Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan arrived in a hurry.
Under strict orders, Meng Xianwen had cooperated with a full physical examination. After repeated study by the entire medical team, combined with past incidents in the Meng family, they concluded that part of his memory had begun to become disordered or even lost.
“What does that mean?”
Xiao Xuezhen pressed urgently.
The doctor glanced at Meng Xianwen in his patient gown. He sat upright, hands crossed on the table. He only frowned slightly when the memory loss was confirmed, but for the rest of the time, his expression remained utterly calm, as if they weren't discussing a patient at all.
He was too composed, too calm, too collected.
But that fit his status.
“To put it simply, memory is like a jigsaw puzzle. He may have lost a few small pieces. What exactly he has forgotten remains undetermined.”
Standing behind him, Ning Zhen felt a jolt of surprise.
In the past, she would never have believed that a random collision could cause amnesia—what a load of nonsense!
But today, when Xiao Xuezhen brought up an old story, it suddenly struck Ning Zhen: while Granny Wang was still alive, she had once mentioned in a joking tone that Old Master—Meng Xianwen’s grandfather—was bold and reckless in business. He would charge ahead regardless of the consequences.
Once, when he was out of town, he got into trouble and was beaten severely. Hospitalized for a few days, he survived unharmed, but after waking up, he couldn’t remember where he had hidden the bank withdrawal slip. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall, nor could he find it. That incident had been the biggest crisis in the early days of Hengxing’s founding.
Before that, Old Master was daring and forgiving toward his subordinates. But after the incident, he became paranoid, trusting no one but his wife. At the time, he suspected his partner had stolen the slip—he doubted everyone, even Meng Jingshan, who wasn’t yet twenty.
Nearly a decade later, on the anniversary of Old Master’s mother’s death, he invited many high-ranking monks to the house. Amid the commotion, a clumsy young monk accidentally broke a portrait. Old Master was about to fly into a rage when he looked down—and saw that beneath the shattered glass was the photo, and beneath the photo was a yellowed piece of paper. He picked it up—it was the bank withdrawal slip.
That day, Meng Jingshan, already a father by then, wept like a grown man. He was finally cleared of the unjust accusation of stealing.
Who could have guessed that Old Master had hidden the slip behind his late mother’s portrait?
Granny Wang used to tell it as a joke. Ning Zhen was young then and laughed heartily. But years later, the situation felt far too familiar.
“My father had the same thing happen to him,” Meng Jingshan said, his face full of worry. “He forgot things and never remembered.”
“Dad.”
Meng Xianwen, who had been silent, spoke up, reminding him not to bring up his grandfather’s embarrassing stories in front of outsiders.
Meng Jingshan snapped out of it and cleared his throat. “Is there nothing wrong?”
The doctor replied, “It shouldn’t affect daily life.” She suggested, “We can draft a few recovery plans and try to help Mr. Meng regain his memory as soon as possible.”
“No need.”
Meng Xianwen said calmly, “I’m fine. When can I check out?”
Xiao Xuezhen, Meng Jingshan, and Meng Jiaran all stared at him.
Even now, he wanted to leave the hospital? Was he out of his mind?
Ning Zhen also stared at the back of his head in surprise. But she wasn’t worried about his health. She was fixated on a bold thought: which parts of his memory had he lost? She kept replaying what he said to her after waking up—it seemed his attitude toward her was… off?
Yes! That was it—his attitude.
It was as if they had returned to before that incident happened.
Wait. Did he possibly forget how they got together? Had he also forgotten their agreement?
…
Half an hour later, everyone returned to the hospital room. Once the door was shut, Xiao Xuezhen couldn’t hold back. “Xianwen, don’t be difficult. We have to listen to the doctors. This is a post-accident symptom. You can’t drag it out—you need treatment.”
Meng Xianwen swept his gaze over them. It lingered on Ning Zhen for a few seconds, furrowing his brow almost imperceptibly, then quickly returning to normal. “Zhenzhen, you’ve worked hard coming here. Could you check on the injured driver’s condition for me?”
Ning Zhen blinked in confusion. “Oh, sure.”
Under his calm, lenient gaze, she walked out of the room in a daze. But as she moved further down the hall, she stopped. Wait—was this his way of sending her away?!
Inside the room, Meng Xianwen lifted his eyes. His younger tag-along, Meng Jiaran, understood and went to shut the door.
Once only the four immediate family members remained, Meng Xianwen spoke slowly. “Dad, I’m not in a good position to handle things the next few days. Could you arrange to have the hospital keep my case confidential? Better yet, delete it. Tell the public I just have some minor injuries and I’m being discharged tomorrow.”
“???”
Facing the bewildered expressions of his three closest relatives, he sighed quietly and said succinctly, “The company’s R&D project launches in two months.”
Meng Jingshan’s expression changed.
Though he was semi-retired, all major decisions at Hengxing still required his vote. The project his son mentioned had consumed endless manpower and resources. At such a critical juncture, they truly couldn’t afford any mistakes.
At this, all three fell silent.
Even Meng Jiaran understood the stakes. So many people had poured their hearts into this project. After Meng Xianwen took over Hengxing, he had been preparing to expand into the tech sector. If the board found out about his real condition, complications would inevitably arise.
“But your body—” Xiao Xuezhen didn’t want to agree. Her face was tight with anxiety.
“Mom, it’s fine.” Meng Xianwen walked beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, speaking softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be upfront with Lu Yuan. He’ll handle things as needed.”
At the mention of Lu Yuan, Xiao Xuezhen’s brow relaxed. She looked much calmer now.
Lu Yuan was Meng Xianwen’s childhood friend, as close as a brother. Years ago, after finishing his studies, Lu Yuan returned to take over his family’s hospital. With him looking after things, they could indeed put their minds at ease.
“Brother, so you mean you want to keep this from the public for now?” Meng Jiaran asked.
“Then see a doctor secretly on your own?”
“For now, yes,” Meng Xianwen nodded. “I’ll discharge tomorrow morning, stay in Nancheng to handle business. You take Mom and Dad home first.”
Xiao Xuezhen was reluctant, but she couldn’t refuse. After thinking it over, she met halfway. “We can go home, but Zhenzhen should stay and take care of you. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”
If they all stayed, it would be too conspicuous—clearly signaling to others that something major had happened to Meng Xianwen.
But if Ning Zhen stayed alone, it would require no excuse. A couple in the throes of a passionate romance, spending time together and enjoying a holiday—no one would suspect a thing.
Meng Jingshan agreed. “That’s fine.”
Meng Jiaran also nodded. “Zhenzhen has taken a week off anyway.”
But Meng Xianwen, who had been perfectly calm and collected since waking up, paused for a few seconds and frowned. “Zhenzhen? She’s going to take care of me?”
Misreading his meaning, Xiao Xuezhen was about to argue, but then she swallowed her words. Meeting her son’s composed eyes, she asked tentatively, “Wait, Xianwen. Are you forgetting that Zhenzhen is your girlfriend?”
-
Meng Jiaran’s head felt completely numb.
He was shooed out of the hospital room by his parents, dragging his heavy footsteps back and forth in the corridor like a headless fly. He clutched his hair in frustration, his mind on the verge of exploding. He had to worry about his brother’s condition while racking his brains over how to break the news to Zhenzhen.
And, of course, this thorny task had fallen on him.
No help for it—he and Zhenzhen were the closest, after all. He gritted his teeth and walked toward the elevator lobby, dialing Ning Zhen’s number. She picked up quickly, and her weary voice came through. “What’s up?”
He fumbled for something to say. “How’s the driver doing?”
“Okay,” Ning Zhen said. “His wife’s taking care of him, so I didn’t stay long.”
“Where are you now?”
“Me?” She gave a faint laugh. “I’m picking up your brother’s suitcase. The car’s at the shop, and the driver called to have it sent over. I’ll grab it at the hospital entrance. You know how picky he is—he can’t stand using any other razor.”
Meng Jiaran felt a swell of emotion.
Zhenzhen usually acted like she didn’t care much, but when it came to his brother, she really was good to him.
If she didn’t hold him close to her heart, how would she notice such small details?
“Okay, I’ll come find you,” he said.
Ning Zhen hummed softly in agreement. After hanging up, she stood up unhurriedly, finished the apple the driver’s wife had peeled for her, wiped her hands, and tossed both the wet wipe and apple core into the trash bin. She strolled slowly toward the entrance.
She really wanted to hide outside the hospital room door and eavesdrop on what was going on inside.
But she had to hold back!
It was torture. Luckily, Meng Jiaran was coming to find her. Her heart was clawing and twisting—she was dying to know Meng Xianwen’s condition. She didn’t care about anything else. What mattered to her was how much he remembered about her, and how much he had forgotten.
That meant everything to her!
It was an overcast day, neither hot nor cold. On a weekday, the hospital wasn’t too crowded. From the VIP inpatient building to the entrance, it gradually grew livelier. She stood at the door, bored out of her mind, and checked her phone for the tenth time when she heard Meng Jiaran’s breathless voice behind her. “Zhenzhen.”
She turned at the sound.
After catching his breath, Meng Jiaran’s gaze stiffly drifted toward the traffic. “How long have you been waiting? When’s the stuff coming?”
“Not long,” Ning Zhen said, studying him.
He avoided her eyes, looking distinctly troubled. He’d been like that since they were kids—whenever he had something hard to say but had to say it, he’d beat around the bush, rambling about nonsense and never getting to the point. “Nan City’s traffic is way better than Bei Cheng’s, and the weather’s nice too. Oh, hey, the restaurant we went to yesterday was pretty good. What do you say we call for delivery at noon? Hospital food really doesn’t work for me, and Mom hates it too.”
Ning Zhen couldn’t be bothered to call him out. She listened absentmindedly, but inside she was mulling over Meng Xianwen’s behavior.
Him sending her away—she could understand that.
But…
She still felt something was off.
Meng Jiaran’s mouth was nearly dry from talking, but he finally got to the point. He lowered his voice. “Zhenzhen, there’s something I’m not sure if I should…”
“Just say it.”
“You know my brother’s been super busy these past few years. He barely comes home; his mind’s always on the company,” Meng Jiaran said, weighing each word carefully. “He doesn’t handle family stuff much—he’s just a workaholic. He didn’t even remember I’d come back from abroad, haha.”
“He didn’t mean to send you away on purpose. It’s like he doesn’t remember he’s your boyfriend either.” He paused, forcing a note of cheer into his voice. “But don’t worry, it’s just a concussion. Once he recovers, he’ll remember everything. Hey, hey, hey, Zhenzhen, Zhen Jie, don’t cry—”
Listening to this jumbled mess, Ning Zhen stood dazed. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest, tears of joy streaming down her face. Boohoo, she knew the heavens wouldn’t be so cruel to her!
