Before they knew it, Friday had arrived.
That evening, there was an invitation neither Meng Xianwen nor Ning Zhen could turn down, organized by Chang Yi, and a few of their childhood friends would be there too. Everyone was busy these days, and although they had all called to ask about Meng Xianwen's car accident, no phone call could ever replace seeing him in person.
Ning Zhen clocked out at six on the dot, but she couldn't help having a workaholic boyfriend.
By the time they arrived at Chang Yi's place, everyone else, including the ever-busy Lu Yuan, was already there.
Chang Yi lounged lazily in his chair, looking the couple up and down, and couldn't resist teasing: "Zhenzhen, tell me—what punishment does a latecomer deserve?"
Ning Zhen played dumb. "Huh? What punishment?"
Chang Yi picked up a bottle and gave it a little shake, his meaning clear: "Drink one as a penalty."
"This one's not on me." After sitting down, Ning Zhen unceremoniously pinned the blame on Meng Xianwen. "I clocked out at six and kept waiting for him. It wasn't me who was late—it was him."
Among everyone at that table, she was the youngest.
She had known these friends of Meng Xianwen's for years, but before this year, their relationship had never really been close—at best, they were nodding acquaintances.
These past few months, however, their bond had grown by leaps and bounds.
Chang Yi, leading the pack, never missed a chance to poke fun at her whenever they met.
"So—" Chang Yi started.
But Lu Yuan cut him off with a frown. "Xianwen can't drink for a while. Stop egging him on."
Among all of Meng Xianwen's friends, only Lu Yuan knew the full details of his condition.
To everyone else, he had suffered nothing more than minor scrapes, and by now, so much time had passed that he was surely fully healed. Nobody treated a tall, strapping man like him as an invalid anymore, so no one paid any heed to what Lu Yuan said.
Lu Yuan felt utterly helpless.
He propped his head in his hand, held back again and again—several times he almost blurted out the truth—but each time, when he caught the look Meng Xianwen shot his way, he had to swallow his doctor's frustration, pushing the pressure onto Ning Zhen, who was sitting beside her boyfriend, smiling brilliantly.
At a gathering of friends, it wasn't like they were drinking hard liquor.
Meng Xianwen reached for the glass, unconcerned. But just before his fingers touched it, a fair hand swiped the glass away first. He turned to look at Ning Zhen, his expression pausing for a moment.
Ning Zhen raised the glass with a generous air, her smile blooming: "I'll drink it for him. Anyway, nobody's getting him drunk tonight!"
Her words sounded sweet, but inside she was grinding her teeth.
Ah, life...
Pitfalls everywhere.
After all, if even Lu Yuan had thought of such a thing, how could she, his loving girlfriend, possibly overlook it?
With that, she took a small sip. Cool and smooth, the drink was gentle on the palate and not at all harsh. Then she suddenly felt a gaze settle on her like something solid, and she turned her head naturally to meet Meng Xianwen's eyes for a fleeting moment.
Chang Yi's penthouse was decorated in a deliberately rough industrial style that had nothing to do with elegance.
The light in the dining area was dim.
Ning Zhen couldn't decipher the emotion shifting in Meng Xianwen's eyes, so she simply curved her own into a smile and hummed without thinking: "You being late is on me—don't do it again!"
Meng Xianwen calmly looked away and focused on listening to his friends chat.
The housekeeper came out with a series of steaming hot dishes. In the past three months, Ning Zhen had drunk whenever she pleased, without a care in the world. But now, she had to watch out for any tricks Meng Xianwen might pull. Before coming over today, she had slipped into a convenience store and bought a bottle of tomato juice.
"I'm going to wash my hands."
Ning Zhen pushed back her chair and got up.
Ning Zhen had been to Chang Yi's place several times before; she knew it like the back of her hand.
But just as she was heading toward the guest bathroom nearby, she heard steady footsteps behind her. Instinctively, she turned around and said in surprise, "You—"
"What?"
Ning Zhen pursed her lips and swallowed her words, too lazy to entertain him. She walked past the screen and stopped at the sink. Meng Xianwen stood beside her without a hint of self-consciousness, the two of them leaving each other alone.
She snuck a glance at him in the mirror.
He seemed completely oblivious.
She deliberately took her time pulling out a tissue to dry her hands, planning to wait for him to finish washing up and leave. But this jerk was even slower than her, so she had to turn slightly, fish a tube of lipstick from her bag, and carefully touch up her makeup in the mirror while openly observing him.
Meng Xianwen appeared to cherish his wristwatch—he made a point of removing it just to wash his hands.
After rinsing thoroughly, he slowly put it back on. Lifting his gaze to meet her reflection in the mirror, he said flatly, "Don't drink too much. Dealing with a drunk is a hassle."
Ning Zhen was slightly taken aback.
Before she could figure out what lay behind those words, something brushed against her calf down to her ankle. Her scalp tingled. On pure reflex, she moved to dodge—and abruptly crashed right into his chest. A pair of arms wrapped firmly around her waist.
They both looked down at the same time and fell into silence together.
A cute Labrador wagged its tail, tilting its head up with bright, beady eyes fixed on them.
"..."
"..."
Ning Zhen let out a breath of relief. She withdrew her gaze helplessly, and when she caught sight of a smudge of lipstick on his crisply ironed collar, she thought, Oh no!
Tonight Meng Xianwen is going to murder me!
The instigator of all this, completely oblivious to its wrongdoing, happily circled around them.
"You can't blame me!"
Ning Zhen tilted her face toward him and murmured softly, "I'll buy you a new shirt, okay—"
Meng Xianwen frowned slightly.
He let go of her almost immediately, as if trying to distance himself, his arm that had been holding her waist moments ago dropping stiffly to his side.
"You'd better keep your word."
With that, he turned and walked away behind the screen without looking back.
Ning Zhen curled her lips, then crouched down. Qiansui caught on right away and bounded into her arms, its warm, fluffy fur brushing against her neck—both cozy and ticklish. She couldn't help but laugh out loud. After they played around for a bit, she patted its doggy head and whispered in complaint, "See what your godfather just did? His face was so sour. Who took the hit for you? Who cleaned up your mess? It's Mama, me."
Good thing his supplementary card was in her hands, and she could swipe it however she wanted.
If she had to pay with her own salary, she'd have to buy him something from a discount menswear store.
Qiansui: "Woof~"
Meng Xianwen walked back to the dinner table sporting the lipstick stain on his shirt. At first, no one noticed, but with his sour expression, Lu Yuan thought he wasn't feeling well and took a closer look—naturally spotting the mark.
Once it dawned on him what that mark was, scenes were already forming in his head, and he couldn't stop them!
The wine in Lu Yuan's mouth hadn't even gone down. He nearly choked to death.
Between violent coughing fits, he drew the attention of the other two, who stopped mid-conversation. Following his gaze, they fell silent for a moment before exchanging knowing, meaningful smiles.
Ning Zhen rewashed her hands and came back to the table.
The moment she sat down, she was startled to find everyone staring at her. She touched her face instinctively and asked, "What's wrong?"
Could it be that there was something dirty on her face?
Shu Wei smacked her lips: "Nice~"
Chang Yi, in the tone of someone who loves watching the world burn, said to Meng Xianwen, whose expression had already returned to calm: "Old Meng, do you know what nicknames you have in the industry these days?"
Meng Xianwen remained noncommittal.
It was Ning Zhen who perked up her ears and pressed: "What? What?"
"Meng Xianyan."
The moment this nickname came out, even Lu Yuan, who usually didn't like joining in the fun, burst out laughing again, let alone Shu Wei beside him—the siblings laughed together as one.
"What does it mean?"
Ning Zhen had a feeling it wasn't a good nickname, but she still couldn't help being curious.
Chang Yi shrugged: "It means he's like a show-off—dating a girlfriend six years younger, showing off every single day, all year round, posting three helpings of couple-goals content daily without repeating a single one."
Ning Zhen: "??"
Seriously. These so-called industry big shots—how were their mouths all this venomous? Were they raised on arsenic as kids or something?
She had a bad feeling about this. "Do I have a nickname? Tell me, tell me! I can take it!"
Chang Yi couldn't help but chuckle: "No, you don't. Don't worry. Everyone knows this guy's boundaries—making fun of him is fine, but making fun of you..."
He shook his head with a wry smile.
Anyone who knew Meng Xianwen knew the history between him and Ning Zhen.
Even if people didn't know at first, anyone who had ever socialized with them could see how much he cherished her.
Teasing Meng Xianwen himself? No problem—he didn't care. Teasing his girlfriend? They'd have to be out of their minds. Why would anyone bother offending such a smiling tiger?
Ning Zhen paused for a moment, then looked at Meng Xianwen.
His brows carried an air of effortless nonchalance, as if the person being discussed at the table wasn't him at all. She furrowed her brows slightly, a subtle unease settling in her chest. After the topic died down, she picked up her phone and, hidden under the tablecloth, sent a message to the person beside her.
She edited it over and over.
[I won't post about you on my moments anymore]
After a few seconds of hesitation, Ning Zhen deleted the message word by word. Not showing off their love was too hard for her, so she cautiously changed it to: [I'll post on my moments less from now on!]
After sending it, she saw him chatting and laughing with his friends. She quietly tugged at his sleeve, hoping to get a response as soon as possible.
Meng Xianwen had been doing his best to ignore her presence.
But she kept pestering him under the table, impossible to dodge. He furrowed his brow and turned his head to look at her. She tapped her phone screen with her finger, looking innocent, reminding him to check his phone.
"..."
Meng Xianwen gave her two cold, indifferent glances, leaned back slightly, pulled out his phone from his pocket, and read the message. Then he looked at her sipping her drink in small sips, let out a slow, deep breath, lowered his gaze, and patiently typed out a reply.
A few seconds later.
Ning Zhen's phone lit up by her hand, two messages popping up on the screen—
Meng Xianwen: [No need]
Meng Xianwen: [As you wish]
The two messages were sent thirty seconds apart.
What was that supposed to mean??
As she wished? He actually said "as you wish"?? How could he say "as you wish"?!
Ning Zhen pondered while eating, then quickly smoothed her brows. Whatever. Her rare moment of consideration had just been so casually brushed off—she wasn't going to care about what others thought of him anymore. She'd post as many moments as she wanted!
She couldn't help but admit that she was still bothered by those two words, the more she thought about it, the more upset she got. It was too late to retract her message now.
She had no choice but to solemnly announce once more: "Haha, fine then! I'll still send them every single day!!"
That dinner went on for over an hour.
Afterward, Shu Wei dragged Ning Zhen out to the scenic terrace to chat and drink, with Qiansui tagging along step by step. The two of them and the dog were laughing about something or other, drawing Chang Yi and Lu Yuan, who were still at the dining table, to crane their necks and look outside—clearly itching to join in as they set down their glasses.
Lu Yuan had voiced his astonishment more than once: "Weiwei rarely makes new friends."
He still remembered a few months ago, the first time Meng Xianwen brought Ning Zhen to their close-knit gathering. On the drive home, Shu Wei had said in a tone that was hard to describe: "Are you sure she's in finance and not an actress?"
And then, just a few days later, he was shocked to discover that Shu Wei was reading Ning Zhen's Moments every day, following her on Weibo, Little Red Book, and Instagram too.
He asked her why, out of curiosity.
Shu Wei's face flushed with embarrassment, and then she flew into a huff: "Screw off! What's it to you if I look?!"
"I'm going out to get some air."
Lu Yuan got up to head outside, and Chang Yi was about to follow when Meng Xianwen—calmly toying with his glass—called out in a gentle voice: "Chang Yi, wait. I need to talk to you about something. Shall we have a chat in your study?"
Chang Yi paused mid-step. Though puzzled, he followed Meng Xianwen into the study.
When they came back out, Chang Yi's expression was absolutely a sight to behold—a mess of conflicting emotions, as if he wanted to speak but held back, then held back some more, all mingled with a dazed, life-questioning look. Lu Yuan, who was leaning lazily against the railing and enjoying the breeze, asked with concern: "What's wrong with you?"
Chang Yi slowly shook his head.
He looked at Ning Zhen, who was whispering with Shu Wei, with a complicated gaze, then glanced over at Meng Xianwen, who was leisurely combing Qiansui's fur.
What could he even say?
Meng Xianwen had called him into the study and said just one sentence: "From now on, it's best if you don't say all that nonsense in front of her. It's quite a hassle, alright?"
