent-teacher conference.

······

"Xu Qi... there's a parent-teacher conference at my school tomorrow, could you... play the role of my older brother...?"

"Brother? Why? Where are your parents?"

"My parents... are both gone..."

······

"I hadn't even met Mei at that time! I didn't even know if she was a boy or a girl. I believed her and agreed. I thought... if I was fooled, I'd just consider it losing a friend forever."

But what if it's all true? I feel that when I have the ability to help others, especially my friends, it's better to lend a hand, no matter what.

I went there, and that was the first time I saw Mei... She was graceful and elegant, yet possessed a sickly fragility. The aura she exuded was quite contradictory.

It evoked both a violent urge to destroy everything and a sense of helplessness trapped in despair.

That was our first meeting, and it was also at the parent-teacher conference that I learned everything completely and understood... what kind of pain Mei was enduring at school..."

Ellie grasped Xu Qi's hands, gently rubbing his furrowed brows, and asked, "And then?"

"Later... what happened that day is quite famous."

"Ok?"

······

"boom!"

A fist slammed into a parent's head! Xu Qi roared furiously, his face contorted with rage, "You bastards!"