Two months ago, on one particular evening, Xu Lai received a weather alert from his mother. Instead of taking the subway after work, he drove the company car—a rare occasion.
Passing by a subway station, he unexpectedly ran into Ning Zhen, who was holding an umbrella.
He slowed the car, rolled down the window, and asked where she lived, offering to give her a lift if it was on his way. She was always lively and straightforward, so without hesitation she folded her umbrella, opened the passenger door, and hopped in. After thanking him, she asked whether he’d had dinner yet.
He shook his head.
She wore a knowing look and said with a bright smile, "Well then, how about this—I'll treat you to dinner, and you can give me a ride home at the same time!"
In truth, Xu Lai always believed that he should never dine alone with his boss's girlfriend, and that keeping an absolute distance was the proper thing to do. But Ning Zhen was an exception—before she was Mr. Meng's girlfriend, she had always been a close junior from his university days.
So he didn't overthink it, nor did he weigh the pros and cons. He simply nodded and agreed.
She gave him directions, and they went to the little hidden gem of a restaurant she’d been raving about the entire ride. After the meal, he drove her home. Considering the heavy rain, he didn't just drop her at the gate—he drove into the complex and pulled up to her building.
If he hadn't discovered the thermos she’d left in the passenger seat on his way back home, that evening would have been nothing more than an utterly ordinary night.
He figured the distance was short—less than three kilometers—so he simply turned around and headed back.
Parking was scarce in her complex, and it took him a struggle to find a spot. By then, the wind was fierce and the rain was heavy, with the temperature having dropped sharply. He walked over to Building 18 with his umbrella, taking shelter near the mailboxes. Just as he was about to send her a WeChat message asking her to come down for the thermos, he heard hurried footsteps approaching, followed by a familiar voice—but it wasn’t playful coaxing, it was frustration flaring into anger: "Meng Xianwen, are you done or not?!"
Xu Lai was not in the habit of eavesdropping on other people's phone calls.
But at that moment, he genuinely hesitated, unsure of whether he should interrupt while she was having an argument with Mr. Meng over the phone.
Just that one moment of hesitation.
Through the sound of the wind and rain, he heard her hiss into the phone, "Next time you need me at some business dinner, could you give me at least a day's notice? You’re really not great at this... Good thing I'm not your actual girlfriend!"
He froze.
After the call ended, she stood in the corridor, fuming. Suddenly having stumbled upon such a secret, he had no idea what to do. He was caught between staying and leaving, so he tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible—standing quietly on the other side of a wall from her, listening to her mutter and curse under her breath. However long he stood there, that’s how long he heard her grumbling.
When the cursing finally stopped, she opened her umbrella, stepped into the rain, and got into the car he knew all too well.
Even though he now knew the truth behind that relationship, he never planned to tell anyone. Since it was a secret, he decided to pretend he'd never heard it.
…
"You're always so polite."
Ning Zhen’s words pulled Xu Lai back from that rainy night to the present.
He suppressed every complex emotion, his gaze warm, and smiled. "If you need anything, you can send me a WeChat message. My office is quite close."
"Mm-hmm." Ning Zhen smiled too. "Alright, go on and get back to whatever you were doing. I won’t hold you up."
Xu Lai nodded and said okay.
He closed the door for her, and the calm smile on his face was replaced by worry the moment he turned away. He returned to his office in a daze, and that day became the most distracted he’d been since he started working—he handled office matters purely on autopilot, his mind a complete mess.
Ning Zhen had no idea how worried Xu Lai was.
After entering Meng Xianwen's office, she looked around curiously—first poking at the plant leaves to check if they were real or fake, then standing by the floor-to-ceiling window to admire the sunset, and finally setting her sights on the boss’s chair behind the wide desk.
She didn’t need to psych herself up for it. These days she’d been bold enough to do whatever she pleased, fearless by now. The moment she locked eyes with the chair, she plopped herself down on it—the very seat he usually sat in.
She spun left, then spun right.
She fully savored the feeling of being a big boss calling the shots.
Meng Xianwen's desk looked different from what she’d imagined. On it sat a family photo of their family of four, surrounded by stacks of files and documents. She glanced over and recognized his handwriting on the notes, and his sticky notes on the computer screen were all work-related.
Her gaze paused.
She then found some sticky notes and a fountain pen, casually doodled a cartoon girl, and stuck it by the photo frame, complete with a line of text: 【Real big beauty】
From a family of four to a family of five.
That looks much better!
Meetings with the big boss are never short. The clock passed six, then six-thirty, and inched toward seven before the meeting finally ended. Everyone sighed with relief, and the more perceptive ones noticed that Mr. Meng seemed to leave the meeting room just a little faster than usual today…
Meng Xianwen didn’t have Assistant Wang follow him. After a few quick instructions, he told the entire assist office and secretariat to clock out.
Assistant Wang trailed behind him out of habit and asked, "Shall I order a business meal for you?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, before Meng Xianwen could even answer, he silently cursed his own lack of social awareness. With Miss Ning here to pick him up, there was no way Meng was going to eat a business meal. He quickly added, "Right, got it, Mr. Meng."
Meng Xianwen couldn’t help but smile. "Alright, you head off too."
Assistant Wang rubbed his nose and scurried away.
Though he hadn’t been Meng’s assistant for all that long, he could still tell that Mr. Meng was in a pretty good mood today.
Once Assistant Wang was well out of sight, Meng Xianwen steadied himself and pushed the door open. It was nearing seven o’clock now, and outside the window, the sky had shifted from pink to deep blue. Lights from nearby towers cast their glow across the building, lighting up the whole cityscape at night.
He scanned the entire office.
It was empty.
But traces of her were still there—the lingering scent of her, the signs she’d been around. Her half-finished juice bottle sat on the coffee table. And because she must have felt stuffy, she'd cracked a window open, allowing wind to whistle through the gap—but she herself was nowhere to be seen.
He knew she never had much patience, and even when she did, it lasted only a few minutes at most.
Meng Xianwen unlocked his phone and opened WeChat. Their chat history still ended with her asking yesterday why there was a pair of handcuffs in his safe. All day today, she hadn't bothered him.
No random texts, no silly messages—peaceful.
He thought for a moment, then dialed her number.
She picked up immediately, her voice brimming with surprise: "You finally finished your meeting?"
"Where are you?"
"At this coffee shop below Hengxing Tower. It has good reviews on the app," she said in a fake sweet voice. "I’ve been waiting so long for you—I was just worried you’d be hungry. I actually wanted to go to the Hengxing cafeteria, but... no one down there knows who I am, so it felt weird. Anyway, I came down to grab you food."
Meng Xianwen understood right away.
She was the one who was hungry.
"Send me your location." He loosened his tie with one hand, and with an easier breath, his expression relaxed. "I’m heading over."
"Okay, hurry up then!"
Downstairs.
Ning Zhen hung up the phone and quickly scanned the QR code. This café was quite peculiar—the coffee was only so-so, but the light meals were surprisingly tasty. She ordered a beef salad and an unagi rice bowl, both tailored to his tastes. She had arrived early enough to snag a window seat with an excellent view, where she could even see the light show on the skyscraper across the street.
She'd never starve herself, no matter who else might go hungry.
She had spent the entire afternoon in a brainstorming session and was already ravenous. Waiting ten minutes in his office was fine—twenty minutes, she could tolerate, considering her position as his girlfriend. But anything over half an hour? Absolutely not.
Yet she didn't want to trouble Xu Lai.
She knew Xu Lai was busy with work, probably not much less swamped than Meng Xianwen.
Taking up Meng Xianwen's time was something she felt entitled to do, perfectly natural and expected. But bothering Xu Lai? That she couldn't bear to do, and she'd feel too embarrassed.
So, while Meng Xianwen's assistant and secretary were all occupied, she quietly slipped out the door, quietly took the elevator downstairs, and went to find something to eat.
Apart from a young man with a work badge who blushed and asked for her WeChat as she left the Hengxing Building, she didn't draw much attention.
Ning Zhen casually sent her location to Meng Xianwen.
She'd grown tired of the light show and her phone anyway, so she sipped her iced drink and let her gaze drift through the glass. About ten minutes later, Meng Xianwen, dressed in a sharp suit, appeared in her line of sight like a figure stepping into a painting. He rounded the fountain and walked toward her.
Her face lit up with delight as she raised her hand and waved at him.
He seemed to spot her too, striding forward.
A moment later, he pushed open the café's glass door, setting off a jingle of bells.
"Over here!" she called.
Meng Xianwen slowed his pace, passing by several other tables before sitting down across from her. He didn't even notice that she was smiling—there was a faint smile in his eyes too. "You already ate?"
"Of course not. What do you take me for?" She stirred the juice in her cup with her straw, ice cubes clinking with a crisp sound. "I was obviously going to wait and eat with you."
"Are you sure you want to eat here?"
He took a casual look around the place, clearly not impressed, as if considering whether to switch to a different restaurant.
Ning Zhen leaned forward and tapped the face of his wristwatch with her fingertip. "Come on! Look at what time it is. Let's eat first, then talk. Don't be so picky, okay?"
As she leaned in, a subtle, refreshing citrus scent wafted around her.
He stared at the tiny diamonds sparkling on her nails, paused for a few seconds, then calmly nodded. "Fine."
"That's more like it."
She took another sip of her juice and recommended it to him. "This is pretty good. Want to try it?"
Ning Zhen had meant that she could order another one for him.
Clearly, Meng Xianwen misunderstood her intention.
He frowned. "Take it away. I don't drink that."
Ning Zhen was taken aback.
At first, she didn't get what he meant. If he didn't want to drink it, fine—but "take it away"? Take what? Then it dawned on her. She rested her chin on her hands, staring at him without blinking, a knowing smile spreading across her face.
She kept staring until his brow furrowed deeply, then she burst into laughter, her eyes darting playfully as she lowered her voice to tease him: "I meant I'd order one for you. Look at you—what were you thinking?"
Who was the one being presumptuous again?
So hard to guess.
"…"
Meng Xianwen looked at her quietly, then suddenly laughed.
While she was still teasing him with her eyes, he stretched out his arm, reached across the gaudy table settings, grabbed the juice, hesitated for just a moment, and then—without using the straw she'd sipped from—drank a few mouthfuls straight from the rim of the cup.
Ning Zhen's jaw dropped.
When she snapped out of it, her cheeks flushed with heat, and she sputtered indignantly: "You!"
"Not bad." He calmly set the cup back by her hand and gave a measured verdict. "No need to order me another one. Don't waste it."
Seven o'clock.
It was peak dinner hour at the café. The customers were mostly office workers from the neighborhood, just off their long workdays, eating and chatting with expressions ranging from numb exhaustion to relaxed ease. The place was bustling, with a serene melody flowing through the hum.
Ning Zhen and Meng Xianwen ate and chatted.
Neither of them noticed that someone had casually snapped a photo of them gazing at each other.
…
Assistant Wang was sick of the company cafeteria. The moment he got off work, he dragged Xu Lai out for hotpot. The more stress at work, the more he craved food. Unfortunately, they'd arrived at a bad time—they took a number and found they'd have to wait for over a dozen tables. After discussing it, they decided to wait anyway.
The two of them huddled on camping chairs in a corner.
Xu Lai was a man of few words to begin with, and with something weighing on his mind, he had even less interest in chatting.
Assistant Wang was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly received a string of messages—
[Image]
[Am I seeing things?]
[Mr. Meng and his girlfriend?]
[The group chat is saying someone saw Mr. Meng drinking his girlfriend's juice, grinning like a total fool [stunned]]
[I'm not okay. Mr. Meng used to be this cold, ruthless cultivation-master type in my mind. How can I ever look at this man the same way again?]
He tapped on the image.
The photo was a bit blurry, but anyone from Hengxing HQ could recognize the man drinking that juice, blurry or not.
Their brilliant and mighty Mr. Meng.
As for the private gossip circulating among his colleagues, Assistant Wang chose to read and not reply, then handed the phone to Xu Lai, who was deep in thought beside him. "I messed up again today. I knew Miss Ning was here, and I still asked Mr. Meng if he wanted to order a business meal."
Xu Lai snapped back to the present and stared at the photo on the screen.
Assistant Wang kept talking: "Actually, you can't really blame me for this one. Miss Ning never came by before, you know."
Then he added with a sigh: "I've noticed that since Mr. Meng's car accident, they seem to have gotten even closer."
Xu Lai's brow twitched.
Car accident.
He abruptly turned to look at Assistant Wang, the puzzle that had been nagging at him all day suddenly seeming to click into place. He asked: "Wasn't Mr. Meng's accident not that serious?"
Everyone knew it was a minor incident, barely worth mentioning.
At first, there was some talk, but within twenty-four hours—after he'd seen Ning Zhen's WeChat post—even Xu Lai had breathed a sigh of relief.
After that, Mr. Meng was discharged quickly and threw himself back into work. He even came straight back to office without a day off after returning to the northern city…
"It wasn't serious," Assistant Wang confirmed.
He paused, then said in an envious tone: "But Miss Ning took it very seriously—super seriously. She accompanied Mr. Meng to work, prepared afternoon tea for him, was incredibly thoughtful. You know, Mr. Meng doesn't like being disturbed during meetings, but I noticed he actually appreciates Miss Ning's attentiveness."
Xu Lai's expression gradually hardened.
He'd been by Mr. Meng's side for years. Thinking about it carefully, he realized there had indeed been a few strange, puzzling things happening recently.
One: Young Mr. Meng had shown up at Hengxing HQ.
This was unprecedented. It had come without any warning, and he was certain Mr. Meng had never mentioned it before. If there was any foreshadowing, could it be connected to Mr. Meng's car accident?
But the problem was—nobody knew just how minor that accident was…
Unless it was actually serious. At least, that's how Young Mr. Meng perceived it.
Two: As Assistant Wang said, Ning Zhen and Mr. Meng's relationship had grown noticeably closer.
If he didn't know that their relationship wasn't real, he wouldn't have thought twice about it.
Yet Mr. Meng had asked him a question he absolutely shouldn't have asked, and wouldn't normally ask—as if it were some kind of test. Xu Lai could be certain that Mr. Meng wasn't testing him, so who was he testing?
And why would Mr. Meng feel the need to test anyone at all?
Unless...
Unless the aftermath of this car accident was far more serious than it seemed. Suddenly, a chill ran down Xu Lai's spine, and his gaze fixed blankly on the floor. Assistant Wang, who had been talking, noticed the lack of response and turned to look at Xu Lai—startled by how pale his face had gone.
"Hey, hey, Assistant Xu, are you alright?"
