With a click.
As the sound of the safe automatically unlocking reached his ears, Meng Xianwen suddenly snapped back to reality.
He was genuinely surprised that Ning Zhen could open his safe—and on the very first try, no less. What surprised him even more was that she wasn't even a member of the Meng family, yet she still remembered Granny's birthday five years after her passing. Such is the way of the world—when someone is alive, it's not all that unusual for the people around them to remember their birthday.
Even people with no connection whatsoever would come to pay their respects on the old lady's birthday, bringing along an expensive gift.
But once she was gone, all of that naturally disappeared.
Slowly, the days associated with her became Qingming Festival and the anniversary of her death. Her birthday was rarely mentioned by anyone anymore—even Jiaran, her own grandson, had forgotten it.
"See that? See that? I opened it!"
Ning Zhen noticed that Meng Xianwen hadn't said a word for quite a while and thought he was having second thoughts. She turned her head to look at him.
The excited joy in her eyes was gradually fading, replaced by suspicion and irritation.
Meng Xianwen quickly returned to his usual expression. He pointed at the file boxes from a distance. "These are off-limits."
Ning Zhen immediately brightened with a smile.
As long as he kept his word, she was fine with that. She wasn't stupid—she knew perfectly well those things couldn't be touched.
She looked more carefully at the safe's contents. The top few shelves held several file boxes neatly arranged—all paper documents, along with a few seals and stamps.
At the bottom sat stacks of crisp banknotes. The two middle shelves looked a bit emptier, but they still held boxes of various sizes. She could barely make out Granny Wang's Buddhist prayer beads that Grandpa Meng had worn during his lifetime, the imperial green jade bracelet that Granny Wang had never taken off, and the reading glasses that used to hang around her chest.
He kept these things in his residence, most likely as mementos.
These were also off-limits—and she wouldn't dare take them, anyway.
Ning Zhen's gaze lingered hesitantly between the banknotes and the gold bars, remembering that he'd said the unit was "pieces" rather than "stacks." She reluctantly looked away.
Then, all of a sudden, her sharp eyes spotted a box tucked away in the farthest corner.
When she opened it, she was nearly blinded.
It was a brooch, set with sapphires and diamonds that sparkled brilliantly.
"Yours?" Ning Zhen asked herself. Over the years, she'd seen plenty of fine things while with Granny Wang and Aunt Xiao, but even so, this brooch was so luxurious she couldn't take her eyes off it. "How come I've never seen you wear it?"
To be precise, Meng Xianwen had almost never worn any brooch at all.
He glanced at it with little interest. "You want this one?"
Ning Zhen nodded enthusiastically. She didn't stand on ceremony with him, eagerly pinning it on herself and twirling around in front of him, chin lifted as she asked, "It suits me too, right?"
She happily lowered her head to admire it, but before she'd had her fill, she remembered she was his girlfriend—not some poor relative coming to mooch off him—and quickly added, "Your brooch on me feels very romantic, don't you think?"
Meng Xianwen looked at her steadily and smiled. "This one, then, right?"
With that, he closed the safe back up.
Ning Zhen asked again, "Are you going to secretly change the password?"
The word "secretly" clearly offended him a little. Meng Xianwen frowned. "No."
Ning Zhen nodded with satisfaction.
Having gotten a brooch for nothing, she was in high spirits, practically floating. She sidled up to him, chattering away. She paid no attention at all to the scrape on her wrist, her face full of springtime delight—even the stuffy, dull study seemed to let in a gentle breeze, bringing with it fresh, clean air.
-
Ning Zhen only packed lightly; the more detailed packing was up to Meng Xianwen himself.
By the time he came out with his suitcase, it was nearly six o'clock. Xiao Ding, the driver, was still waiting in the underground garage. He really did have quite a lot of stuff—the trunk also held the suitcase he'd brought back from his business trip to Nancheng.
Before getting in the car, Ning Zhen took a look inside.
Two large suitcases took up nearly half the trunk. She muttered to herself—was all this really necessary? At most, he'd be staying a week.
Xiao Ding knew the route to Ning Zhen's place so well that he didn't even need the GPS. After getting in, he started the engine and drove out of the Yuyuan garage.
The evening rush hour was nothing to scoff at.
A trip of about ten kilometers had taken forty minutes and they still hadn't arrived. Ning Zhen was starving—the fruit Auntie Qian had packed for her had long been consumed during her battle of wits with the handcuffs. She was famished now, nudging Meng Xianwen with her knee as he used the spare moments to handle work matters.
"What is it now?"
Ning Zhen clutched her stomach. "Why don't we have Xiao Ding take the luggage to my place, and we get out up ahead and grab dinner first?"
She paused, then added, "I mean, I'm fine, but you're supposed to be recovering—you can't go hungry."
Meng Xianwen finally spared her a glance.
Who exactly was hungry here?
He checked the time—it was indeed getting late. The traffic outside the windshield was still crawling along. He thought for a moment, then said, "Xiao Ding, find a suitable spot to pull over. Take the luggage to her place, then you're off for the day."
Xiao Ding's tone lifted with cheer: "Got it, Mr. Meng!"
Ning Zhen had dealt with Xiao Ding plenty of times and said lightly, "Xiao Ding, you know I live on the 21st floor. Message me when you get there, and I'll open the door remotely."
Xiao Ding agreed cheerfully.
A few minutes later, Meng Xianwen and Ning Zhen got out of the car. He'd never done anything so dangerous in his life—weaving through slow-moving traffic with a deep frown on his face.
Seeing her charging ahead, reckless as can be, he grabbed her shoulder. When she turned back in surprise, he caught her wrist—then, remembering the scrapes on it, paused and instead took her hand.
Without a word, he walked ahead.
He led her to the crosswalk and across the street.
Ning Zhen was slightly dazed, her gaze unconsciously fixed on their intertwined hands.
Her heart stirred—this lighting, this backdrop, was perfect for a photo! Her other hand reached into her bag, but before she could make a move, he spoke up as if he had eyes on the back of his head: "Watch where you're going. No phone."
"Mmh..." She wanted to pout, but the corners of her mouth kept lifting on their own—too difficult.
When they reached the side street, Ning Zhen refused to be outdone. She quickened her pace and passed him, this time taking his hand. She didn't look back, but the evening breeze lifted her hair. "I'm taking you to my secret spot. My treat today—follow me!"
"..."
Meng Xianwen was speechless. Seeing her bulldozing ahead again, he reminded her once more: "Watch where you're going."
The area around Ning Zhen's place was nowhere near as upscale, bustling, or immaculate as Yuyuan.
But it had more of the warmth of everyday life—and it was livelier, too.
The street wasn't wide to begin with, and the fruit store's display extended out onto the sidewalk—plump oranges, pink peaches, crystal-clear grapes. A sweet, fruity fragrance hung in the air as Ning Zhen led Meng Xianwen through it all with flair.
They walked on, winding through the streets.
Her mouth never stopped running. Even though she knew he wouldn't be staying here long and wouldn't have time to wander around, she still enthusiastically introduced him to everything in the area.
Ning Zhen took Meng Xianwen into a small restaurant with a modest frontage.
Better to arrive early than late—there weren't many tables to begin with, and they caught the very last empty one just in time.
Ning Zhen wasn’t exactly a regular, but the owner still recognized her at a glance, and as she brought over the tea, she chuckled, “Haven’t seen you in a while.” Then she looked at the man beside her, Meng Xianwen, and her smile deepened with a hint of gossip, “Boyfriend, huh?”
“That’s right!” Ning Zhen teased, laughing even harder. She tilted her head and leaned against Meng Xianwen’s shoulder. “Don’t we make a great couple?”
Meng Xianwen glanced at her without changing his expression.
The owner couldn’t help but laugh. “You sure do! Even my little shop looks brighter with you two here!”
But inwardly, she was marveling.
She remembered not long ago—just a few months back, actually—this pretty young woman had come in for a meal with a refined, handsome man, the two of them chatting and laughing.
Back then, she’d thought they might end up together.
Now, looking at this gentleman, in terms of looks and bearing, he was more mature and composed—clearly an elite type.
This pretty girl really had class!
Ning Zhen burst out laughing. “Then can I get some red bean soup for free?”
The owner nodded grandly. “Sure thing!”
After Ning Zhen ordered her dishes and the owner scribbled them down and walked away from the table, Meng Xianwen reached over and pushed her head away from his shoulder. “Do you come here often?”
“Not really.”
Ning Zhen looked smug. “Who says the owner only remembers regulars? Even if I only come twice a year, she’ll remember me.”
“Because you’re too loud?” he asked with a smile.
Ning Zhen: “…”
Jerk!
She rolled her eyes but decided not to stoop to his level.
As far as Meng Xianwen was concerned, this dinner was unremarkable. Ning Zhen always had a way of exaggerating with her words—she could make even the most ordinary home-style dishes sound like the best thing ever—but he could roughly understand why she liked coming here. The little shop had a cozy, relaxed vibe.
Suddenly, the phone by Meng Xianwen’s hand lit up.
He opened it. It was a message from Lu Yuan: [Still at work? When are you coming?]
Meng Xianwen casually glanced at Ning Zhen, who was taking a selfie with her red bean soup.
He replied simply: [Pick me up at Ning Zhen’s place at nine]
Lu Yuan replied instantly: [Okay, her place is at Splendid East, right?]
Meng Xianwen: [Yeah]
Lu Yuan: [Okk, I’ll text you when I arrive]
Meng Xianwen tucked his phone away, and before he could brace himself, Ning Zhen snapped a few more photos of him. It was hard to imagine—in such a short span of time, he’d gone from being extremely annoyed by people taking pictures of him without permission to being used to it, almost indifferent.
“Finished eating?” he asked.
Ning Zhen nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
He glanced at his wristwatch. There was still an hour and fifteen minutes until nine. He’d have a proper talk with her, at her place.
“Give me your wallet.” She stayed seated, holding out her hand toward him as if it were the most natural thing. “For the bill.”
“Didn’t you say you were treating?”
Ning Zhen blinked at him. “I’m treating, you’re paying. Wallet. Hurry up.”
Meng Xianwen couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. After staring at her for a few seconds, he pulled his wallet out of his suit pocket and handed it to her.
It was the age of mobile payments now.
It wasn’t that Ning Zhen minded scanning a QR code—she just wanted to do a surprise inspection to see if he’d taken her photo out of the wallet.
She took the wallet and quickly opened it. Seeing the photo was still there, she gave him a little look that said “inspection passed.”
Meng Xianwen gave no reaction.
Ning Zhen pulled out a few bills and handed them to the owner. There was some change due—a dozen or so yuan—and she waved her hand magnanimously. “Keep the change. I’ll take a soda.”
The owner smiled and grabbed an orange soda from the cooler.
Ning Zhen took it, then handed it to Meng Xianwen, making demands without an ounce of shame. “Boyfriend, open this for me.”
The words had barely left her mouth.
A clear, gentle male voice came from behind her: “Excuse me, do you have a table? How long is the wait?”
Ning Zhen looked up, startled. “Xu Lai?”
Meng Xianwen, gripping the glass bottle of soda, also glanced casually toward the door.
The owner, who had been grinning as she watched the couple’s playful banter, froze for a second, then felt her heart clench. Oh no—was she about to witness a legendary showdown?
-----------------------
