Meng Xianwen acted as if his suggestion wasn’t completely bizarre.
In the pricey heart of northern Beijing, before Ning Zhen had even graduated, her parents had wisely planned to buy her an apartment. Unfortunately, their savings were limited, so they had to find the best value for their money.
The Meng family was the most influential household Ye Junlan and Ning Hui had access to.
When it came to their daughter’s future, buying an apartment wasn’t like buying cabbages—you couldn’t afford to make a single misstep. Gritting their teeth, the couple swallowed their pride and sought advice from Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan.
Back then, Meng Jingshan hadn’t retired yet, but he took the matter seriously. Plus, Xiao Xuezhen had always been fond of Ning Zhen. After discussing it, they figured that if they offered to buy Ning Zhen an apartment outright, Ye Junlan would probably refuse.
Since being straightforward wouldn’t work, they had to handle it behind the scenes.
They truly treated it as a serious task, carefully considering location, transportation, and the rankings of nearby schools. In the end, they bought this ninety-square-meter mid-unit at a relatively reasonable price.
It was perfect for Ning Zhen living alone.
But Meng Xianwen moving in? That was as ridiculous as a fairy tale. He was used to extravagance—even on business trips, he’d book a penthouse suite spanning hundreds of square meters.
Sure enough, the moment he said it, not only was Ning Zhen so stunned she thought she was hallucinating, but even the Meng family members simultaneously put down their chopsticks and stared at him in shock. The level of surprise was only slightly less than their reaction three months ago that night.
“Isn’t this a bit… inappropriate?”
Xiao Xuezhen hesitated. “I’ve been to Zhenzhen’s place twice. It’s cozy and well-decorated, but it’s not very big. It couldn’t fit four or five people—it’d be too cramped.”
The main issue was that it only had three rooms. The master bedroom was somewhat larger, but the other two were so small that a 1.5-meter bed would fill them completely.
“Four or five people?” Meng Xianwen smiled. “No need for that. The housekeeper and driver won’t stay over—it wouldn’t be convenient anyway.”
Meng Jiaran wanted to suggest that he could move into his brother’s current place and even go to work together every day. But he wisely swallowed the words before they could come out. It was obvious what his brother was up to—he wanted some alone time with Zhenzhen. This was both about rekindling their relationship and seizing the chance to see if he could recover his memory faster.
Zhenzhen must feel the same way. She had cried so bitterly the day she found out he had forgotten her.
“What do you think, Zhenzhen?” Meng Xianwen turned his gaze back to her. Seeing her silent, he added patiently, without any hint of disappointment in his calm expression, “It’s okay if you mind. I understand.”
Then, with an apologetic tone, he said, “I was thinking that over the next two or three months, I’ll be very busy and might not have much time to spend with you. Of course, the decision is entirely up to you.”
Under the table, Ning Zhen barely resisted the urge to kick him.
She had wondered why her right eyelid had been twitching all day—so this was the trap he had been digging for her.
To be fair, his suggestion was somewhat reasonable. If she were truly his girlfriend, and their feelings were real, she wouldn’t have hesitated to agree. She’d want nothing more than for him to recover his memory as soon as possible.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Ning Zhen said, her eyelashes fluttering as she spoke softly. “I’m just worried I won’t be able to take good care of you.”
“Don’t treat me like a patient.”
Meng Xianwen picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks and placed it on her plate, speaking slowly, “I’m older than you. I should be the one taking care of you. Or,” he paused for a few seconds, meeting her eyes, “we can take care of each other. What do you say, Zhenzhen?”
Ning Zhen never expected that she hadn’t even managed to crash at Meng Xianwen’s penthouse yet, and now he was planning to mooch off her instead.
He clearly could have discussed this with her privately.
But he didn’t. Instead, he brought it up at the dinner table, in front of Aunt Xiao and Uncle Meng. He was openly setting a trap for her.
Now he had her cornered, leaving her no easy way out—and he wasn’t afraid she wouldn’t play along.
If she agreed, he’d move in, and they’d be together day and night.
If she refused and told him to go cool his heels somewhere else, then even if he never recovered his memory, his suspicions about her would never be alleviated.
“I’m totally on board!” In just a few seconds, Ning Zhen had thought it through and come up with a plan. She stared straight at him without blinking, even reaching out to hold his hand as if declaring her willingness to share all hardships. “But after we finish eating, I need to go home and talk it over with my mom. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything about your memory loss.”
“Need me to go with you?” Meng Xianwen asked with a smile.
Ning Zhen put on a look of concern. “It’s too far. You know how far my place is from here. You’ve been busy with work these past few days, and you’ve finally come back. Stay at the old house tonight and get some rest. Don’t make Aunt Xiao and Uncle Meng worry.”
“Alright,” Meng Xianwen said meaningfully. “Whatever you say.”
Xiao Xuezhen, who had been listening in confusion, finally caught on. Her face flushed, and she shot her son a glare.
So what if he had lost his memory? That was no excuse for acting so improperly. Was this really something he needed to bring up at the dinner table, in front of everyone?
“Right, right, right,” she quickly chimed in. “This needs to be discussed.”
Meng Jingshan cleared his throat. “Eat, everyone eat!”
Only Meng Jiaran sighed with admiration. “See, I told you—feelings don’t just vanish because of memory loss. Look at my brother and Zhenzhen, the perfect example. Even if he forgot, he still likes her. Now he doesn’t need anyone else—he only wants to be with Zhenzhen.”
This is what love is all about!
The memory might be wiped clean, but the subconscious still draws you close, longing for the other person.
Ning Zhen: “…”
Meng Xianwen: “…”
Both of them were so grossed out by this sentiment that they wrinkled their brows slightly, then said in unison to shut him up, “Just eat.”
The dinner carried on in a warm, harmonious atmosphere.
After finishing dessert, Meng Jingshan called his eldest son to the tea room to discuss work, while his younger son served them tea. Xiao Xuezhen, seeing that it was still early, took Ning Zhen to pick out gifts for her parents.
“The last time I saw your parents was during Qingming Festival,” Xiao Xuezhen said, setting aside some of her own usual supplements for Ye Junlan. She instructed Ning Zhen, “I’ve written down how to take them and how many times a day. Tell your mom to come over when she has time. At her age, she needs to pay more attention to her health—no slacking off. Also, this jar of Longjing tea is specially prepared for your dad by your uncle.”
When Ning Zhen left, she was loaded with bags—the trunk of the car was almost overflowing.
It was also the first time she had been seen off by the entire Meng family in such a formal manner. Sitting in the back seat, she rolled down the window and waved with a sweet smile. Meng Jingshan and Xiao Xuezhen stood together, while Meng Jiaran had his arm draped over Meng Xianwen’s shoulder. The four of them all looked at her.
“Aunt Xiao, Uncle, I’m off now.”
The evening breeze blew through her hair. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed affectionately at Meng Xianwen, her tone softening considerably. “Xianwen, have a good rest today. See you tomorrow.”
Meng Xianwen nodded calmly.
Ning Zhen withdrew her gaze and said to the driver, “Uncle Liu, we can go now.”
As the car started moving, Meng Jiaran protested loudly, “Hey, hey, hey—can’t you see me? There’s a living person right here!”
Before Ning Zhen could respond, Xiao Xuezhen gave his arm a hard smack and scolded, “Who are you calling ‘hey’? No manners at all.”
Meng Jiaran: “?”
Was his mom forgetting that he was half a year older than Ning Zhen?
Ning Zhen instantly felt refreshed, practically preening with pride. But the moment her gaze met Meng Xianwen’s deep, penetrating eyes, she instinctively straightened her back and sat up properly.
Her tiny reaction didn’t escape Meng Xianwen’s notice. He tugged at the corner of his lips, letting out a nearly inaudible laugh.
Until the car started moving and had driven some distance, the old mansion’s main building fading into the night, his gaze—observant, almost scrutinizing—seemed to linger on her like a shadow.
Ning Zhen secretly turned her head to look out the window, pouting.
She relaxed, leaning back in her seat. Outside, the tree shadows flickered. Ning Zhen pulled out her phone from her bag, scrolled to her pinned contacts, and viciously poked Meng Xianwen’s profile picture. He was way too cunning—using a picture of Qiansui, making it impossible for her, Qiansui’s godmother, to dislike it.
An adorable Labrador was running across a grassy lawn.
It had absolutely nothing to do with his personality.
She could tell that Meng Xianwen really liked Qiansui. Every snack and toy for Qiansui was carefully chosen by him, the dog’s godfather.
But he had never considered getting a pet himself.
Out of curiosity, she once tried to make small talk and asked why.
Back then, he was resting with his eyes closed in the car. Without even opening them, he replied, “If I were as free as you, of course I’d have one.”
She rolled her eyes. Couldn’t he just talk without taking a dig at her?
“You have two maids at home,” she said, envy and jealousy tinging her voice.
“Are they the dog’s maids?” he countered.
That was one of the rare moments in their interactions when she thought he still had a shred of humanity left.
She understood his implication. If he had a dog, he would make sure to find time to be with it.
Ning Zhen’s finger slid past his profile picture and tapped on the chat with her best friend, Guo Xia. She poked her:
[Baby, home yet? kiss]
Guo Xia replied instantly:
[Yeah, what’s up?]
Ning Zhen: [I kinda wanna come over and talk about life]
Guo Xia: [? Talk normally]
Guo Xia: [You’re scaring me]
Guo Xia: [Smooth, though sunglasses]
Ning Zhen: [Is that certain someone there too?]
Guo Xia: [Yep, he just finished doing dishes and is gaming. What’s going on?]
Ning Zhen: [transfer 886]
Ning Zhen: [Baby, I just want to see you. You know.]
After careful deliberation, Ning Zhen had decided to generously let Meng Xianwen stay at her place. But the problem was, the only male who had ever spent the night at her house was her dad, Ning Hui—and just a few days ago, in a moment of reckless talk, she had hinted to Meng Xianwen that they had shared a bed.
His house definitely had no trace of her.
If her house also had no signs of a couple living together...
She could see through his malicious intent at a glance. He was suspicious of her, had no proof, so he was going for that “no risk, no reward” approach. People like her, office workers, spent most of their day in two places: work or home.
Fine then, let him come!
She’d love that.
Once he was on her turf, she was in charge!
But first, she needed to check out what a cohabiting couple’s place looked like, to learn a thing or two and avoid making an too obvious mess. Scanning her circle of friends, the closest person to her with a stable live-in partner was only Guo Xia.
Her phone screen lit up.
Guo Xia had accepted the transfer and replied:
[Okay, I’ll kick him out to wander the streets for three hours.]
Ning Zhen: [We’re the best.jpg]
She put away her phone and leaned forward: “Uncle Liu, I just got a message from a friend. She had a fight with her boyfriend and now she’s home alone feeling awful. I can’t just ignore it. Why don’t you drop me off up ahead? I’ll take a cab myself. Could you deliver the stuff in the trunk to my parents’ place? Is that okay?”
Uncle Liu: “Where does your friend live? I can drive you there.”
Ning Zhen quickly waved her hand, “It’s completely out of the way. Running back and forth would just be a hassle for you.”
She smiled and coaxed him a bit more.
Uncle Liu had no choice but to agree. After driving a stretch, he pulled over.
...
At the Meng residence.
A knock sounded at the door, and Meng Xianwen, freshly showered and washed off the weariness of his travels, came to open it.
“I had the kitchen make some calming herbal soup.”
Xiao Xuezhen stood holding a wooden tray, her face filled with maternal affection as she looked at her son. “Let it cool down before you drink it. Listen to me, take a break today and sleep early.”
Meng Xianwen took the bowl of soup. His breath caught—it was a murky brown, opaque, with a strong medicinal herbal scent.
He sighed inwardly. There’s no way he could choke this down. He’d just wait until his mother left and then pass it over to Jiaran.
“Got it,” he said, turning to walk inside. “I’ll sleep after I finish unpacking.”
Xiao Xuezhen followed him in.
A few steps in, she spotted an open suitcase set aside. Maybe all parents were the same—when their kids were small, they treated them like adults, hoping for independence; when the kids grew up, almost thirty in the blink of an eye, she started coddling him again, fussing over every little thing.
She bent down and picked up the suit jacket lying on top, knowing it was one he needed to have cleaned. Out of habit, she slipped her hand into the pocket, and accidentally pulled out a folded napkin.
“What’s this…”
Xiao Xuezhen muttered, assuming it was a crumpled piece of used tissue and went to toss it in the trash.
Meng Xianwen, who was sitting on the sofa drying his hair, snatched the napkin from his mother’s hand with lightning speed. With a neutral expression, he explained, “This is still useful. I’ve got some notes written on it.”
