Falling Dreams, Rising Hopes: Saving Mr. Boyfriend

As soon as she came out of building, Mei Qingyang frowned. She had not expected Yu Rong to be this stupid. To think that she had thought this lady was a worthy person to defeat. Why was she rushing so much suddenly? This lady was known to be ruthless towards her enemies. Something was amiss. She understood that these kind of things worked previously because the previous people were just fools sent by the ministry without educating them properly. This included her foster brother Jiang Bo.

Jiang Bo was a smart person but these guys had not used this tactic on him. She was to find the culprit behind her brother's death too. She needed to find that person who made her mentally and physically strong brother take the last step, the path of suicide.

Anyway, she was feeling very indignant right now. Lost in her thought, she headed towards a spot she had found very recently. There was a small hidden lake at the border of the school. It was an undeveloped area, so not many people used to come here. It was lunch time and she was excused from the classes for the whole day because of her injuries and her meeting with Yu Rong.

It had started to become cooler since it was end of August now. The warm sun felt very pleasant and so, she decided to head towards the lake. It was another secluded spot but a place which provided her peace.

She sat down on the grass near the lake. The warmth from the sun and the cool breeze from the lake made the temperature perfect for a small picnic by herself and then a nap perhaps. She still needed to recover from her injuries after all.

"May I join you?", when Mei Qingyang was in the middle of her lunch and was lost in her thoughts, she heard a familiar sweet voice.

"Ms. Fan! I did not know you liked places like this too. Please join me. Would you like to have some lunch?", Mei Qingyang did not really have bad impression of this girl She was pretty and elegant and belonged to a good household, perhaps where people respected human life rather than tread over it. Moreover, she had helped her so much within a day.

"What do I need to do to earn your trust? You put me at such a distance, even calling me by my last name!", Fan Ruyi pouted while sitting down beside Mei Qingyang. She really wanted to be friends with this girl. It was not just to get close and figure out her intentions or mission. She really liked how this poor girl was giving tough competition to Yu Rong. She predicted that this girl would bring change to this school.

"It's not that I want to keep you at bay. But you should understand this all is new to me. When I become comfortable enough, I will naturally be closer to you.", Mei Qingyang looked far away into distance, like she was seeing another world altogether.

"I like how straightforward you are. Fine, we will take this slowly. I think I was being inconsiderate by being a pushover.", Fan Ruyi turned her head as well, to try to see what Mei Qingyang was seeing.

"But, I will take up your offer on lunch. Can I taste what you are having right now?"

"Of course! Please go ahead. I practice vegetarian diet, so I have these dumplings filled with veggies and mushrooms. I hope you like them.", Mei Qingyang offered her a small plate of dumplings she had cooked herself and refrigerated for future use.

Fan Ruyi put one dumpling in her mouth and closed her eyes to savor the flavor.

"Oh my God Qing Qing, this is so delicious. None of the cooks at my home cook like this!!", Fan Ruyi cried. She plopped another one in her mouth in haste.

"Hehe. It is just something I have come up with in my spare time, with the help of my mom. They are also easy to make so…", she shrugged her shoulders while being amused at Fan Ruyi's reaction. This girl could eat anything from Michelin five star restaurants whenever she wanted, but she was reacting like she had never eaten dumplings before. Also, what did she call her? Qing Qing?

Fan Ruyi felt Qingyang's eyes on her.

"Ah! Actually, I think the difference is in the love you put in making them. You see, my parents have always been busy with their duties, so I seldom had home-cooked food. They had hired professional cooks for the family and it never had this kind of taste. Restaurants can't even compare.", Fan Ruyi's eyes seemed watery at this moment, and a loneliness flashed through them.

"If…. if you want, I can cook more for you. I have variety of recipes from mom.", Mei Qingyang mumbled with her head down. Apart from her family, it was the first time someone had tasted her cooking. She started feeling really hot inside. Guess the sun was too strong still to sit like this.

Fan Ruyi glanced again at this girl. Her features softened and heart warmed on knowing that Mei Qingyang had taken one step ahead in their friendship. She was a cute junior after all. The cool breeze was still blowing, making this girl's beautiful black locks flutter into the air. The red and yellow leaves of the trees behind her were painting a beautiful scenery.

This was the moment when Fan Ruyi understood why Yu Tian fell for this girl. She was a beauty in her own sense. But she had another trait which she had not seen in many people, kindness. This girl was kind and selfless. She stood for justice. No wonder she had a feeling that she would change all their fates.

"Thank you. I will definitely let you know when I am feeling like eating home cooked food.", Fan Ruyi said delightfully. She stared into distance once again, trying to imprint these warm heartful emotions inside her, forever.

"No, I should be the one to say thank you. You have helped me a lot. If you guys did not stop me yesterday, I perhaps would have killed that guy. And regretted it all my life. Thank you for saving that girl too, otherwise I would have kept blaming myself. Not to mention, your treatment.", Mei Qingyang did not like keeping debts with other people. She was helpless right now because she had no idea how she would repay them. Was she even supposed to keep a tab here? That way, she had taken enough help from Yu Tian that she would be indebted to him forever.

"It's no big deal Qing Qing. That is what you do for friends.", she patted Qingyang's hand which was resting on the ground to support her.

"Then I have another favor to ask you.", Mei Qingyang felt Fan Ruyi's hand and looked at the ground, then at the girl.

"Go ahead. If it's in my hands, I will help you no matter what.", Fan Ruyi grinned.

"I want to visit that girl, the one at your hospital.", Mei Qingyang said.