Ning Zhen silently pumped herself up.
With a calm demeanor, she walked toward Meng Xianwen.
After taking two steps, she remembered she hadn't said goodbye to that warm-hearted Dr. Chen. She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and waved with a smile. "Doctor, thank you!"
Out of politeness, Chen Jinghe smiled and nodded.
But the smile on his face didn't last long before it was replaced by awkwardness and discomfort.
Because he could tell that her boyfriend wasn't in the best mood.
Men understand men better. Even though he didn't currently have a girlfriend, that didn't mean he couldn't read the restrained coldness and detachment in this powerful man's eyes—this man seemed to have misunderstood, thinking he was hitting on his girlfriend.
"..."
Chen Jinghe wasn't sure whether he should leave or stay.
He was worried that this man might take his misunderstanding out on his girlfriend.
But staring at the couple for too long also felt like an intrusion, so he walked back to the vending machine, pretended to scan the QR code to buy a drink, while actually keeping an eye on the elevator lobby with his peripheral vision.
"Why did you come down?"
Ning Zhen stood in front of Meng Xianwen and asked curiously. "Did today's treatment end that quickly?"
The latter part of her sentence was said very softly, meant only for the two of them to hear.
The emotions on Meng Xianwen's face were faint.
He stared at her for a moment, then calmly nodded. "It's already over," he said, and with that, he cast a brief, casual glance at the handsome man bustling around the vending machine, then asked offhandedly, "What are you doing here?"
Ning Zhen's heart tightened.
Whether it was before Meng Xianwen lost his memory or after, whenever he turned serious and stern, she felt a chill run down her spine.
It had to do with his eyes—eyes that seemed to see through everything. Under his oppressive gaze, if her willpower were any weaker, she'd confess everything on the spot.
She steadied herself, smiled brightly, and raised the sparkling water, giving it a little shake. "Besides buying you something to drink, what else would I be doing here!"
Meng Xianwen's expression softened. "Is that so?"
"So, are we still going back up?" Ning Zhen asked.
"No."
He shook his head, his gaze fixed on her, and smiled as he countered, "Weren't you going to the restroom?"
Just as I thought!
Ning Zhen grumbled inwardly. He really was watching her from the shadows. Just like his grandfather—seeing and doubting everything even after losing his memory. Good thing she'd been extra careful and kept her lips sealed, not letting a single inappropriate word slip. Otherwise, he would've caught her red-handed!
"Mm-hmm, then wait for me here, okay?"
She shoved the bottle of sparkling water into his hand, brushed past him, and followed the signs toward the restroom, rolling her eyes as she walked and cursing him under her breath.
Meanwhile, Chen Jinghe, who had bought three or four bottles of drinks, let out a long sigh of relief.
Thankfully, nothing terrible had happened. Fully reassured, he walked away with his bag of drinks. As he passed Meng Xianwen, the two exchanged a polite, respectful nod—a simple acknowledgment.
...
Saturday was a packed day for Ning Zhen and Meng Xianwen. Not only did they have to go to the hospital for treatment, but they also had to make a trip back to the Ning family residence.
Madam Ye Junlan had issued an ultimatum over the phone a couple of days prior: if they didn't come home for dinner this week, they might as well never come back.
The car drove steadily out of the hospital parking lot, merging into traffic and heading toward the old district of the northern city. Xiao Ding, the driver, couldn't help but wonder: What was going on with Mr. Meng and Miss Ning?
They'd been chatting and laughing on the way here, but after leaving the hospital, the atmosphere had turned strange. Mr. Meng was resting with his eyes closed, and Miss Ning wasn't saying a word either.
In the back seat, Ning Zhen kept sneaking glances at Meng Xianwen, one after another.
A workaholic like him, not dealing with work matters in the car? That was unusual!
From what she knew of him, he did occasionally catch up on sleep in the car, but that was usually after evening social engagements. It was barely ten-thirty in the morning—prime time for him to be sharp and energetic. Something was off. Very off.
After thinking it over, she figured it must have something to do with the scene he'd walked in on earlier.
Ning Zhen gritted her teeth and leaned forward slightly. This was the first time she'd voluntarily raised the partition. The faint sound broke the silence of the car. Meng Xianwen opened his eyes and turned to look at her, his face expressionless.
"You're being so boring!" Ning Zhen decided to strike first, turning the tables and accusing him with full shamelessness and not an ounce of righteousness. "You never tell me anything. So I worry about you, I care about you—is that wrong?"
Meng Xianwen propped his chin on one hand and gave her a brief glance.
He paused for a few seconds. "What's the matter now?"
"You're asking me what's the matter?" Ning Zhen felt encouraged. "You, and Lu Yuan too! You were both so unreasonable last time, blocking me from the check-up, and again this time. Fine, nothing is more important than your health, so I'll cooperate, alright? But tell me—after any check-up, have you ever proactively told me how things are going? Not once. It's really frustrating..."
She paused, then added, "And Lu Yuan too!"
"..."
Faced with her barrage of accusations, even Meng Xianwen fell into a contemplative silence.
What did Lu Yuan have to do with this?
How had Lu Yuan managed to offend her?
And what kind of act was she putting on?
"You never tell me anything, so of course I worry," Ning Zhen continued, still feigning indignation. She knew her thoughts rubbed against Meng Xianwen's biggest taboo—anyone familiar with the situation knew how much he cared about the project about to be launched—but she hadn't done anything, had she?
"So when I saw a capable doctor, of course I wanted to ask around," she shot him a glare. "I wanted to ask, yes, but I didn't. Not a single word, I swear. Meng Xianwen, I always keep my promises. I haven't even told my parents!"
After that burst, the car fell silent again.
Ning Zhen held her breath and mentally reviewed her speech, checking if there was anything she needed to add. He could doubt her, he could test her, but he couldn't falsely accuse her.
After a long moment.
Meng Xianwen studied her for a while. Then, suddenly, a clear glimmer of amusement appeared in his eyes. He didn't continue the topic of the doctor but asked with interest instead, "Alright then, what do you want to know?"
Ning Zhen was slightly stunned.
He really never followed the script.
She'd expected sarcasm or a warning.
"I want to know how your recovery is going, and what treatment plan Lu Yuan's medical team has drawn up for you!" Ning Zhen voiced her doubts, though she didn't say everything—she left out the part she was most curious about: how likely it was he'd regain his memory.
"It hasn't recovered."
Meng Xianwen said slowly, "The most conservative treatment. That's why it ended so quickly."
"What do you mean?" Ning Zhen blinked and pressed further.
"Anything with too high a risk, I refused—" His gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he shifted direction and said succinctly, "In the future, if you want to know something, just ask me directly."
Ning Zhen understood, and her heart soared. She barely registered the latter part of his sentence.
She wanted to laugh, but she knew she couldn't– afraid that with such a conflicted state of mind, her expression might twist into something strange. So she kept her head down and pretended to look reluctant as she mumbled, "Oh, got it."
-
In the most densely built area of the northern city, the Ning family residence stood as its own separate courtyard.
As a child, Ning Zhen had always been proud of this. She once asked the kids in her kindergarten class—none of their homes were as big as hers. Her family lived in a villa, and her rock-solid confidence shattered completely at the age of six, the day she stood before the ornate wrought-iron gate of the Meng family's old estate.
So it turned out her house had another name: a standalone private residence.
At ten, she happened to overhear Grandpa Meng teasingly remark that her family's plot of land was worth a fortune—that if it ever got slated for demolition, she could ask her parents to buy her a castle.
She took it at face value. From that day on, she prayed daily for demolition to come.
She waited with bated breath, all the way to age twenty-three, with not a single word of it ever happening. The hope gradually faded, and she slowly began to wish the place would never be torn down at all.
Meng Xianwen followed Ning Zhen into the courtyard.
The small yard was kept immaculately tidy. A single lush tree shaded the sunlight, and beneath it hung a swing that looked decades old. On the swing were crooked little characters scrawled by a child in colored markers, now faded and indistinct after years of wind and rain.
But Meng Xianwen had been to the Ning residence a few times before, and he could vaguely make out the words—
[Zhenzhen's Qiu Qian]
His gaze drifted to the mottled wall, where another trace of a child's growth was visible.
From a few dozen centimeters when she first learned to walk, to her current stature of one meter sixty-seven.
"Mom, I'm back!"
Ning Zhen planted her hands on her hips, shouting up at Ye Junlan, who was hanging laundry on the second floor.
Ye Junlan leaned over to look, then scolded with a laugh: "Took you long enough to come home!"
"Auntie, it's been a while."
Soon, Ye Junlan noticed the man beside her daughter, slightly reining in her smile, and said politely, "Xianwen's here too. Come on in, have a seat. Zhenzhen's dad has gone out to buy roast duck—he'll be back any minute."
Ning Zhen pulled Meng Xianwen inside the house.
Before long, Ning Hui came home carrying a whole packed roast duck. Seeing his daughter glowing with joy, he got excited and went to fetch a bottle of liquor from the cabinet, declaring he wanted to drink with Meng Xianwen.
He'd just gotten up when mother and daughter spoke at the same time—
"Dad, Xianwen can't drink lately!"
"And you have a client meeting this afternoon—what would it look like if you show up reeking of alcohol!"
Ning Hui obediently sat back down at the table, let out a dry chuckle, "Then, Xianwen, eat plenty of the dishes, alright…"
Meng Xianwen smiled and nodded.
At the table, Ning Hui remembered the important matter, set down his chopsticks, and asked with concern, "Xianwen, Zhenzhen told me earlier you ran into a small accident during a business trip down south. Are you all right now? You're looking well enough."
"Just a minor injury, nothing serious. Next time I come, I'll drink a few rounds with you."
Ning Zhen hadn't had her mother's cooking in a while—her heart missed it, and so did her stomach. She ignored everything else and focused on her meal.
Suddenly, a piece of beef landed in her ceramic bowl.
She raised her eyes and met Meng Xianwen's gaze. His look was gentle. "The fact that I recovered as quickly as I did is all thanks to Zhenzhen's care."
Ning Zhen immediately shot back a radiant smile. "Glad you know it!"
Ye Junlan gave her daughter a sidelong glare and cleared her throat. "No need to be so formal. Your parents too—they're always thinking of us. Last time they even sent over all those supplements—"
"Dad, did you switch where you buy the roast duck?"
Ning Zhen's heart fluttered in panic, but her face was calm as she deftly changed the subject. "Something tastes off—not as good as before."
It was true that she had been so busy sparring with Meng Xianwen lately that she'd forgotten one major detail.
That infuriating man was still holed up in her house!
Her parents had no idea about it, and thanks to her deliberate misdirection, he'd been led to believe her parents had given their blessing for him to move into her place.
Ning Hui was taken aback. "No, I didn't switch. I definitely went to the place you like. The taste really changed?"
Half-doubting, he picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of the part of the duck his daughter never ate, chewed, and guessed, "That Old Liu—after he expanded his shop, did he start cutting corners?"
Ye Junlan chimed in, "What did I tell you? You should eat less of that outside food. Who knows what kind of junk they put in it…"
Ning Zhen let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
The next second, Meng Xianwen, seated beside her, said in a slow, unhurried tone, "Auntie, you're too kind. Those supplements my mother prepared for you—are they sitting well with you? Are they to your liking?"
"…" The smile on Ning Zhen's face froze for a fraction of a second.
Damn it!
He'd managed to steer the topic right back around!
Ye Junlan dropped the nagging and smiled. "They're perfect. I've been sleeping better than before lately. I do feel bad, always having your mother think of me."
A mother knows her daughter, and Ning Zhen could already guess what her mother would say next. Her eyelid twitched. She opened her mouth, still determined to make one last effort to steer things away—when Meng Xianwen slid a piece of shrimp into her bowl, effectively shutting her up. "It's the least we should do."
Ye Junlan wasn't about to be outdone in courtesy by the Meng family. "As it happens, I've also prepared some things for your parents. When you two leave tonight, be sure to take them along."
With that, she gave her husband a meaningful look.
Ning Hui caught on and added, "A while back, an old friend gave me two ginseng roots. Take those along too."
Ye Junlan picked up the thread. "Right. When you get home, have the housekeeper who takes care of you make you a soup with them to build you up."
Truth be told, both husband and wife knew full well that the Meng family was in no need of these things; what they were sending probably didn't even measure up to the lowest-grade supplements in the Meng family's storeroom.
But gifts had to be given, and pleasantries had to be exchanged.
Just then, Ning Zhen clenched her chopsticks and lowered her head in frustration.
"Alright." A low voice came from right beside her ears. She started for a moment and instinctively turned her head to look at him.
Meng Xianwen's lips curved into a faint smile. "I'll have her," he paused, glancing at her as if by accident, "make me some soup."
