127: Chapter 127 When the Plums Ripen: Childhood Sweetheart Male Lead 5

Just as the memories faded, the phone on the bedside table let out an abrupt vibration.

Nan Li felt a jolt in her heart and instinctively glanced at Meng Zhu on the floor bed; seeing that he was still asleep with steady breathing, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

She quickly picked up the phone, afraid of waking Meng Zhu, and pressed the answer button without a second thought.

"Hello..."

She deliberately lowered her voice, rolled off the bed, crept out of the bedroom like a little cat, and slipped away in a few steps.

"Hello, Xi Xi, what's up?"

Lin Xi, on the other end of the line, had just woken up as well; her voice still carried a hint of laziness.

"Li Li, what are you doing? Why is your voice so quiet, like you're doing something sneaky?"

Nan Li couldn't help but laugh. She glanced back at the bedroom door and whispered:

"Shh, keep it down. My brother Courtesy Name is still sleeping, don't wake him up."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

Lin Xi gripped her phone, feeling her brain go a bit haywire.

Brother Courtesy Name? Sleeping? In... your apartment? Even in your bedroom?

"Uh..."

Lin Xi stammered for a long time before she could organize her thoughts; the amount of information was too much, and she didn't know where to start asking.

Nan Li, however, didn't notice her best friend's abnormality at all; instead, she explained it herself with a hint of small distress.

"Oh, I've been like this since I was little. I don't know why, but I'm perfectly well-behaved when I sleep alone. But if brother Courtesy Name is at home, I get really restless—either rolling around everywhere or kicking off the blankets."

"I drank alcohol last night, so it must have been even worse. Brother Courtesy Name must have been busy all night and didn't get much sleep."

As she spoke, her tone was full of heartache.

[ Pfft! What kind of magical constitution is this? You only get restless when your brother is around? Shouldn't you feel more at ease when your brother is there? ]

[ Move aside, it's my turn to show off. Psychologically speaking, this is actually reasonable. ]

[ How do I explain this to you all? Because there's no one home, there's a lack of security, leading to defensive sleeping where you don't dare to move and curl up in a corner. ]

[ Then, when the person you feel safe with is at home, there's a natural sense of relaxation. You're fearless, so you return to your true nature. That's probably how it is. ]

Some people in the comments were answering questions, but Lin Xi wasn't.

On the other end of the line, she found it increasingly strange the more she listened.

Why did this sound so awkward?

What does "you get restless whenever he's at home" mean?

It gave the impression that a man only becomes childish in front of the woman he likes.

This is clearly not a sibling relationship; there's definitely a big problem here.

"No, Li Li."

Lin Xi cautiously interrupted her, trying to clear her thoughts.

"That... brother Courtesy Name of yours?"

"Oh, that's Meng Zhu from the Meng Family in Suzhou, the one I told you about before."

Nan Li replied immediately.

"I know that, he said so yesterday too."

Lin Xi felt like she was getting dizzy from the confusion.

"I mean, isn't he your brother?"

There was much more on Lin Xi's mind than just this.

For instance, are you sure that's your brother?

Is he your real brother, or your lover brother?

Unfortunately, Nan Li didn't pick up on her best friend's probing at all.

Instead, she corrected her very seriously.

"He's not my biological brother either. The Meng Family is a very traditional scholarly family that places great importance on clan inheritance. I'm not in their family genealogy, so strictly speaking, I'm not part of their family, and naturally, I can't be considered his sister. Also, every core member of their clan has a given name and a Courtesy Name; 'Courtesy Name' is Meng Zhu's Courtesy Name. I forgot to tell you about that earlier."

Listening to this old-fashioned talk about "given names, Courtesy Names, and clans," Lin Xi felt as if she and Nan Li were on completely different wavelengths.

Please, she didn't want to know any of that; she just wanted to know what the relationship between these two really was!

But looking at Nan Li's open and defenseless tone, Lin Xi thought for a moment and swallowed the follow-up question that was on the tip of her tongue.

Forget it; her best friend was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper. Maybe she was just overthinking it?

"Alright, as long as you're okay."

Lin Xi sighed and changed the subject.

"So, didn't you say you were going back to Suzhou? Did... that brother Courtesy Name of yours come specifically to pick you up?"

"Uh-huh!"

When it came to this, Nan Li's tone became light and cheerful again.

"We'll most likely be heading back today."

"Wow, so soon? Wuwuwu, Li Li, I'm going to miss you!"

"I'll miss you too! I'll video call you once I'm settled in!"

The two chatted affectionately for a couple more minutes, and just then, the bedroom door behind Nan Li opened with a "click."

Nan Li was startled and quickly said a few words to the other end of the line.

"Xi Xi, I can't talk anymore, I'm hanging up now!"

After saying that, she hurriedly hung up the phone.

...

"Brother!"

Nan Li looked up and met Meng Zhu's eyes, which still held a hint of morning drowsiness.

The next second, immense joy filled her.

She cheered and, like a happy little bird, flew toward Meng Zhu.

When she was just a step away from him, she leaped forward and hung onto Meng Zhu like a koala, using both her hands and feet.

[ Ahhh! What did I just see! A koala hug! ]

[ No way, aren't you trying to trick me into letting my parents have a second child? How can she call "Brother" so sweetly? ]

[ My reason tells me they are siblings, but my emotions are shipping them like crazy. ]

Meng Zhu glanced at the comments, suppressing the surging emotions in his heart.

He gently patted her back.

"Look at you, you're not a child anymore, why are you still so reckless?"

His tone sounded like a rebuke, but it was so soft and weightless that it was clearly indulgence.

"I don't care!"

Nan Li twisted in his arms, speaking with conviction.

"Anyway, Brother will catch me."

Meng Zhu was already accustomed to this routine of hers.

"Alright, go wash up and pack your luggage simply."

"Hmm? Are we leaving now?"

Nan Li tilted her little face up.

Meng Zhu reached out and skillfully tidied her slightly messy hair.

"I'm going to make breakfast,"

He put her down, turned, and walked toward the kitchen, his voice coming from ahead.

"It's going to take a while; we'll leave after eating breakfast."

"Uh-huh!"

Nan Li replied happily and skipped off toward the bathroom.

Jinling and Suzhou are adjacent, but it still takes four or five hours by car.

Along the way, it was mostly Nan Li chattering away and sharing interesting stories about Jinling University, while Meng Zhu listened quietly, occasionally responding with a smile.

By the afternoon, the sunlight was just right.

The two finally returned to Qinghe Garden.

Passing through the moon gate hanging the three characters "Qinghe Garden," it felt as if the scene had been given a filter.

The outside world and this place were simply two different worlds.

A traditional Chinese architectural garden.

The classic design of "shifting scenery with every step" greeted the eyes.

The small paths followed the undulating terrain; every time one turned a corner, the scenery before them was completely different.

Babbling streams, small stone arch bridges, and well-pruned bamboo forests—when the wind blew, the bamboo leaves rustled.

Further on, there were sparkling little lakes, pavilions with octagonal upturned eaves, and winding paths with zigzag corridors.

Koi swam leisurely in the lake, and willow trees swayed gently by the shore.

White walls and dark tiles, carved wooden doors, a chess room, a study, a warm pavilion, and a garden.

A main hall, a side hall, a library, and a living quarter building.

Everywhere here exuded an ancient charm, and the air was filled with the faint scent of vegetation unique to Qinghe Garden.

This place was Nan Li's other home, a place that made her feel more at ease than her small apartment in Jinling.