This time, Ning Zhen slept very deeply. Woken by a persistent noise, she blinked her eyes open groggily, rolled over, and realized the sound was coming from the bathroom. She sat up abruptly, fully awake, and instinctively glanced at the sofa—it was perfectly neat, empty.
She called out, “Meng Xianwen?”
A few seconds later, the bathroom door opened. He came out carrying the minty scent of shaving cream, deftly tying his tie as he said calmly, “You’re awake.”
Ning Zhen was speechless.
He was moving around the hospital room as if no one else was there, with all the racket of a battle zone. A dead person would have woken up, let alone her, a very much alive one.
He was doing it on purpose, wasn’t he?
What had she done to him?
“What time is it?” she mumbled, grabbing her phone from beside the pillow. She tapped the screen and was startled for a moment. “Seven-twenty?”
So early!
“It’s not early,” he said, his gaze sweeping over her flatly. “I have a meeting at ten-thirty.”
Ning Zhen was slightly taken aback. “You’re going to the company today?”
Hengxing’s headquarters were in Beicheng, but the Nancheng branch was crucial. Otherwise, Meng Xianwen wouldn’t have made time in his busy schedule to come for a three-day inspection trip right before the project launch.
Meng Xianwen nodded calmly. “We’ve already lost a day.”
His tone was so solemn, as if he’d missed out on a fortune. Ning Zhen twitched the corner of her mouth and gave him a thumbs-up. Impressive.
Since the patient was already raring to go, she had no choice but to get up. She grabbed the set of women’s clothes Xiao Xuezhen had prepared the day before and went into the bathroom to wash up and change. When she came out, Meng Xianwen had just closed his laptop. He was truly dedicated to his work, using every spare moment to review documents.
Most of the time, Meng Xianwen’s decisions were not up for debate.
For instance, he insisted on being discharged today.
And, for instance, he was determined to dive straight back into work.
Ning Zhen knew her place. Aunt Xiao and Meng Jingshan couldn’t stop him, and she herself didn’t have much sway with him. If he had listened to her yesterday, it was probably only because he was afraid she’d throw a fit and smash his computer.
Meng Xianwen set his laptop aside, bent down, and picked out a matching watch from his suitcase.
“Let me!”
On impulse, Ning Zhen stepped forward quickly, snatched the watch from his hand, and naturally started putting it on his wrist, fastening it with deliberate slowness.
Meng Xianwen lowered his gaze, his eyes resting on her curled eyelashes.
They were so close that their breaths seemed to mingle.
Ning Zhen let go of his hand and looked up, inadvertently catching sight of a mark on his jaw. She froze for a second before almost laughing out loud.
“What’s wrong?” he asked knowingly.
She had wanted to tease him, but then she thought better of it. That didn’t make sense. He had the scent of shaving cream, and his chin was clean-shaven. Unless he was blind, there was no way he hadn’t noticed that suggestive mark.
What time was it now? Past seven, almost eight. With Uncle Meng and Aunt Xiao’s internal clocks, they should already be on their way to the hospital. If they saw that mark, that would be a disaster!
She almost fell for his trick again.
Ning Zhen’s expression shifted. Without a word, she tugged Meng Xianwen over to sit on the single sofa. She found concealer in her bag, lifted his chin with one hand, and met his gaze. Pressing her lips together, she explained, “You don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your subordinates, do you?”
Meng Xianwen didn’t confirm or deny, but when he caught the faint, sweet scent, he frowned and leaned away, displeased. “No need.”
“You need it.”
She wouldn’t let him move. She leaned in close to his face, carefully covering the mark bit by bit. It wouldn’t be completely hidden, but it would be enough to keep anyone from speculating.
…
In the elevator.
“Are we really going back today?” Xiao Xuezhen asked nervously, looking at her husband and younger son.
Meng Jiaran leaned against the mirrored wall. “Brother must have already made arrangements. We have to go whether we want to or not.”
No sooner had he spoken.
The elevator stopped, the doors opened slowly, and the three of them stepped out one after another, heading toward Meng Xianwen’s hospital room. Meng Jingshan and Xiao Xuezhen were in front, while Meng Jiaran lagged a few steps behind, head down, replying to messages on his phone. As he walked, he collided with his parents, who had rushed into the room and then hurriedly backed out again.
He stumbled, almost dropping his phone. Looking closely, he saw that his parents’ expressions were oddly matched—their faces cycling through shades of red and green.
“What happened?”
Meng Jiaran’s heart tightened. By reflex, he moved to go see, but before he’d taken two steps, Meng Jingshan grabbed him. Struggling to hide his embarrassment, he coughed heavily a few times before lashing out at his younger son. “Look at you, lazing around all day, good for nothing! Your brother is being discharged today, and you couldn’t care less!”
“I didn’t—”
Xiao Xuezhen was also getting impatient. “What are you standing around for? Go ask the doctor how to handle the discharge.”
“I…”
“Then go!” the couple said in unison.
Meng Jiaran was thoroughly scolded. Frowning in frustration, he was ultimately no match for parental authority. Grumbling, he headed reluctantly to the nurse’s station. Did he really need to handle the discharge? The staff had already arranged everything. After a few steps, he looked back and saw his parents still standing at the hospital room door, as if they didn’t know what to do with their hands and feet, awkwardly searching for somewhere to hide.
Suddenly, it hit him—he was just an innocent scapegoat. He snorted coldly and sent Ning Zhen a message: [Am I really that worthless?.jpg]
Ning Zhen’s phone buzzed, but she didn’t have time to respond. She glanced at Meng Xianwen perched on the sofa, calmly adjusting his cufflinks, his expression utterly composed. Her own insignificant embarrassment vanished.
She even thought their reaction was ridiculous.
This incident—where the person involved couldn’t care less while the onlookers cringed—had quite an impact. During breakfast, Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan were unusually quiet. No endless reminders, no reluctant farewells, no bargaining. They just wiped their mouths, turned, and left without a trace of sentimentality.
-
The sun was shining brightly. A black sedan cruised along a broad road.
Ning Zhen stole a glance at Meng Xianwen beside her. He was flipping through meeting materials, his slender fingers turning pages one by one with a soft rustle. After seeing the Meng family off in the hospital parking lot, he had mentioned that he was busy today and suggested she go back to the hotel to rest.
She, of course, refused emphatically.
No way. She needed to use this accident of his to rack up some serious goodwill points. How could she pass up that opportunity?
Besides, if Uncle Meng and Aunt Xiao found out that she’d immediately gone back to the hotel to sleep after they left, how could she ever pull off being the attentive, perfect girlfriend again?
Meng Xianwen had no choice but to let her come along. He silently allowed her to get into the car and head to the Hengxing Nancheng branch.
After he quickly finished reviewing the documents, the sedan glided smoothly into the company’s underground garage. Meng Xianwen kept a low profile. No matter where he went on business, he tried not to disrupt his employees’ workflow. This time was no exception. His team knew his style—no grand welcomes, just a few managers in suits waiting.
They all knew Meng Xianwen had been in the hospital for two days, so they weren’t surprised to see Ning Zhen getting out of the car behind him.
A man who looked fairly familiar stepped forward briskly and greeted respectfully, “Mr. Meng, Miss Ning.”
As the distance closed, Ning Zhen recognized him as one of Meng Xianwen’s assistants.
It seemed that the project up north was really important, requiring Xu Lai, as the special assistant and the face of the assistant team, to stay behind and not accompany Meng Xianwen on the business trip.
“Hello, Assistant Wang.”
Ning Zhen quickly searched her memory and recalled that his surname was Wang, so she greeted him politely and courteously.
After saying that, she discreetly shot Meng Xianwen a subtle glance.
If she remembered correctly, Assistant Wang had only been transferred here this year; Meng Xianwen might have even forgotten who he was.
Meng Xianwen gave her a look, exchanged brief pleasantries with the others without any change in expression, and then the group quietly followed him into the private elevator. Everyone present was sharp-witted; after a quick inquiry about his health, the conversation swiftly shifted to the business matters he cared about most.
Ning Zhen observed his demeanor, and she had to admit—despite his questionable character, his composure was undeniable.
If she had gone through something like that herself, she surely wouldn’t have been able to stay as calm as if nothing had happened.
The elevator reached the twenty-third floor.
Ning Zhen collected herself and walked out of the elevator side by side with Meng Xianwen. This floor housed all the top executives’ offices and the conference room. On a usual day, someone would always be in the conference room, but today it was empty. Glancing inside, she could see a secretary busy making preparations for the meeting.
“Mr. Meng, please rest for a while. The meeting starts in half an hour.”
“Okay.”
The branch’s deputy general manager led them into the office. At first glance, it featured a full-length window, with pale sunlight reflecting off the dark carpet. Every corner was impeccably clean.
Meng Xianwen sat down at the desk and casually picked up a stack of documents to browse.
Soon, aside from Ning Zhen and Assistant Wang, everyone else quietly left the office.
Ning Zhen sat on the sofa, idly sizing up the surroundings, until her gaze swept over Meng Xianwen. A brilliant idea suddenly struck her. Without delay, she pulled out her phone and started taking photos and videos.
Her constant little movements ended up distracting even Meng Xianwen, who usually immersed himself entirely in work.
He frowned and closed the documents.
But instead of addressing his disturber Ning Zhen directly, he calmly asked Assistant Wang, who was standing nearby, “Is there a shopping mall nearby?”
Assistant Wang hurriedly replied, “Yes, there is.”
Meng Xianwen looked at Ning Zhen and motioned for her to come over.
Ning Zhen was annoyed by his gesture. If it had been before, she might have tolerated it since she was just a paid stand-in girlfriend and it was for show.
But times had changed.
Now she was the one in charge; she wasn’t going to put up with that nonsense.
She snorted inwardly, pretended not to notice, and averted her gaze to stare at the lucky bamboo nearby. If he wanted to call someone, he could call himself—there were plenty of blockheads in this office after all.
“Zhenzhen,” he called out to her.
Only then did Ning Zhen put away her phone, slowly walked over to the desk, and placed her hands on its edge. “What’s up?”
“You came in a hurry this time and didn’t bring much,” he said, taking out his wallet and handing it directly to her. “There’s a mall nearby. You can go browse and buy some clothes you like.”
This meant she could swipe his card.
As much as she wanted?
Ning Zhen’s eyes lit up, and she reached out to take it without hesitation. But when she met his calm gaze, she paused, puckered her lips unhappily, and said, “How can I feel comfortable leaving when you just got out of the hospital? Besides, don’t you know me by now? I hate shopping.”
“Is that so?” he replied flatly.
Assistant Wang kept his head down and his mouth shut, pretending not to notice.
“But then again…” Ning Zhen, just as Meng Xianwen was about to pull the wallet back, leaned in slightly and took it, using a helpless, indulgent tone as if speaking to a stubborn man she had no choice but to humor. “You’ve reminded me. I really should go to the mall and buy you a new set of pajamas. The ones we brought—you wore them in the hospital—you definitely won’t want to wear those again.”
Assistant Wang lowered his head, but inwardly, he was stunned. He had interacted with Miss Ning a few times before, and back then, she had always been demure at Mr. Meng’s side. Whatever Mr. Meng said, she would look up at him with adoration and answer politely and gently, “Okay, sure.” She never argued.
Back then, he’d thought that while Mr. Meng was approachable and never put on airs with employees, he must have been quite domineering in relationships.
But today was oddly different.
“I’ll be off then,” Ning Zhen said, her eyes brimming with laughter. “But I promise I’ll be quick. If you feel unwell in any way, don’t just tough it out—call me, okay?”
Meng Xianwen raised an eyebrow but said nothing, only nodding slightly in acknowledgment.
Under Assistant Wang’s barely concealed disbelief, Ning Zhen left with a light step, her very aura exuding pure joy. She was off—after taking care of him for two hard nights, she deserved a real treat. Why not spend his money? She intended to clear out the shopping mall today.
