Three o'clock in the afternoon.
Ning Zhen and a few colleagues took the company's business vehicle to the parking lot of Hongxin Group.
Song Yuqing was thoughtful and meticulous by nature—she had already notified security before they arrived, had the license plate number pre-entered into the system, and no one stopped them or asked any questions. She even had two assistants waiting in the elevator lobby of the parking garage.
The senior colleague who came over with Ning Zhen, Zou Shan, whispered, "Should we thank you for this?"
Ning Zhen beamed.
In less than a morning, the entire Shengdu office now knew that not only did she have a boyfriend with serious backing, but the young mistress of Hongxin was also her best friend. She made it clear that rumors like this—the more, the better.
But of course, the explanations still needed to be made.
She whispered back, "Of course not. Yuqing is genuinely, genuinely wonderful. You'll see once you get to know her."
Not just in the original novel, but in real life too, Song Yuqing was a breath of fresh air in the second-generation circle of Beicheng. Born into such a prominent family, she carried zero airs about her—warm, courteous, measured in every word and action.
Ning Zhen could even understand why, to this day, no one had ever linked Song Yuqing and Meng Jiaran together.
Not the Song parents, not Aunt Xiao or Uncle Meng either.
Meng Jiaran, that menace, really ought to reflect on himself.
Led by Song Yuqing's assistant, the group entered the elevator, rode straight up to the twentieth floor, and arrived at Hongxin's reception room. Song Yuqing had been waiting for some time already; at the sound of footsteps, she rose and came to the doorway to greet them.
"Yuqing!"
Ning Zhen walked at the front, and upon seeing her, stepped forward with open arms for a hug.
The embrace was half performance, half genuine.
She knew full well that getting the featured interview with Song Tao this time had taken effort on Song Yuqing's part—it was a favor extended to her. Whether it was a small thing for Song Yuqing or not, Ning Zhen was the one benefiting, and she was grateful for it.
Song Yuqing paused for a moment, then broke into a smile, raising her arms to return the hug, calling her "Zhenzhen."
She often accompanied her parents to various social functions.
She understood Ning Zhen's intentions well enough, but what she felt from her was sincere thanks, and that was what mattered.
They separated quickly.
Song Yuqing, with a warm expression, shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with everyone. After the small talk, she shifted into business mode, throwing herself into an animated discussion. About half an hour later, an assistant knocked and came in, delivering afternoon tea to everyone.
…
For the preliminary preparations, Song Tao didn't need to appear—he had already delegated most of his business matters to his daughter. When he received an internal call informing him that Meng Jiaran was coming over to drop off documents, he furrowed his brow.
In the past, Meng Jiaran showing up was nothing out of the ordinary.
But things were different now. The kid had joined Hengxing; even if he had no official title yet, he was still one of the heirs. That warranted attention. After a moment of thought, Song Tao dialed a number and asked his nephew to come to his office as well, to keep him company.
When Meng Jiaran passed the reception room on his way to the chairman's office, he deliberately peeked inside.
Seeing the one his heart longed for, his brows lifted with joy. But the moment he stepped into the office and set the documents on Song Tao's desk, Song Yue chimed in with a grin, "What wind is blowing today? So lively. I just heard someone from Shengdu Finance was here—and look, it's that someone, half an acquaintance. Now Jiaran's here too. What a day."
"Who's a half acquaintance?"
Meng Jiaran was slow when it came to his own family, but that didn't mean he was truly dense.
He reined in his smile slightly. "You mean Zhenzhen?"
Song Yue half-joked, "You didn't know? I thought you came here specially."
"What standing do I have?" Meng Jiaran laughed along. "Now, if my brother came in person, that'd count as 'specially.' Want that? Want me to call him right now?"
Song Tao, who had remained still as a mountain, tapped the desk at this. The sound was small, but it silenced Song Yue instantly.
Song Tao said, "You two are both working people now. Why are you still squabbling like kids every time you meet?"
Meng Jiaran gritted his teeth.
He swallowed the irritation and laughed, feigning innocence. "I just figured he'd want to see my brother."
"How's Xianwen's health?" Song Tao flipped through the papers without looking up. "He came back from Nancheng; I meant to check on him, but I worried he was too busy, so I didn't pry."
"He's doing great."
Meng Jiaran had already lost the enthusiasm he'd walked in with. "Uncle Song, you know my brother—all he thinks about is work. Good thing there are some people whose words he has to listen to, or he wouldn't take a single day off."
Song Yue: "…"
What a guy!
Who wants to hear about the Meng family's business anyway!
Meng Jiaran's visit to deliver documents was nothing but a pretext. He didn't linger in the chairman's office. After a polite goodbye to Song Tao, he turned to leave, with Song Yue trailing behind him, asking, "Did you drive yourself, or did you bring a driver?"
"I'm here as someone's driver."
Meng Jiaran stopped, turned to face Song Yue directly, smiled, and said with deliberate slowness, "My brother's busy, can't get away. So I came."
Song Yue's mouth twitched. He'd only said one thing, and this kid Meng Jiaran wouldn't let it go, would he?
-
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
The Shengdu team, represented by Ning Zhen, had tentatively finalized the interview content with Song Yuqing. They said their goodbyes and walked out of the reception room—only to run straight into Meng Jiaran.
He seemed to have been waiting outside for a while, looking a bit listless, as if someone had offended him.
"Off work?"
He leaned lazily against the wall. When he noticed Song Yuqing's gaze on him, he straightened up in an instant, his expression flipping like a switch. The question was aimed at Ning Zhen, but also at her.
Zou Shan naturally knew who he was.
She was technically the lead on this interview, and she had authority to make such calls. She said, "Zhenzhen, it's already five. If we head back to the office now, we'll clock out right on time, so no need to rush back for us. See you tomorrow morning?"
Ning Zhen couldn't have asked for more.
Song Yuqing, noting there was still over an hour until dinner, mused, "How about this—my treat? Consider it an early toast to our future collaboration."
Zou Shan waved a hand, declining politely. "Miss Song, we appreciate the gesture, truly. But we've already taken up enough of your time today. Next time—when Editor Fang comes over, we'll chat to our hearts' content."
A few minutes later.
After seeing off Zou Shan and the others, Ning Zhen glanced sideways at Meng Jiaran. She couldn't be bothered to call him out—she knew he'd come purely to see Song Yuqing.
Though she didn't mind ruining his chances for alone time with his crush, playing third wheel to the male and female leads was a different story. She hadn't listened to enough Great Compassion Mantra to endure that just yet. Normally it was fine, but when the two of them stood together, it constantly reminded her that she was living in a world built around a novel—and the two people before her were the very center of it.
Before Song Yuqing or Meng Jiaran could speak, she jumped in first. "Your brother's still at work, right?"
Meng Jiaran said, in his usual flippant tone, "Isn't that obvious?"
"Great."
Ning Zhen had her excuse, lying without a second thought. "Then I'll go pick him up from work."
Picking him up from work was out of the question.
She would shake off these two first, then after stepping out of Hongxin Tower, hail a cab and head home!
"Perfect." Meng Jiaran seized the opportunity. "I'll drive you over. Yuqing, you can clock out too, right? Come along. I need to talk to you about something."
Song Yuqing felt a subtle flicker of emotion inside.
She wasn't quite ready to face Meng Xianwen openly, and she knew that Jiaran, with his blend of bluntness and attentiveness, wasn't the type to recklessly drag her to see him—at most, the two of them would just give Ning Zhen a ride over. Had this been any day before, she would have found an excuse to decline, but after meeting Ning Zhen, her perspective had shifted.
From now on, she would inevitably have dealings with Ning Zhen, and she believed Ning Zhen surely knew about the Song and Meng families' past talks of a marriage alliance...
If she avoided things too obviously, it might create unnecessary awkwardness for both of them.
"Alright."
Without much hesitation, she agreed at once.
Ning Zhen: "..."
There he went, tagging along again.
Talk about being caught off guard—this was exactly it!
-
Ding—
The elevator doors slid open slowly, and as Ning Zhen stepped out of the car, she deliberately checked the time—there were still twenty minutes until the six o'clock end of the workday.
She hesitated, visibly torn between stepping forward and turning back.
She hadn't checked the almanac before leaving home today. She should've just taken another day off—then she wouldn't have to face the dilemma of either joining the male and female leads for a dinner that would give her a stomachache, or waiting for workaholic Meng Xianwen to finish.
Either choice was a mistake!
Maybe she could just pretend none of this ever happened and walk away. Meng Jiaran and Song Yuqing were probably gone by now anyway. Holding that thought, she turned to press the elevator button—but before her fingertip could touch it, a familiar, slightly hesitant voice came from behind her: "Ning Zhen."
Ning Zhen turned around, beaming. "Xu Lai."
She was about to say "What a coincidence."
But she quickly realized—this was Hengxing, and running into him here was completely normal.
"You're here to see Mr. Meng?" Xu Lai asked.
Ning Zhen felt resigned. She really hadn't checked the almanac today. With Xu Lai's habit of reporting every detail to Meng Xianwen, her visit would definitely reach his ears. If she left now, who knows what kind of wild assumptions that jerk would concoct.
Forget it. Since she was here, she might as well stay.
Consider it her good deed for the day.
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm here to pick him up from work."
"Mr. Meng is still in a meeting." Xu Lai pulled out his phone from his pocket—he was a man of few words, but also a warm-hearted senior schoolmate. "I'll check with Assistant Wang."
"No—"
Ning Zhen was about to say she didn't need him to, but thankfully she caught the implication behind Xu Lai's words in time.
This was her first time at Hengxing as Meng Xianwen's girlfriend, and he was in a meeting—so the question of how to accommodate her was a genuine dilemma.
Should she be taken to the reception room, or the general manager's office?
"I'd appreciate that." She changed her response.
After sending the message and putting his phone away, Xu Lai spoke in a gentle tone with a faint smile. "Want something to drink? I'll take you over to the break area?"
"Sure!" Ning Zhen's voice rose with enthusiasm. "Won't it cut into your work time?"
"Think of it as me slacking off."
Ning Zhen couldn't help but laugh, walking alongside him toward the break area on that floor. Near the end of the workday, the space was unusually quiet, and the setting sun poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, flecking the spotless floor with shards of golden light.
"What would you like?"
"You pick. I trust your taste isn't too out there."
Xu Lai chuckled. Considering her palate, he grabbed a guava-lime juice. "Try this."
Ning Zhen took it, twisted off the cap, and took a sip—her brows furrowed slightly at the sourness before relaxing. She gave it a high rating. "Not bad, actually."
...
Conference room.
Assistant Wang received Xu Lai's message and froze for a few seconds. He glanced up at Meng Xianwen, who was absorbed in the presentation, and in an instant formed a plan. He stood up without a sound—the others in the room were long accustomed to him gliding about like a ghost, so no one spared him a glance.
He crept over to Meng Xianwen's side and, with perfect poker face, picked up the already-empty cup to refill it.
On his way back, he leaned in slightly and, using the moment of setting the cup down, whispered, "Mr. Meng, Miss Ning has arrived."
Meng Xianwen was momentarily taken aback.
After a few seconds of distraction, he quickly regained his composure and whispered back, "Have her wait in my office."
Assistant Wang nodded, then silently returned to his seat and replied to Xu Lai: [Miss Ning can wait in Mr. Meng's office]
Over in the break area, Xu Lai received the message, glanced down at his phone, then shifted his gaze to Ning Zhen, who was perched on a high stool watching the sunset out the window. He casually hinted, "The view from Mr. Meng's office is even better."
Ning Zhen turned at the sound, smiling back. "Then I'll go check it out."
The two walked out of the break area together, passing through the winding corridors. At the office door, Xu Lai pushed it open for her but held back himself. "Mr. Meng will be back once the meeting ends."
"Mm." Ning Zhen gave a warm smile. "Thanks a lot."
After saying that, she stepped lightly inside.
Suddenly, as if on a whim, Xu Lai—who should have been closing the door behind her—called out without warning. "Ning Zhen."
Ning Zhen turned, looking at him in mild curiosity.
The glare of the sunset was too bright, and Xu Lai was a man who kept his emotions tightly guarded, never revealing them—so she couldn't read the silence in his expression, or the reluctance in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
His hand curled around the door handle, clenching tight. All the storm inside him—countless questions, a thousand worries—collapsed into a single, gentle smile on his face. "If anything comes up, you can always find me."
