140: Chapter 140 When the Plums Ripen: Childhood Sweetheart Male Lead 18 [An Qi, the Official, Owes 3 Chapters]

Under a streetlight not far away, Meng Zhu had just stopped running.

The night wind blew the hem of his windbreaker, and his gaze was fixed on her without blinking.

"Plop."

Tears dripped, hitting the phone screen.

Nan Li stood up abruptly.

The moment she saw Meng Zhu, the line of defense she had worked so hard to build collapsed instantly.

Her eye sockets turned red in an instant, and hot tears gushed out like a broken dam, rolling down her pale cheeks in large drops.

Her whole body trembled, and her face even flushed red due to the extreme emotional fluctuations.

All the panic, helplessness, and fear turned into grievances the moment she saw this man.

"Meng Xiujie!"

This was the first time she had called him that.

She shouted loudly at Meng Zhu not far away, her voice filled with a thick, tearful tone and accusation.

"Why did you turn off your phone! Why didn't you answer the phone!"

Hearing this roar filled with a tearful tone, Meng Zhu's eyes tightened, and he walked towards her with big strides.

He knew that Nan Li was truly terrified this time.

Before he could even get close, Nan Li had already rushed over and thrown herself into his arms.

"With a "bang," she slammed heavily into his solid chest, her hands clutching his shirt front tightly.

"Do you know how scared I was just now!"

"That person kept following me! No matter how I ran, he kept following!"

"Why on earth did you turn off your phone!"

She buried her face in his chest, her tears soaking his shirt wantonly.

She kept complaining and accusing, her fists pounding his shoulders without any rhythm.

Meng Zhu didn't speak, just letting her vent, only extending his arms to hug her tightly, his large hand stroking her back over and over.

In this embrace, Nan Li's complaints gradually turned into sobs.

"Courtesy Name... why did you only come now..."

Meng Zhu didn't speak, and her crying voice grew louder and louder, finally turning into wailing.

It was just like when she was a child, every time she went to him to complain, but it also seemed a bit different.

In the end, she seemed tired from crying and didn't even have the strength to stand, all her weight pressing onto Meng Zhu.

Meng Zhu took the opportunity to squat down and, with skilled and natural movements, carried Nan Li on his back.

Nan Li obediently lay on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck, burying her tear-stained face deep into the crook of his neck.

Only then did she truly relax, forgetting everything completely.

Meng Zhu carried her on his back, only then turning his head to look at Zhou Yanqing, who had been standing stiffly to the side.

His gaze was calm, and he nodded slightly.

"This classmate, thank you for saving Zhaoyu tonight. I will definitely thank you heavily another day."

Nan Li, lying on Meng Zhu's back, heard this and vaguely remembered Zhou Yanqing.

She raised her head slightly from the crook of Meng Zhu's neck, and with a thick nasal tone, said again.

"Senior, thank you so much for tonight..."

However, she didn't say a word about adding contact information just now.

Perhaps she forgot, or perhaps after Meng Zhu appeared, she had stopped thinking.

"It was just a small effort, no... no need to be polite."

Zhou Yanqing forced a smile that was uglier than crying.

He stood under the dim streetlight, watching Meng Zhu carry Nan Li, walking step by step into the depths of the night.

The hand hanging by his side slowly tightened, then slackened dejectedly.

The little bit of hope and light in his eyes, along with the backs of the two as they walked further and further away, went out inch by inch, completely.

[No way, why?]

[I don't understand, I don't understand at all, what is Meng Zhu doing?]

[From the fact that he kept following the creep and Nan Li, he did it on purpose. He deliberately let Zhou Yanqing play the hero saving the beauty.]

[Exactly, so what is this for?]

[What's the motive?]

[What a great opportunity, it's a huge loss to let it go to Zhou Yanqing.]

[You guys don't know anything, didn't you notice? Nan Li only cried after Meng Zhu appeared.]

[Oh yeah, so why exactly?]

[Don't know, I have a guess. Meng Zhu should be helping Nan Li see her own heart clearly, but I don't understand the principle.]

[It's too scheming, this time Meng Zhu is really using tricks and traps, not even giving a chance to breathe.]

Was it intentional?

That goes without saying.

Meng Zhu carried Nan Li, walking step by step towards the East Gate.

Facing Zhou Yanqing and Meng Zhu, Nan Li showed two different reactions to surviving a disaster today.

Meng Zhu had actually anticipated these reactions.

He felt that Nan Li should already have some feelings for him.

And this scene today was an unforgettable moment that Meng Zhu left for Nan Li.

When Nan Li looks back on today later, she will understand that her feelings for Meng Zhu have already changed in nature.

The night wind was cool, blowing through the quiet streets.

Lying on Meng Zhu's broad and warm back, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat.

Nan Li's fearful heart finally settled down completely.

Reason gradually returned, and the image of her crying and shouting regardless of everything just now, even pounding Meng Zhu with her fists, appeared clearly in her mind.

Her cheeks suddenly felt a bit hot, and she felt a sense of embarrassment belatedly.

She buried her face into the crook of Meng Zhu's neck, her voice muffled, with a hint of apology:

"Brother Courtesy Name... I'm sorry."

"Hmm?"

Meng Zhu didn't stop his steps, his voice sounding exceptionally gentle in the night.

"Why did you apologize suddenly?"

"Just... talking to you like that just now, and losing my temper at you..."

Nan Li bit her lower lip, muttering softly.

"Silly girl, what is there to apologize for."

Meng Zhu turned his head slightly.

"It's my fault for not protecting you well and letting you suffer such a big fright."

The more he said this, the more Nan Li felt bad in her heart.

"No, it's not your problem!"

She hurriedly defended, tightening her arms around his neck.

"It's my own fault for insisting on taking a detour from outside the school to the East Gate, only then getting targeted by that kind of bad person..."

Speaking of this, she paused, remembering the long list of missed calls on the screen just now, and couldn't help asking softly.

"By the way, Brother Courtesy Name, why was your phone turned off?"

Meng Zhu's steps remained steady, and his tone was extremely natural.

"Because it ran out of battery."

He continued to explain.

"Tonight in the auditorium, I used my phone to take too many photos and videos of you, and as a result, the battery ran out and it shut down automatically."

Hearing this sentence, Nan Li was stunned.

She keenly grasped the point of his words, and her disappointment was replaced by surprise.

She suddenly raised her head from his back, her eyes shining.

"So Brother Courtesy Name, were you in the auditorium for that competition?"

"Of course."

Meng Zhu nodded, his tone matter-of-fact.

"Then you... then why didn't you go to the family seating area?"

Nan Li's voice was a bit excited, and carried a hint of imperceptible grievance.

"When I first entered the auditorium, I happened to run into a teacher from my university days."

Meng Zhu explained patiently, throwing out the excuse he had prepared long ago.

"The teacher insisted on having me sit with them, there was no way, I could only agree."

So that was it!

He didn't miss it; he had been watching her, not via live stream, but in person.

It's just that Nan Li didn't see him!

Nan Li lay back on his back, the corners of her mouth unable to help curling up high.

"Then... how did you know I was here?"

Meng Zhu lowered his eyes slightly, his voice steady, closing the loop on this perfect lie.

"After I found out my phone was off, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find me and would be anxious, so I went directly to the backstage to find you, but the staff said you had just gone out from the North Gate."

"I was worried that you wouldn't be safe alone, so I quickly chased after you in the direction of the North Gate."

Meng Zhu's voice paused.

"When I found you, I happened to see that senior saving you, so I turned around to chase that creep."

He patted her leg soothingly.

"Don't be afraid, I've already ordered people to send him to the public security bureau."

"Hmm, I'm not afraid."

Nan Li pressed her cheek tightly against Meng Zhu's broad back, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly, rubbing against him like a kitten.

"Brother Courtesy Name, thank you..."