Meng Shuo Jing, having just finished his classes for the day, was planning to find a place to eat.
He was in his third year of university now, and his coursework had reduced slightly. He had originally intended to study abroad in his sophomore year but had stayed because of a promise he made to Lin Yan about reaching adulthood.
They were already in a long-distance relationship, and adding the time difference of studying abroad would have made communication even more troublesome. Besides, he wasn't set on going abroad.
Going abroad was merely to add a layer of polish to his resume. Without that layer, as the heir to the Meng family, no one would be able to look down on him.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Meng Shuo Jing took out his phone and saw it was a call from his sister.
"Hello," Meng Shuo Jing heard his sister's slightly heavy voice as soon as he answered.
"Someone sent me some things. Come back to the old house."
"What things?" Meng Shuo Jing's brows furrowed.
"Something related to you. Come back, and we'll talk face-to-face."
"Alright, I'm heading back now." Meng Shuo Jing hung up and turned towards the parking lot.
On his way, he kept wondering what kind of things would make his sister insist he return to talk.
When he arrived at the old house, he found not only his sister and brother-in-law but also his father waiting.
The three of them were sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. There was an empty seat on the other sofa, presumably for him.
"Is something the matter?" Meng Shuo Jing handed his jacket to a nearby nanny and sat down on the sofa next to them.
"We received some things, and these things are related to you, so we called you back to ask about it," Meng Qing Yue spoke first.
"What things?" Related to him? What could that be?
"Are you in love?" Meng's father asked.
"Yes, is there a problem with that?"
"You and Lin Yan are dating, why didn't you tell me? I thought you didn't have any feelings for her before. What, now you do?" Meng Qing Yue's expression relaxed, no longer as stern as before.
"What does this have to do with today's matter?"
"Take a look!" Meng's father pushed a file bag on the coffee table towards Meng Shuo Jing.
Meng Shuo Jing picked up the file bag and opened it. Inside, he saw photos of him and Lin Yan, as well as his travel itineraries every time he visited her.
"You didn't even realize you were being followed. Your vigilance has weakened," Meng's father looked at Meng Shuo Jing with disapproval.
"Who has Xiao Jing offended to have his photos sent back like this?" Xu Xian Rui also spoke at this moment.
Like his wife, he didn't object to Meng Shuo Jing dating Lin Yan. After all, they both knew Lin Yan well, and she was an exceptionally outstanding girl with capabilities.
It was just that Xiao Jing hadn't been dating for long, so why would he attract someone's attention and lead them to try and break them up?
"I'm not entirely sure." Meng Shuo Jing flipped through the photos. Many of them were taken when he went to see Lin Yan. The itineraries were also for when he went to see Lin Yan.
Sending them to his home was tantamount to telling his family, "Look, he's sacrificing so much for a woman, disregarding his own life and career."
Was this portraying Lin Yan as a seductive concubine who made the emperor neglect his duties?
"When did you and Yan Yan start dating? Why didn't you tell the family?"
Meng Qing Yue began to scold her younger brother. She clearly knew how much she liked Yan Yan, and now that he was with Yan Yan, he hadn't told her.
"It hasn't been long, just on Yan Yan's eighteenth birthday."
"Oh, no wonder when I mentioned it before, you said you weren't looking for minors. Now that she's just become an adult, you've already snatched her up!"
"Yan Yan agreed!" Meng Shuo Jing said, a proud smile appearing on his face.
"Your sister mentioned that girl is very good," Meng's father had learned about this Lin Yan from Meng Qing Yue and her husband before Meng Shuo Jing arrived.
Although she was the adopted daughter who was mistakenly swapped at birth by the Fu family, the fact that Qing Yue praised her so highly and that Shuo Jing was smitten with her indicated that this girl was truly excellent.
"Yes, Yan Yan is truly special. Once Yan Yan graduates and her application is approved, I'll discuss it with her and bring her to see you." Meng Shuo Jing quickly added.
"Yes, you should bring her sooner. You've already put a ring on her finger, and if you don't meet her parents, aren't you shortchanging the young lady!" Meng's father said quite liberally.
"However, we still need to find out who is targeting you, so that the young lady doesn't get hurt."
"Exactly, Xiao Jing, you must protect Yan Yan well. Someone who can track you without your detection is not simple. The person behind this must have spent a lot of money. Since they are targeting Yan Yan, they probably won't let this matter go easily."
"I understand." He tightly clenched the file bag, his heart filled with anger towards that person. He would not allow Lin Yan to be harmed in any way.
"But it feels like it's one of Xiao Jing's admirers. Looking at how they're trying to break you up, they must be deeply in love with you!" Xu Xian Rui joked.
It was just that this person didn't understand that the Meng family would never force a marriage against personal wishes.
Perhaps they saw his own union with Qing Yue and thought the Meng family would seek a bride of equal status.
But in reality, for many generations in the Meng family, none had ever entered into a marriage of convenience. Meng family members supported free love, and their spouses were always those they liked.
He and Qing Yue also got married after growing up together and dating for many years. If one disregarded his status as the heir of the Xu family, perhaps things would have gone smoother for him back then.
The Xu family was not an advantage for him. If it weren't for Qing Yue's deep affection for him, his father-in-law probably wouldn't have married Qing Yue to him.
This person using Lin Yan's background as an issue was actually useless. Perhaps her status was higher than Lin Yan's, but based solely on her actions, the Meng family would never agree to let her enter the family.
"Always attracting trouble!" Meng's father shot Meng Shuo Jing a look. "Resolve your own matters. I don't want to receive such things again in the future!"
"Understood, Dad." Meng Shuo Jing couldn't yet guess who was responsible, but he wouldn't let that person off the hook!
"By the way, this document says you run over there often?"
"Yan Yan is studying at a military academy and doesn't have many holidays. So I've been there a few more times."
"Military academy? A girl studying at a military academy is much more promising than you!" Meng's father was somewhat disdainful of his own son. From what he heard from Qing Yue, that girl was more accomplished than his son.
"If you're going to date, date seriously. Don't let me find out you're being fickle!"
"I know!" Meng Shuo Jing felt helpless. His father had a dream of being a soldier, but when his elder uncle joined the army, his father had to stay behind to inherit the family business, which he found very difficult to accept.
He had originally wanted him to join the army too, but it didn't happen because his mother disagreed.
Now, his future daughter-in-law was a military student, and his father was overjoyed. Even though Lin Yan was just studying at a military academy and it was uncertain if she would enter the military in the future, his father was still very satisfied.
Don't think he didn't notice that his father was completely on Lin Yan's side, almost telling him that he must marry Lin Yan or not come home.
However, he was very pleased with his family's attitude. At least when Yan Yan truly married into the family, there would be no family conflicts.