Looking at Sima Chen before her, Mengying felt a moment of disorientation. He looked like the Brother White in her memory, yet seemed completely different.
His appearance clearly showed the features of Brother White from back then. But he was even more handsome now. And he had grown much taller. Mengying was already taller than the average man, yet Sima Chen stood at least half a head taller than her.
He still wore white, just like before—this time a white turtleneck sweater and dark blue casual pants. The white sweater made him appear clean and almost radiant. Mengying couldn't help but wonder what the female classmates in her classical literature class who had been so smitten with Sima Jing would think if Sima Chen appeared there.
Just then, Sima Chen smiled gently at her—the same soft smile she remembered from Brother White. And his eyes still sparkled like stars when he smiled.
Mengying looked at Sima Chen and felt her heartbeat skip a beat.
At the sight of Sima Chen, Meng Ying fell into a brief moment of disorientation. However, she quickly regained control over her emotions. She put on a polite smile and spoke in a distant tone. "Long time no see. Should I call you Mr. Sima, Young Master Yuwen, Brother White, or 'either is fine'?"
The phrase "either is fine" was the answer Brother White had given Uncle Qiang when he was concealing his identity during her first visit.
As if amused by "either is fine," Sima Chen's smile deepened. "Nannan has such a good memory. You can continue calling me Brother White." He stepped aside from the door. "Please come in and sit. You must be hungry. Shiwei notified the kitchen to prepare something. Would you like some cake first?"
But Mengying had no intention of calling Sima Chen Brother White anymore.
"Mr. Sima also has a good memory, remembering that I love chocolate cake," Mengying replied politely.
"I remember everything about you," Sima Chen said, looking deeply into her eyes. Then he made a gesture inviting her inside.
How should she interpret that sentence?
Not knowing how to respond, Mengying didn't reply. She walked past Sima Chen into the study and sat down beside the tea table. She found she was indeed quite hungry, so she wrapped a piece of cake in a napkin and took a bite. This cake tasted the same as the cake she used to eat when playing chess with Brother White.
After Sima Chen sat down across from her, Mengying decided to end this nostalgic small talk. She set down the cake and looked directly at Sima Chen. "Mr. Sima, I have a question."
"Please," Sima Chen answered good-naturedly.
"How did you know I arrived at Yunxi airport? Have you been monitoring my movements this whole time?"
Though this question wasn't very polite, Mengying felt there was no point in wasting time beating around the bush.
"You could say that," Sima Chen didn't deny it. "I've been paying attention to you."
Mengying was taken aback. Paying attention to her this whole time? Could the reckless driver who had tailed her last month also have been Sima Chen's arrangement? Mengying decided to ask about each thing one by one.
"The car that followed me last month—did you send it too?"
Sima Chen raised his eyebrows, seemingly surprised. "Followed you? I didn't send anyone to follow you. Can you give me more details?"
Not Sima Chen? Was there someone else watching her? Or was she being paranoid and it was just reckless driving? But Mengying didn't want to dwell on this question now, because there was another question she needed answered from Sima Chen: whether he had deliberately arranged for her to come to Daheng.
"Perhaps I was just being paranoid," Mengying said dismissively, then immediately continued with another question. "I have another question. Did you arrange for Sima Jing to study at Anya University?"
"No," Sima Chen looked even more surprised. "Why would you say that?"
"He said he decided to go to Anya after seeing a photograph of the Anya University Library. That photograph was on the cover of a magazine you brought home," Mengying explained.
Sima Chen didn't answer immediately but was silent for a moment. Then he seemed to be recalling something. "After I learned you had gone to Anya University, I did have Shiwei bring a magazine about Anya into the study... Could it be the study wasn't locked?"
When Sima Chen said these things, he wasn't looking at Mengying, which made her feel like he was talking to himself. Did Sima Chen not want her to come back? Mengying decided to confirm once more.
"So you didn't plan on having me come back?"
"No," Sima Chen replied without any hesitation, still seemingly lost in thought about the magazine incident.
Mengying felt a chill in her heart. So he didn't plan for her to return. It seemed she had been deceiving herself.
She had originally wanted to ask him why he hadn't contacted her all these years, but now it seemed pointless. He probably didn't care about her at all. Asking would only cause more pain. If she asked him directly, Sima Chen would probably make up a satisfactory reason just to make her happy.
So Mengying stopped speaking.
But clearly, Mengying's question had pulled Sima Chen's thoughts from the magazine incident back to the present. He shifted his gaze back to her and looked at her as he spoke.
"Although your return this time wasn't in my plans, now that you're here, I think it's time you knew what happened fifteen years ago."
It seems there was indeed some secret from fifteen years ago. Mengying's heartbeat quickened, but she maintained composure on the surface. "What happened fifteen years ago?"
"Why did your entire family leave in such a hurry back then?" Sima Chen paused, "I think it's time for you to know the truth."
"Your family's departure back then, as far as I know, was a joint decision made by my uncle and your parents," Sima Chen continued.
"What?" Mengying raised her voice in surprise. "Your uncle was involved too?"
The cake in Mengying's hand nearly crumbled. How could her family's departure involve an outsider?
Sima Chen observed her reaction and said gently, "What I'm about to tell you contains quite a lot of information. Would you like to drink some water first?"
He then poured her a cup of tea.
Mengying took a deep breath and said, "Thank you." She then took the tea cup and had a sip.
"Let me start from the beginning," Sima Chen's voice remained steady. "I'm not sure if you know this, but your grandmother and my grandmother were close friends—bosom friends. They had an excellent relationship since childhood."
Mengying was somewhat surprised; she didn't actually know this. Her grandmother had passed away when she was too young, and her mother was always busy and rarely mentioned family matters. She shook her head at Sima Chen.
Sima Chen nodded slightly at Mengying and continued, "My grandmother had only two children—my mother and my uncle. Your grandmother had only one daughter—your mother. Shortly after you were born, my grandmother suggested a child betrothal ceremony according to the customs of Daheng."
Mengying calculated the timeline in her mind, then looked at Sima Chen and said, "So that's what Sima Jing meant when he said you got engaged at eight years old."
"It seems Sima Jing told you quite a lot?" Sima Chen's question carried polite curiosity.
Mengying decided not to answer this question, so she remained silent.
Sima Chen continued, "At first, they probably didn't take it completely seriously. But when you were three years old that spring, my grandmother saw you at a charity evening and took a great liking to you."
He paused. "Not long after, your grandmother passed away. Perhaps due to her longing for your grandmother, my grandmother became obsessed with making this betrothal happen. She even invested in your parents' research project, hoping to make them take this marriage seriously. But my grandmother said your mother didn't seem to take it very seriously."
Could this be the reason why Mother never told her about it?
"By the summer when you turned six, things changed somewhat," Sima Chen continued. "My grandmother told me that something had gone wrong with your parents' research, so they might not be able to return home to care for you for a long time."
Mengying thought of her mother's hurried departure when she was six years old. Could it really be for the reason Sima Chen mentioned?
"So my grandmother decided to have you and me meet face to face. If we got along well, we would formally establish this betrothal. That way, she could justifiably bring you to the Yuwen residence to be cared for."
So her meeting with White Brother at Yunxi when she was six, and how he patiently accompanied her—it was all pre-arranged. Only she had been kept in the dark. Mengying felt a hint of anger at being deceived.
So she commented coldly, "So our initial meeting wasn't a coincidence either."
Mengying wasn't sure if Sima Chen detected her dissatisfaction, but she only heard his tone remain unchanged as he continued gently, "You could say that. I came to Yunxi with my grandmother on vacation—she had specially arranged it for us to meet. To arrange for our meeting, she even specially purchased this residence."
Sima Chen pointed with his finger to the house they were in.
Then Mengying noticed a hint of sorrow in Sima Chen's expression. "But she fell ill shortly after arriving in Yunxi, and she never formally met you before she passed away."
Mengying recalled how Sima Chen had mentioned his grandmother was recovering from illness in the back garden, and then remembered the black sedan that came to her home afterward, as well as her past worry for Little White Brother. So she said, "You must have been very sad then. I remember you said your grandmother was taking medicine. Was her cold that severe? Was your hasty departure back then also because your grandmother suddenly passed away?"
"You have a good memory," Sima Chen nodded at Mengying. Then his expression became very grave. "But my grandmother's death, rather than making us sad, shocked us more."
"Why?"
"Because my grandmother had always been in good health," Sima Chen answered, looking at Mengying. "Both my uncle and I suspected something was amiss. Later, it was confirmed that she died because someone poisoned her."