Monday’s alarm clock went off right on time.
Like every workday, by the time Ning Zhen got out of bed, Meng Xianwen was already fully dressed, sitting at the dining table scrolling through his phone while eating breakfast. She used to ask curiously what time he got up; he’d glance at her dismissively and answer, “While you were still dreaming.”
Even with amnesia, his tongue was still that sharp—only he could be like this!
She had completely stopped being curious about what time he woke up now. As long as she didn’t disturb his sleep, she couldn’t care less if he stayed up the whole night.
Ning Zhen bustled around in the bathroom, then came out feeling refreshed. She sat down across from him and, looking at the exquisitely plated breakfast, didn’t hesitate for a second before pulling out her phone to take a photo. She then held the cream-cheese-slathered bagel up to her lips, made as if to take a bite, and snapped the shutter quickly.
Meng Xianwen sipped his tea calmly, watching her pose for selfies as if no one else were in the room—like morning news, it had become part of his daily reading routine.
“Six minutes left.” He raised his wrist to check his watch, reminding her in a level tone.
These days, they left the house at eight every morning without fail. If they were even a few minutes late, Meng Xianwen would arrive at Hengxing past nine—unbearable for a man whose work schedule was packed to the brim every day.
Ning Zhen dropped the smile she had been aiming at the camera and said flatly, “I know you’re busy. No need to rush me, and no need to worry about me either. You can leave now.”
Meng Xianwen suddenly looked up.
A slight frown creased his brows as his probing gaze swept over her face. Slowly, he said, “Fine. No rush. Take your time eating.”
The two locked eyes for a moment.
Ning Zhen was gleeful inside, and she couldn’t keep the smile off her face—she burst out laughing, her eyes curving into crescents. “Haha, just kidding! I really don’t need you to drive me today. I’ll drive myself,” she said, and then started complaining, “Can’t help it, though—there are barely any buses in Shengdu. I need to pick up a colleague first, and then the two of us are heading to Hongxin to see Miss Song. Hey—”
Meng Xianwen gave her a blank look. Before she could finish, he rose unhurriedly and headed for the door.
Ning Zhen was stunned.
This man couldn’t take a joke at all!
She didn’t need him to drive her this morning, but tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that, she still did. With that thought, she dashed after him and grabbed his arm, refusing to let him leave. “Three minutes left!”
Meng Xianwen glanced down at her. “Didn’t you say you don’t need me to drive you?”
“I don’t need you to drive me, but you said we’d leave at eight, and it’s not eight yet!” Ning Zhen said, utterly unapologetic. “Can’t we just talk a little longer?”
Even Meng Xianwen was amused by her shameless antics, the coldness in his brow melting away. “What do you want to say?”
Ning Zhen beamed. “When I get serious, do I look intimidating?”
“It’s eight o’clock.” Meng Xianwen didn’t bother answering, turning his watch face toward her. And sure enough, the very next second, it was exactly eight. He pushed her hand away, walked out the door, paused at the threshold, and said evenly, “Drive safe.”
Ning Zhen hurried to the door, poked her head out, and shouted toward the elevator hall, “Got it!”
Meng Xianwen’s step into the elevator paused, and he let out a quiet, helpless chuckle.
—
It had been a while since she’d driven, so Ning Zhen deliberately avoided the morning rush. After picking up her colleague, she headed straight for Hongxin Group, so focused on the road that she didn’t notice until much later that Song Yuqing had sent her a message about twenty minutes earlier.
Song Yuqing: [Zhenzhen, something came up on my end, and I need to deal with it today. Not sure when I’ll be free. Why don’t we reschedule, or I’ll try to make a trip to Shengdu tomorrow.]
By the time Ning Zhen saw the message, she had already parked the car. Hesitant, she wasn’t sure whether she should go up and wait or turn around and drive back to the office, so she discussed it with her colleague.
Her colleague took a sip of coffee and yawned. “Well, we’re already here.”
The two were in total agreement. Since they both had their laptops, they figured they might as well work remotely from a different location. They took the elevator up to the twentieth floor. They had been here once before, and the assistant secretary still vaguely remembered them. After Ning Zhen explained why they had come, Song Yuqing’s assistant led them to a seldom-used meeting room and said politely, “As soon as President Song wraps up what she’s doing, I’ll let her know immediately.”
Ning Zhen didn’t push for details about what had happened. Seeing that the assistant also looked rushed, she smiled and nodded. “Sure, we’re not in a hurry. Let her finish first.”
But neither of them expected that they would end up waiting all the way until three in the afternoon, still without any news.
Ning Zhen and her colleague exchanged glances. After thinking it over, Ning Zhen spoke up first: “How about heading back? I’ll wait a bit longer—if she hasn’t come out by five, I’ll leave too.”
Her colleague nodded readily. “Okay, fine. I’m just afraid that if we hit mealtime, she’ll treat us to dinner. You’re friends with her, close friends, and I’m a total outsider caught in the middle. Isn’t that torture?”
Ning Zhen burst out laughing. “You’re hopeless with food. What time is it now, and you’re already thinking about dinner?”
Her colleague closed her laptop and slipped it into her bag. “A worker like me—what am I supposed to think about if not food? Alright, over and out. I’ll buy you a coffee tomorrow, okay?”
“Only at the regular price, no discounts.” Ning Zhen stood up and walked her to the door.
Before long, the meeting room was down to just Ning Zhen, the sound of her fingers tapping on the keyboard filling the silence—click, click, click. She had already sampled every drink in Hongxin’s break area. During her break, she took photos, preparing to write a review, with plans to post it on Shengdu’s official WeChat account as a fun side feature once the weekly hit the shelves, hoping to drive up reads and subscribers.
She hadn’t even finished the review when she felt her bladder about to explode. She set the laptop half-closed, grabbed her phone, and headed to the restroom. Her mind never stopped working the entire way, busy composing content, so she didn’t notice someone vaguely familiar coming toward her in the opposite direction.
Just as they were about to pass each other, Song Yue couldn’t believe it and looked at her. “Really? You saw me and pretended not to?”
He had met Ning Zhen several times before. They weren’t close, but they were on nodding terms.
Given the relationship between the Song and Meng families, and the fact that she was a close friend of Meng Jiaran’s—inseparable, really—it made perfect sense for them to show each other a little courtesy when they met.
But who would have thought she would end up with Meng Xianwen?
Snapping back to reality, Ning Zhen turned her head and met Song Yue’s insincere smile. “Oh, President Yue, sorry—I was just lost in thought and didn’t see you.”
In the second-generation circle of Beijing’s elite, some families had tangled, convoluted connections.
Meng Jiaran and Meng Xianwen were biological brothers, so even though Jiaran held no title, people on the street called him “Young Mr. Meng” to distinguish him from Meng Xianwen.
But the Song family was different.
Song Yuqing was Song Tao’s only daughter; Song Yue and his other brothers were nephews. Calling him “Mr. Song” didn’t fit, and “Young Mr. Song” didn’t fit either. No one knew who started calling him “President Yue,” but the nickname caught on quickly.
Song Yue’s lips twitched, and he said in a snide tone, “I thought Miss Ning’s status had changed, that she was too good to bother with me, too good to even acknowledge me anymore.”
Ning Zhen replied in a light, joking manner, “Oh, what are you saying? Even if I really didn’t want to talk to you, I wouldn’t be so dumb as to do it here at Hongxin. I’d pick a better place, you know? Otherwise, wouldn’t that just make me look stupid?”
"Of course, who does Miss Ning think she is?" Song Yue said with a wry smile. "If Miss Ning were stupid, there wouldn't be a single smart person left in this world." Then, shifting his tone, he added, "Unlike our Yuqing, who's thin-skinned and innocent as a child, she was worried that the two families might end up at odds over some baseless rumors, so she took my uncle's place for that interview with Shengdu."
"I wonder if Miss Ning understands Yuqing's thoughtfulness."
Ning Zhen's breath hitched, but a few seconds later she forced a smile. "Of course I understand Yuqing's thoughtfulness." She paused for a moment. "But don't you understand it yourself, President Yue?"
Song Yue: "..."
He was left speechless by her retort. Clenching his jaw, he tossed out a vague remark before walking away. "Stay away from our Yuqing from now on. Day in and day out, what a bunch of nonsense!"
Ning Zhen was fuming too.
She whipped her head around, and if looks could inflict actual harm, Song Yue would be standing in line waiting to be reincarnated as a beast.
If it weren't for the fact that she urgently needed the restroom, that she glanced down at the badge hanging from her chest, remembered the late nights her team had put in, and how important Song Tao's interview was, she'd have chased him down with her temper and kicked him square in the back!
Ning Zhen stormed into the ladies' room, and when she was done, she passed by the suggestion book. Seeing no one around, she scribbled on a blank page: 【Beware of a vicious dog outside the restroom.】
By the time she returned to the reception room, she was surprised to find Song Yuqing standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, as if she'd been waiting for who knows how long.
"I'm so sorry." Song Yuqing heard the door open and turned around, her face full of apology but also exhaustion. "There was an issue with the overseas production line, so I've been in meetings all day. My assistant only just told me you were here. Have you been waiting long?"
"It's fine, really."
That Ning Zhen could manage not to take her frustration out on Song Yuqing was already a result of her spiritual progress from binge-listening to the Great Compassion Mantra lately. But there was no way she was completely unaffected—her expression was still somewhat sour.
Song Yuqing pursed her lips and suggested softly, "You must be bored after spending the whole day at the office. How about we head downstairs, grab a coffee somewhere, and talk business over a drink?"
In truth, Ning Zhen really wanted to refuse.
For a split second, she even considered dropping the interview entirely. Song Yue's opinion was probably shared by plenty of others. Even if people didn't know their world was a novel, they'd still assume she was scheming and calculating while Song Yuqing was kind and sweet.
She was so fed up!
None of these people understood that whether or not she existed, Song Yuqing and Meng Xianwen were never going to end up together. She wasn't the one who'd ruined that match.
The refusal was on the tip of her tongue, but seeing the sincerity on Song Yuqing's face, Ning Zhen nodded. "Sure."
She packed up her water bottle and laptop, and the two of them rode the elevator side by side, arriving at a cozy café on the ground floor of Hongxin Building. It wasn't peak hours yet, so there were barely any customers inside.
After ordering, they worked through the remaining details as quickly as possible. Song Yuqing looked up, noticed Ning Zhen's still low spirits, and said gently, "I'm really sorry about today. It was so unexpected, and you ended up spending the whole day here."
Ning Zhen took a bite of her chestnut cake and quickly shook her head, but she still sounded glum. "Um, Yuqing, I've been thinking about it—the relationship between the Song and Meng families hasn't changed before and isn't going to change later. You really don't have to force yourself, you know."
The remark was so out of the blue that Song Yuqing blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Then, Song Yuqing recalled Meng Jiaran's warning some time ago. Though she and Ning Zhen weren't close, she knew Ning Zhen wouldn't be this down just because she'd waited around all day. She cut to the chase. "What happened? Do you want to tell me about it?"
Ning Zhen wasn't one to keep things bottled up, especially when Song Yuqing was being this gentle. She took a deep breath and let it all out, with a bit of embellishment, putting the spotlight firmly on the accusations she'd faced and her grievances. "What President Yue said made no sense! I get that he wants to defend you, but why come after me? He should be going after Meng Xianwen!"
Song Yuqing froze.
Her hand went slack, and her fork clattered against the plate with a sharp ring.
"He wasn't defending me." Song Yuqing steadied herself, looked at Ning Zhen, and said slowly, each word deliberate, "The fact that the Song and Meng families didn't form a marriage alliance—he's actually the happiest about it. Zhenzhen, believe me. I'm not lying to you."
Ning Zhen looked up in shock.
"He..." For someone like Song Yuqing, bringing up the mess in her own family wasn't easy. She picked her words carefully. "He might have wanted to drive a wedge between us. If you and I had a falling out, then I'd also fall out with... Mr. Meng. Zhenzhen, do you understand?"
She was a daughter, so her father would feel for her.
But she was also President Song. If a personal grudge caused friction in a long-standing alliance, her father would be disappointed in her.
Ning Zhen figured it out almost instantly, eyes going wide. "How is he so conniving?!"
Song Yuqing smiled bitterly.
If it hadn't been for Jiaran's warning, she and Ning Zhen might have drifted apart all over again.
After a string of curses, Ning Zhen leaned in closer to Song Yuqing and asked, "So what are you going to do about it?"
Song Yuqing was caught off guard by the question, a blank look flashing across her face. "What?"
"You're not going to fight back?" Ning Zhen looked even more confused. "He basically came right at your face with that. You're just going to let it slide?"
What else was there to do?
That thought was written plainly in Song Yuqing's clear eyes.
Ning Zhen was dumbfounded. She stared at her, then slumped onto the table in defeat, utterly convinced. Song Yuqing had been friends with Meng Jiaran for years, so why, why hadn't she picked up even one or two tricks from her?
"Come on!"
She sat back up, reinvigorated, dragged her chair next to Song Yuqing's, and ignoring the other woman's startled expression, threw an arm around her shoulders. She pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures of the two of them cheek to cheek.
Before Song Yuqing could even process what had happened, Ning Zhen was already typing away furiously and posting to her moments.
Caption: 【Best friends get together to gossip about others [mic]】
