Falling Dreams, Rising Hopes: Saving Mr. Boyfriend

Mei Qingyang tried saying something but nothing came out of her mouth. She was expecting this question but not this soon. Disappointment and humiliation flashed in her eyes. Fan Ruyi saw her thus and lowered her head. She needed an answer for her peace of mind.

Mei Qingyang composed herself once again and smiled sweetly. "Will you answer a question of mine too if I tell you the truth?", she inquired calmly and lifted her teacup from the table to take another sip. Might as well take advantage of the situation.

Seeing that Mei Qingyang was not really offended, Fan Ruyi's panicked heart really calmed down. That's right, she spoke to her Qing Qing, because she knew this girl would not take it the wrong way. She still needed to explain her her reasoning though. "I… Sorry Qing Qing, you know this whole Li Sibao thing has kind of shaken up our lives. I just…" She could not even really justify her question under the watchful gaze of Mei Qingyang. She felt guilty for asking such question.

Changing the topic a bit, she continued, "What question do you have for me Qing Qing? I did not know you were curious about someone?", she tried asking light heartedly. Inside she knew that damage had been done. The pain in Mei Qingyang's eyes before was real. She might have permanently put a dent in her budding relationship with this girl.

"Senior Fan, I have been with you guys for two months now and you have known me for a month. With your intelligence and background, it should be a no brainer that you know what I am here for.", she paused and kept her teacup on the exquisite glass table back with a clunk. She continued in similar dead calm manner, "If not, I will make it clear to you. I only have one year and I am here to abolish this heinous system Yu Rong has had in place. With the swimming pool incident, the ambush incident and this hospital thing that recently happened, I have no doubts there is much more happening between the servants and masters than what seems at first glance."

Mei Qingyang was in a lecture mode right now and she didn't mind revealing her intentions to the girl in front of her. She had decided to damage their ties first. Moreover, it was nothing to hide anyway. So she kept talking and Fan Ruyi had no choice but to listen. Ultimately, she just wanted answer to her question.

"You four not taking any servants for whatever reason doesn't make you any better, since you guys refuse to do anything about it. You know Gu Jiujiu's assistant visited me very recently? He wanted to commit suicide because the way he had been groomed, he did not see any purpose to his life apart from giving his services, be it manual labor or s.e.x.u.a.l favor, to Gu Jiujiu. I had to talk to senior Su to take him to his master. What is all this? These are human lives that Yu woman is ruining.", frustration boiled up inside her heart and she talked in a loud voice. She was not the one to lose calm easily. But she had seen so many lives uprooted just because someone was drunk in their power.

The room was soundproof but one waitress was waiting outside the door with her ear stuck to the door, trying to overhear what was going on inside. The owner of the pub happened to be on round just then. The waitress instantaneously acted as if she was just taking something inside. A soft knock sounded on the door.

"If we need anything, we will call you. Do not disturb us.", Fan Ruyi spoke in a stern voice to the waitress. She got scared and left as soon as she entered. The only thing she saw was that the girls seemed to be having knives against each other's throats. In other words, their meeting was not going too well. Good that she observed such a thing at right time. It would be easier to report to both madame Yu and young miss Gu. Being an agent was already tough, being a double agent was like having her life hanging through thread all the time.

The interruption soured the girls' mood more. Mei Qingyang realized it was no use to be saying all this stuff, so she came to the point directly.

"Anyway, what I mean to say is, I do not have time for falling in love. Nor am I in any of the three guys' league to even think about it. Plus, don't you love senior Feng?", she stared right into Fan Ruyi's eyes. She knew the answer already but a bright blush appeared on Fan Ruyi's face on hearing the question. This confirmed her suspicions.

"Wha… what are you talking about?", her eyes darted around.

Her reaction squeezed a chuckle out of Mei Qingyang. "Looks like you think no one knows. I am guessing only senior Feng and Su are dense enough to not know. I reckon, senior Yu already has an idea." She knew Yu Tian saw Fan Ruyi as a sister. It was very evident with how he treated her. But of course, she still could not help but be envious of their close relationship. Oh wait, what was she thinking? Especially just after declaring that she had no time for this?

"Yu… Yu Tian knows?', Fan Ruyi blushed harder. She did not expect that. But did she not just accept that she was interested in Feng Yue? "No… What I mean is, what does Yu Tian know? What if I am interested in Yu Tian and not Feng Yue?", she tried prodding into Mei Qingyang's mind now.

"We would not be having this conversation here then. Senior Fan, trust me. Regardless of whether I am Li Sibao or not, I do not have any feelings for senior Feng, nor would I develop any in the future, particularly because you like him. I am no homewrecker. Also, even if it gets proven that I am indeed Li Sibao, even then, past me and present me are different. So, please rest assured.", she concluded her long speech thus.

Fan Ruyi heaved a sigh of relief. She had gotten word from Qing Qing, so she decided to believe her for now. "If that's the case, then I am glad. Sorry to put you on spot once again.", she apologized.

"No offense taken. But why would you ask me this anyway? Did he not hate Li Sibao? From what I heard from senior Yu, he always stayed aloof, even in her presence.", Mei Qingyang still was curious about this Li Sibao girl. Now that they were having the discussion anyway, it was good that she could ask her these questions.

"Quite the contrary, he was hopelessly in love with her. Li family was not always wealthy. The engagement was decided by Feng Yue's and Li Sibao's grandfathers. Li patriarch was actually Feng patriarch's right hand man. Grandpa Feng saw grandpa Li as his best friend, and thus gave away the word. Grandpa Li worked super hard to increase their status. Feng matriarch was not very fond of the idea of her grandson getting married to a servant's granddaughter. It's said that she was the one who destroyed Li family's business after grandpa Feng's death. That's why Feng Yue feels super guilty towards his betrothed. He was sent abroad and he could not do anything for his love.", Fan Ruyi narrated.

No one knew the truth because grandma Feng also expired within a year of grandpa Feng's death. These were all rumors. A few say Feng matriarch went mad after she realized that she had doomed the whole family because of her status. She could not bear it. If she was really behind Li family's misfortune, then she did wreak havoc in very short amount of time.

"Anyway, since you know, I think I just got jealous, hehe. Sorry once again.", Fan Ruyi folded her hands in apology. Mei Qingyang shook her head again to let her know that she was not really bothered about it.

*But senior Fan, this jealousy is going to make you betray me one day. When that happens, I don't know what I would do.* Mei Qingyang regretted predicting this, because in future it did come true.