"Ten more minutes."
Ning Zhen initially thought she was hearing things, but by the time she snapped out of it, Meng Xianwen looked like he was being chased by a ghost—in the blink of an eye, he was already in the elevator lobby, his figure vanishing from sight. She quickly called out, "Honey, didn't you say you'd wait ten minutes for me?"
Hearing that title again, Meng Xianwen's hands, hanging at his sides, clenched tightly.
At this moment, he was truly tasting the bitter fruit of shooting himself in the foot.
Absurd. Too absurd. From last night until now—he took a deep breath—and she was still calling him "honey" over and over. Finally, unable to take it anymore, he replied, "Stop calling me that. I'll wait for you in the car."
"Oh, oh, oh!"
Ning Zhen's face broke into a beaming smile. "Thanks, honey!"
What she should really thank was her good friend Guo Xia. If not for Guo Xia constantly whispering "your husband, your husband" in her ear every few days, could she have said it so naturally?
Absolutely not.
She had long grown immune to the term, yet she never expected that this trick would work so well on Meng Xianwen.
Still, she knew him well—if he said ten minutes, then not a single second more would he wait. Ning Zhen spun around and dashed into the house, rushing at the speed of life and death. As she was about to head out the door, she caught sight of the breakfast on the dining table, packed it up at lightning speed, and hurried out with it in hand.
"I'm exhausted!"
Ning Zhen burst out of Building 18, only to see that Rolls-Royce slowly pulling out of its parking spot. She cursed Meng Xianwen bitterly in her heart.
Honestly, with a man like him, who else but her would be willing to be with him?
Xiao Ding slammed on the brakes, his heart nearly stopping.
One second ago, Mr. Meng in the back seat had checked his watch and told him to drive off.
The next second, Miss Ning came running over, waving for him to stop.
For a moment, he felt like a bus driver.
Ning Zhen pulled open the car door and slid into the back seat, panting as she stared at Meng Xianwen. Even under her accusing gaze, he remained unmoved.
"Xiao Ding, please drop me off at Shengdu Finance first—I have to clock in at nine." She shot him a hateful glare, then said to the driver in front, "Sorry for the trouble!"
"Miss Ning, you're too kind!" Xiao Ding restarted the engine, chuckling warmly.
Meng Xianwen, sitting beside Ning Zhen, scrolled through his phone and said, "The one troubled is me."
Ning Zhen: "..."
Without a second thought, she leaned right onto his shoulder. "I know, I know—it's not Xiao Ding driving me, it's you who's sending me."
Childish!
Meng Xianwen glanced down at her, then pushed her away with his hand. "Sit properly."
Xiao Ding secretly watched the commotion in the back seat through the rearview mirror, unable to hold back a smile. He set the navigation to Shengdu Finance—the distance wasn't too far, maybe three or four kilometers. Mr. Meng was right: the one troubled wasn't him. He was just the driver, going wherever the boss said. But poor Mr. Meng—Hengxing wasn't close from here, and now he had to take a detour.
Did this count as breaking Mr. Meng's record of never being late to work since taking over Hengxing?
"I set an alarm. See for yourself!"
When she was deliberately trying to get under his skin, she wasn't worried he'd misunderstand.
But honestly, she hadn't meant to today. Still, she needed to clear things up. She scooted closer to him, pulled out her phone, showed him the alarm, and then turned the tables on him. "And who was it that took such a long leave of absence for whose sake?"
"I can't be late today," she said. "Otherwise, at the team dinner, my boss is going to call me a love-struck fool again."
Just as she was about to take her phone back, Meng Xianwen, who had been quietly listening to her excuses, suddenly grabbed it from her.
She froze.
Before the screen could lock, he set three alarms right in front of her eyes. Each one was fifteen minutes earlier than her original alarm, spaced no more than a minute apart—enough to wake even the dead, let alone a sleepyhead.
“What are you doing!”
Meng Xianwen locked the screen and handed the phone back to her, completely unfazed: “Just in case.”
Ning Zhen was about to argue, but the moment she saw his calm, unshakeable expression, she laughed. She stole a glance at Xiao Ding—still a young, innocent guy, eyes fixed on the road ahead—then raised her face and whispered in Meng Xianwen’s ear, “Just in case—does that mean you’re preparing to drive me to work every day from now on?”
Her breath brushed against his ear.
Meng Xianwen’s gaze shifted slightly. “Still not awake, Zhenzhen?”
Ning Zhen didn’t bother arguing with him.
She settled back into her seat, relaxing against the backrest. She’d already figured out her ultimate trick for handling him—and as for how long it would last… that didn’t matter. She’d use him while she could!
The car drove smoothly all the way to Shengdu Finance.
Ning Zhen knew the area well and directed Xiao Ding to pull over at the curb. She got out, bag and breakfast in hand, and before closing the door, she bent down and leaned into the car, flashing a sweet smile at Meng Xianwen, who sat quietly inside: “I’m here! See you tonight!”
“Mm.”
He glanced at her and gave a slight nod.
Ning Zhen shut the door and headed toward the Shengdu Finance building, running into a coworker downstairs and chatting cheerfully as they walked in together.
The car pulled away, and Meng Xianwen’s gaze followed her through the windshield. He saw her suddenly turn around, gesturing toward him with her colleague, chattering away. He didn’t even need to guess what she was saying.
“My boyfriend drove me to work.”
Ning Zhen’s eyebrows were full of joy. “It’s so annoying—I told him not to, but he insisted on coming.”
Her coworker, seeing her radiant expression, couldn’t help but laugh. “Showing off your love—”
The usual punchline would be “dies fast.”
Ning Zhen shot her a look. “I brought lots of snacks.”
Her coworker quickly changed course: “Married fast!”
Those two words still made Ning Zhen pause for a second. A vague thought floated through her mind—before Meng Xianwen lost his memory, she’d known exactly where this relationship would end and what the finish line was. But now that he’d lost it…
Ugh, stop. Don’t think about it.
She shook her head quickly. “He wishes!”
Back in the car.
Meng Xianwen slowly withdrew his gaze and told Xiao Ding, “Head back to Hengxing. Drive slow, no rush.”
Hengxing Group.
Meng Jiaran swiped his card for attendance, looking utterly lifeless, and headed to work. He grabbed his mug and walked to the break room, planning to brew himself some coffee to survive the day. This floor didn’t have many employees—he hadn’t made it close before he overheard a few people chatting in line for the coffee machine.
“It’s almost nine, and Mr. Meng still hasn’t arrived. I thought today was Saturday—got all excited for nothing.”
“If today really were Saturday, would you even be this happy coming to the office?”
“Haha, but is Mr. Meng not coming in today or something?”
Meng Jiaran caught a snippet, figured they were talking about his brother, and decided it might be intruding to walk over, so he turned straight around and headed back to his office. On the way, he ran into Xu Lai in the hallway and exchanged morning greetings.
As they passed each other, Xu Lai asked, “Young Mr. Meng, is Mr. Meng feeling alright?”
“He’s fine, why?”
“Mr. Meng hasn’t shown up yet.” Xu Lai smiled. “That’s pretty rare.”
Meng Jiaran glanced at the time. "He lives quite far now, his commute is long, so he's bound to be a bit late."
Xu Lai paused for a moment. "Okay."
Meng Jiaran felt like his words were magical—no sooner had he spoken than they heard movement coming from the elevator lobby. They both looked over. Immaculate in his formal suit, Meng Xianwen strode toward them with an upright bearing. He gave them a cursory glance, then headed straight to his office.
"Xu Lai, send me today's schedule."
"Yes, Mr. Meng."
...
Ning Zhen was actually early today. She walked into the office and did a quick circle—there were quite a few little snacks on her desk, probably left by her colleagues. She scooped them all into her drawer, opened her breakfast paper bag, pulled out a paper cup of soy milk and a beef-and-cheese croissant, and happily started enjoying her meal. She also shared some with her colleagues. Someone leaned over and grabbed a crystal-clear shrimp dumpling, and after tasting it, their eyes lit up: "Where's this from? Not bad at all, the flavor's really authentic."
"My boyfriend had a restaurant send it over. Want me to ask for you?"
"Forget it." The colleague chuckled. "If I didn't know who your boyfriend is, I'd think you were showing off—it's just takeout, calling it 'restaurant delivery.'"
Ning Zhen took a sip of her soy milk, feeling delighted. To be fair, a lot of the time, being Meng Xianwen's girlfriend really satisfied her vanity. "Since you like it, you can have it all."
The colleague didn't stand on ceremony and took the whole portion. "Thanks!"
Just after nine o'clock.
Fang Li, the chief editor, walked in briskly, stopped in this section, and swept her gaze around, landing on Ning Zhen—who was sitting up straight, seemingly focused on work, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Zhenzhen, come with me to my office."
Ning Zhen looked at her with bright eyes: "Yes!"
Every time Fang called her in the past, she'd do a self-check, wondering if she'd messed up or slacked off recently. Not today—today she knew that dear Fang was summoning her for something wonderful. Without a second's hesitation, she got up nimbly and followed.
Fang Li entered the office, found the sun outside too glaring, and with a rattle pulled down the blinds. She turned to gesture at Ning Zhen. "Sit."
Ning Zhen was quick on the uptake and closed the door, then picked up Fang Li's cup and filled it with warm water.
Fang Li looked at her with a smile, noting how sharp and clever her expression was. She asked, "You know Song Tao's daughter?"
"Song Tao?" Ning Zhen feigned a moment of confusion. "Oh, oh—boss, you mean Uncle Song? Yuqing and I are really close friends. Why do you ask?"
"Come on, stop pretending."
Fang Li took a sip of water and shot her a playful glare.
Ning Zhen couldn't hold it in and burst into a laugh. "Alright, alright—Yuqing did ask me recently. She takes her father's feature interview very seriously. It's not just Shengdu—other media outlets have reached out to her too. She wanted to ask me which one was more professional. Well, she certainly asked the right person. In all of North City's financial journalism, is there anyone more professional than us?"
"You sure know how to flatter."
"I'm just selling my own melons."
Fang Li laughed heartily. "Fine. Miss Song has been in touch with me, and she mentioned you. I didn't realize you two had that kind of connection. So, here's the deal—we'll add you to the Song Tao feature. You'll be mainly responsible for coordinating with their side. How does that sound?"
"Absolutely no problem!"
Having gotten her boss's approval, Ning Zhen practically floated out of the office, her steps light and buoyant.
Song Tao's feature—her name would definitely be on it.
And that would surely go down on her résumé.
Back at her desk, Ning Zhen was buzzing with excitement. She picked up her phone and sent Meng Jiaran a message: [Send me Miss Song's WeChat]
Meng Jiaran, as expected, was slacking off too, and replied instantly: [Are you going to talk shit about me?]
Ning Zhen: [Yes, I'm discussing with her how to assassinate you tonight]
Meng Jiaran: [My tears are already dried.jpg]
Ning Zhen quickly added Song Yuqing on WeChat.
She rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. Why had she never found this strange before? She and Meng Jiaran had been friends for years, and so had Song Yuqing. They clearly had mutual friends, yet the two of them weren't even WeChat contacts.
Was it fate that a heroine and a supporting female character could never be friends?
Ah, whatever!
On the other side.
Song Yuqing sat in the car. Her phone vibrated in her handbag. She glanced at her father, who had his eyes closed beside her, resting. Carefully, she took out her phone and opened WeChat. There was a message from Jiaran, and a friend request waiting for her approval.
It was a simple line: [I'm Zhenzhen~]
She stared at Ning Zhen's profile picture.
In the snow, a woman wearing ski goggles grinned brightly at the camera. Two words had been photoshopped onto the goggles—one side read "good-looking," the other "beautiful."
Song Yuqing couldn't help but let out a very soft laugh.
-----------------------
