The next day.
Ning Zhen sat at her desk with a cup of hot tea, repeatedly reliving every little detail of the day before. She hadn’t been idle today, either. She was scouring the internet, checking to see whether any onlookers had taken photos or videos. Once the overwhelming surprise and emotion had faded, this was what drove her craziest of all!
He had done it without saying a word, and she hadn’t been prepared in the slightest.
She had been so stunned that she’d forgotten to raise her phone and record that precious moment.
Perhaps it had been too late by the time the scrolling fireworks display was over. Or perhaps the passersby watching hadn’t been interested enough to go online and make a spectacle of it. After searching again and again, she still couldn’t find any photos or videos. Instead, she came across a rambling post from someone in the same city—
[The endless overtime is driving me crazy. The only small bit of happiness I had today was catching the last subway and getting to watch a light show. I’d almost forgotten that my birthday is coming up soon, too.]
Ning Zhen was certain she was logged into her alt account.
She liked the post and left a comment: [Happy birthday to you, too!]
The moment she sent it, she received a message from Meng Jiaran.
Ten in the morning. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one slacking off at work.
Meng Jiaran: [I thought you were making it up. I can’t believe it was real. I learned something new today—I’ve never seen my brother make such a high-profile gesture before.]
Meng Jiaran: [It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young master smile.jpg]
Ning Zhen was surprised.
For someone who had been banished to Ningguta, how was he so well informed?
She typed back: [How did you know your brother put on a scrolling display wishing me a happy birthday? This was just a little episode in my life. It’s not like I’m particularly happy about it. After all, I said it was just part of my everyday life. There’s nothing worth showing off.]
Meng Jiaran: [Disgusting.jpg]
Meng Jiaran: [I have some connections at headquarters, but you owe me a kowtow for this. Got it?]
Ning Zhen: [?]
Meng Jiaran: [Have you forgotten that time you asked me how to win over my brother? You went on and on, and afterward my brother asked me what we’d talked about. I told him.]
Ning Zhen sent him a long string of ellipses.
From last night until this morning, she had been completely immersed in happiness. She had forgotten to think too deeply about how a boring man like Meng Xianwen—who only ever said things like “If you want it, buy it yourself” or “The card’s with you”—had suddenly come up with one clever romantic gesture after another.
It had been nearly two months since Meng Jiaran had asked her for advice.
She had completely forgotten about that episode.
Only now did she realize that it wasn’t some rotten piece of wood finally coming to life. It was simply that she had a loudspeaker by her side.
Meng Jiaran: [I’ve learned my lesson. I’m going to do the same thing in the future.]
Ning Zhen showed him no mercy and mocked him: [The future? How far into the future? Don’t wait until a thousand years from now~~]
This was the punishment for having a friend who was also a human loudspeaker!
Her words struck right at Meng Jiaran’s fragile heart. The two of them began bombarding each other with reaction images. In the middle of their argument, Ning Zhen picked up her cup and took a drink to hide the foolish grin on her face. She had the feeling that anything she made up would somehow become reality as long as she told him about it.
—
For Ning Zhen, this year’s Spring Festival seemed little different from last year’s.
After all, it had been around this time last year that her agreement with Meng Xianwen had just begun. Throughout the entire Spring Festival holiday, they had practically been together the whole time, putting on a convincing act. He had gone to her home to wish her parents a happy New Year in his new capacity, and she had done the same.
The only difference was that last year, their relationship had been fake. This year, it was real.
On the night before New Year’s Eve, after putting it off until as late as possible, Meng Xianwen finally drove her home. The trunk was packed with New Year gifts for her parents, along with her suitcase. During the Spring Festival holiday, they would each return to their own families and spend a few days apart.
It was the dead of winter, and the wind was biting cold.
All the lights were on in the Ning family’s little house. Ye Junlan and Ning Hui came out to help unload the gifts. There were so many of them, and they were so heavy—supplements, liquor, tea, and more, piled high. Last year, they had still exchanged polite pleasantries with Meng Xianwen. This year, he had been coming to their house so often that they couldn’t even be bothered with formalities anymore.
“That’s Zhenzhen’s suitcase, right?”
Ning Hui came over, panting slightly, and was about to bend down to take out the suitcase when Meng Xianwen stopped him.
“Uncle Ning, her suitcase is very heavy, and her room is on the second floor. I’ll carry it.”
“…Dad, let him take it. Don’t throw out your back!”
Ning Zhen stood at the entrance of the alley, shivering and stamping her feet against the cold.
Her elderly father clearly didn’t appreciate that.
“Thank you very much, but your dad is still young. I could carry the suitcase and then carry you—or your mother—upstairs without breaking a sweat!”
Ye Junlan shot him a look and muttered under her breath, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t say things like that in front of the children.”
Ning Zhen couldn’t help laughing.
She quietly glanced at Meng Xianwen. Her parents didn’t spend their days with him, so they had no idea how calculating he could be—sharp enough to use as a sieve. But Ning Zhen knew him all too well. Being considerate toward her father was only secondary. What he really wanted was to carry her suitcase upstairs so he could spend a little more time in her room.
They had both been busy lately—he even busier than her. Not only did they leave early and return late every day, but he also frequently had to go on short business trips. Often, she would already be asleep when he got home. Half awake, she would feel him kiss her forehead. By the time she opened her eyes, he would have eaten breakfast and hurried off to work.
At long last, the holiday had arrived, but she had to go home to spend the New Year with her parents.
Meng Xianwen carried the suitcase for a few steps before casually glancing back. In the darkness, he gave Ning Zhen a look, signaling for her to follow.
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Afraid of giving them away, she tugged her scarf up to cover her face and followed lightly in his footsteps.
The two of them went upstairs one after the other and entered her room.
Ning Zhen left the door ajar. From downstairs, she could vaguely hear her parents discussing how to divide up the New Year gifts.
Meng Xianwen pulled over a chair and sat down. After glancing at his watch, he said quietly, “It’s getting late. I’ll go downstairs in ten minutes.”
Even in front of Xiao Ding, he wouldn’t be overly intimate with her.
With her parents downstairs, all he could do was restrain his urge to hug and kiss her, his eyes fixed intently on her instead.
What could they do with these ten minutes? He nodded toward her suitcase. “I’ll watch you unpack.”
Ning Zhen: “?”
What kind of man was this?
A decent man should have said, “You sit down. I’ll unpack for you,” shouldn’t he?
And what was his obsession with ten minutes?
She glared at him, but couldn’t hold out for even three seconds before she started laughing. “No. I want fifteen minutes.”
A flicker of amusement crossed Meng Xianwen’s brow, though he still put on a serious expression and nodded as if he were reluctantly agreeing.
“All right.”
Ning Zhen shook her fist at him. Without wasting any more time, she opened her suitcase and took out the neatly packed items one by one. In the end, the two of them cherished those fifteen minutes. Neither said a word as she walked around the room, putting away her computer and tablet, plugging in their chargers, hanging up her pajamas, and organizing her bottles and jars.
His gaze remained fixed on her the entire time.
Quiet and content.
The fifteen minutes seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Meng Xianwen didn’t stay a second longer than necessary before getting to his feet and taking her hand downstairs. After saying goodbye to Ye Junlan and Ning Hui, who were still organizing the New Year gifts, he continued holding on to her hand and pulled her out into the courtyard.
“Don’t think you can be lazy. Walk me to the car.”
He really did act as if he were some grand celebrity who had come to be welcomed and now had to be seen off.
Ning Zhen was speechless, but she had no choice except to agree.
It was just a short stretch of road, but both of them slowed down their paces. However slowly they walked, they still reached the alley entrance. At this hour, the street was deathly quiet, so quiet that it seemed as if they were the only two left in the world. After hugging for a while, Ning Zhen couldn't take it anymore.
It was too cold.
She pushed him away, waved half - heartedly to say goodbye, and then turned around to walk a few steps. But then, a thought flashed through her mind, and she went back to him. In his surprised gaze, she took off her cashmere scarf, stood on tiptoe to wrap it around his neck. Her breath wafted towards him, and his expression froze slightly.
Ning Zhen took half a step back, let out a chuckle, and then slipped away quickly before he could come to his senses.
Who would have thought that on the morning of Chinese New Year's Eve, she was lazily lying in bed, frantically grabbing red envelopes in the group chat with her friends. Then a message notification from him popped up on the screen: [I'm in the parking lot outside the alley.]
She was stunned for a moment. Thinking there was some urgent matter, she quickly washed up, changed her clothes, and rushed to the parking lot. She spotted his car at a glance. She walked over quickly, bent down to look inside. The driver's seat was empty. He was sitting quietly in the back seat, scrolling through his phone and replying to others' New Year greetings.
She tapped lightly on the car window, opened the door, and got in. She quickly asked, "What's up?"
It wasn't even ten o'clock in the morning yet.
He had set off from the old family mansion. Even if there was no traffic jam, it would still take him an hour to drive here.
This freak actually got up at seven even during the holidays.
Meng Xianwen seemed to find her question rather strange. He gave her a sidelong glance, picked up the scarf beside him, and said with insinuation, "What do you think?"
Ning Zhen fell silent.
She shifted her gaze from the scarf and locked eyes with him. She was both amused and annoyed, but she still had to explain, "You're crazy! I didn't mean that!"
Wrapping the scarf around him last night was just for fun.
But in his eyes, it seemed as if she had deliberately tried to lure him here early in the morning to return the scarf.
"Really?"
His tone was flat. "I thought that's what you meant."
As he said this, this shameless guy gave her a look as if to say, "If you want to see me, just say so. There's no need to beat around the bush."
Who on earth wanted to see who!!
The two bickered in the car until Meng Xianwen's phone rang. It was a call from Meng Jiaran, urging him to go home for dinner. Only then did Ning Zhen manage to get away from him. She got out of the car out of breath and didn't stay for a single extra second, afraid that he would go crazy again.
During the New Year's Eve dinner, as usual, she raised her glass to give New Year greetings to her parents and received two generous red envelopes. Contentedly, she went upstairs to her room. When she put the red envelopes into the pocket of the coat she had worn this morning, her hand felt a cold, metallic touch as soon as it reached in.
Her brows twitched slightly. She had a bad feeling, as if she had fallen into a trap.
Sure enough, when she took it out, it was really his wristwatch.
When did he put it in there??
She was still wracking her brains to recall when the screen of her phone on the bed lit up.
Meng Xianwen: [It seems I left my watch with you. Look for it. I'll come to pick it up. I'll be there in an hour.]
