"……"
"……"
At the spacious office desk, Ning Zhen and Meng Xianwen both looked toward the door, falling into a wordless silence.
Ning Zhen withdrew her gaze and was about to ask him what the hell Meng Jiaran was playing at when she met his calm, deep eyes. She suddenly sensed something off—they were too close. She snapped back to her senses and got up from his lap.
Her hand was still gripping the edge of the desk, and she curled her fingers awkwardly.
Even though physical contact between them was nothing new, she could only find one thing in her memory that reached this level of ambiguity: that kiss.
But that night and this moment were completely different.
Back then, he was testing her, and she knew it—they both had their own hidden agendas. Now, though, it was purely an accident. And because it was so purely unexpected, even the two of them, thick-skinned as they were, fell into an uncharacteristic silence.
"Are you really not going to give me any hints?"
Ning Zhen cleared her throat and tried her best to look composed.
As long as she didn't act embarrassed, the embarrassment would fall on someone else.
She could not blush in front of Meng Xianwen. He would mock her for it—this had already happened several times before!
She had to learn from past mistakes. When they'd first established their contractual relationship and attended a business function as a couple for the first time, he'd held out his arm to her, signaling for her to take it.
Back then, she hated him. But she feared him even more.
She kept pumping herself up until she finally found the courage to take his arm, feeling the muscle beneath his perfectly pressed shirt and catching the chill of his scent. She was deeply uncomfortable—shifting her gaze, nervous, at a loss for what to do.
Ning Zhen had plenty of friends, but the only male friend she was close enough to forget gender with was Meng Jiaran.
She could freely joke around and roughhouse with him.
Kicking him, shoving him, pinching him—it all came naturally. These were things she'd been doing since they were six years old. Meng Jiaran would never appear on her list of people to guard against, physically or psychologically.
Meng Xianwen was different.
He was a man—an adult man who looked gentle but carried a sharp, dangerous edge.
So wasn't it perfectly normal for her to feel uneasy around him? But did this jerk do about it? He just smiled at her, leaned in slightly, and whispered in her ear, "Zhenzhen, don't tell me you're feeling shy."
His meaning was clear: don't put on an act for him. He wasn't buying it.
What he was really saying was for her to drop the pretense of being bashful. She'd already schemed against Meng Jiaran, so why would holding his arm make her embarrassed? It was laughable. She was furious but didn't dare speak up, so she angrily grabbed his arm and just pretended she was walking a dog!
All the same, through one round of mockery after another, she gradually grew accustomed to and desensitized toward intimate contact with him.
"Aren't you supposed to be good at cracking safes?"
Meng Xianwen pushed her away with the same calm demeanor. He shifted his chair, adjusted his position, and casually picked up a stack of documents to flip through. "Figure it out yourself. Go on, away with you."
Had the previous incident not happened, Ning Zhen would have absolutely kept pestering him without end.
But as it was, no matter how naturally she acted, she could fool others but couldn't ignore that strange feeling in her chest—more uncomfortable than the first time she'd taken his arm.
"I'll definitely crack it!"
She said it with a show of bravado, then walked around the desk and back to the safe. She only had one chance left, so she had to think carefully.
But she just couldn't focus.
She kept wanting to look back at him.
At the office desk, Meng Xianwen skimmed through the documents in record time. He let out a slow breath. Summer had already arrived in the northern city, and even with the air conditioning blasting, there was an inexplicable restlessness in the air. He reached up and loosened his collar, quietly glancing at her.
She was crouching in front of the safe, looking exceptionally serious, muttering something under her breath.
Ning Zhen had no clue at all.
The screen of the phone she was clutching lit up. She tapped it and saw a message from Meng Jiaran: 【Consider this me begging you, okay?】
Meng Jiaran was practically radiating resentment: 【Let the office just be an office, okay? Don't make me part of your little show. I'm still a child [tears]】
He was so furious he sent several messages in a row: 【I'm going to complain to God.jpg】
Ning Zhen's ears burned. She was even more irritated now—just her luck. She'd barely managed to put that incident out of her mind, and he dares to bring it up!
If it weren't for him barging in without knocking, would she be so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole?
She immediately fired back: 【Hahahaha, what would a single dog like you know? [blush]】
Ning Zhen: 【Wait, are you still single? Why are you still single, though? Is it because you don't want to date, or because no one wants to date you? [shocked][confused]】
Ning Zhen: 【I sharpened the noodle blade but forgot to sharpen you.jpg】
Meng Jiaran: 【Haha, hilarious. Do you know how many people are chasing me? I don't want to date, okay?】
Ning Zhen: 【I know, zero people】
Meng Jiaran: 【……】
Ning Zhen couldn't be bothered to keep bickering with him. She turned off her phone and tossed it onto the sofa nearby.
She lightly patted her face and took a deep breath. What mattered most right now? The thing inside the safe.
Several times, her fingertips touched the keypad, only to jerk back as if she'd been zapped.
Ning Zhen steadied herself and quietly glanced back at Meng Xianwen. When he was changing the password, what would be going through his mind?
Those six digits must be incredibly special to him, because a man like him had his mind consumed by work. He would never set a password that had no meaning and required useless mental effort to remember.
Ring-ring-ring—
The abrupt sound of the landline startled her, and she quickly averted her gaze.
Meng Xianwen put down his pen. He looked up at her. She was still crouched in front of the safe like a mushroom. He gave a faint smile. Well, at least giving her a puzzle kept her quiet for a while—she wouldn't be bothering him.
He picked up the phone and unconsciously lowered his voice, speaking with a subordinate who was still working overtime.
The low, deep voice drifted over to Ning Zhen's ears. She listened absently for a couple of sentences. They'd been living under the same roof recently, and she heard him take calls every day. It was like being exposed to a foreign language through osmosis. He never intentionally shielded her from them, and now she—an outsider to his business—could more or less understand what he was talking about.
It was about the project that was nearly as important to him as his own life, of course...
Ning Zhen stared at the password keypad, bored out of her mind.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, and she seized it.
She turned around abruptly, staring straight at Meng Xianwen, who was still on the phone.
Perhaps her gaze was too intense. He seemed to notice and looked back at her, a barely perceptible smile in his eyes, but his words were directed at the person on the other end. "Alright, I understand. It's getting late. If you haven't eaten, you can go to Jingyuan nearby. Put it on my tab."
The moment Meng Xianwen hung up, Ning Zhen rushed over to the desk, her eyes sparkling. She couldn't wait to ask: "Meng Xianwen, when was your project launch again? July third, or July sixth?"
He froze slightly.
The hand resting on the desk tightened.
They locked eyes—she, elated and triumphant; he, with a deep, unreadable gaze.
Ning Zhen found his office too airtight and stuffy. Not long after arriving, she took it upon herself to crack open the window. The wind barged in without a care, stirring the papers on the desk into a trembling rustle.
"Answer me, Meng Xianwen!"
She braced her hands on the desk, leaning slightly forward, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on him as she pressed.
Meng Xianwen was silent for a few seconds. "Number 6."
Ning Zhen spun around, the wind lifting her hair as she flitted back with light footsteps. This time, she didn't hesitate at all. She punched in the six digits with total confidence — beep, beep, beep — and the screen flashed open.
Open.
It opened.
"Meng Xianwen, I opened it!"
Her eyes lit up. She turned her head, both thrilled and astonished, exclaiming loudly, "See? It's open!"
A cabinet door that had been tightly locked — she'd opened it.
She was too excited, too smug, to notice the calm, restrained undercurrent stirring in those flat, unreadable eyes of his.
After showing off to him, she couldn't wait a single second. She stared straight into the safe — and there it was, something real this time, not a pair of handcuffs meant to mess with her. She scooped it out, her heart pounding like a drum, each beat threatening to burst through her chest.
The box was fairly large.
She recognized the Patek Philippe logo at a glance.
"What's this?" she asked, knowing full well.
Meng Xianwen didn't answer. He gave her a long, deep look, then returned his gaze to the computer screen, as if utterly unbothered.
"Well, I'm opening it then," Ning Zhen said, and without giving him a chance to nod or shake his head, she opened the watch box. She stared transfixed at the timepiece. Even without much knowledge or research on the subject, she could tell at once that its value wouldn't be a cent less than the watch on Meng Xianwen's own wrist.
Two voices rang in her ears.
One was setting off firecrackers: We're rich, we're rich!
The other was dousing her with cold water: And you actually dare to take it?
Reluctantly, she tore her gaze away from the exquisite dial and looked at Meng Xianwen. After weighing her options, she got up and walked over to him hesitantly, setting the box on his desk. She asked in a clipped, awkward tone, "You're really giving this to me?"
Meng Xianwen glanced at her flatly. "If you don't want it, put it back."
If he'd said "really," Ning Zhen might have waffled a little longer. But with those words, she clutched the box to her chest without a second thought, looking like she'd fight anyone who tried to take it from her. "I want it! Of course I want it!"
He let out a scoff, waving a hand to shoo her away.
She pouted, but her mood was simply too good to hold a grudge — so good she could forgive everyone except Song Yue.
Beaming ear to ear, she carried the watch box back to the sofa and sat down. She pulled out her phone and took photos from every angle, then carefully removed the watch and slipped it onto her own wrist. The more she looked at it, the more she thought: this watch is extremely, extremely expensive — but it doesn't quite suit her.
Who would it suit?
A figure immediately surfaced in her mind.
In his youth, he had been lean and tall. She used to laugh with abandon as he carried her on his shoulders. He and her mother had cradled her in their hands as she grew up, sheltering her from wind and rain.
That's it!
Ning Zhen took off the watch and instinctively glanced toward the desk. Her gaze flickered. Was he doing this on purpose? She suddenly remembered the time she'd brought him home recently — how she'd borrowed his watch to give to her father. No — wait, that wasn't right either. She shook her head distractedly, caught in a bind of confusion.
Since when was Meng Xianwen so thoughtful and considerate?
He wasn't that kind of person at all.
Wasn't he just acting surprised that she'd opened the safe?
Ning Zhen sank into thought, staring blankly at him. After racking her brain for a while without any conclusion, as they rode the private elevator down after he got off work, she tested the waters: "Meng Xianwen, I want to give this watch to my dad. What do you think?"
Meng Xianwen cast her a light glance and replied, his tone steady, "Suit yourself."
"..."
Seeing his indifferent expression, Ning Zhen swallowed the rest of what she was going to say. She only tightened her arms around the watch box. "Then after I come back from my trip, I'll find a time to send it over to him."
Meng Xianwen hummed in acknowledgment.
He seemed a bit worn out after a full day of work, and not particularly inclined to linger on a topic he didn't care about.
Ning Zhen studied his expression carefully, pursed her lips, and didn't pester him.
When the elevator reached B3, Xiao Ding had already received the notice and pulled the car up to the closest spot near the elevator lobby. The rear door opened, and Meng Xianwen stood by the car, tilting his head to gesture for Ning Zhen to get in first. His peripheral gaze watched as she settled in, setting the watch box aside, then covering it like buried treasure with the cashmere scarf she'd left on the seat.
His brow relaxed. He smiled.
"What do you want to eat?" he asked, getting in and closing the door.
Ning Zhen decided to tease him. She straightened her back and mimicked his tone: "Whatever you want."
Meng Xianwen paused at that, turned to size her up for a moment, then looked at Xiao Ding. "Something close by. Let's go to Jingyuan."
Ning Zhen knew Jingyuan — it was where she'd eaten with Meng Xianwen and Meng Jiaran last time. It was just a stone's throw from Hengxing, and both the ambiance and the flavors were impeccable. She had no complaints.
The car pulled out of the underground garage.
Shadows and light shifted unevenly, and she stole a few glances at Meng Xianwen, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Just as they pulled up to the restaurant entrance, Meng Xianwen turned his head toward her without warning. She was caught red-handed.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
Ning Zhen didn't flinch. She answered with all the confidence in the world, "Looking at my husband!"
"..."
Meng Xianwen propped his head in his hand, left speechless.
Neither of them said another word, but up front in the driver's seat, Xiao Ding's ears turned red instead. He hung his head, thinking, Is this something I'm allowed to hear?
Before he could even decide whether to crawl under the car, the spotlight shifted onto him. Meng Xianwen and Ning Zhen had a silent standoff for a few seconds, then he surrendered to her brazenness and casually asked, "Xiao Ding, have you had dinner yet?"
Xiao Ding startled. "Mr. Meng, I have. I ate at the company cafeteria."
"Alright then."
Meng Xianwen nodded calmly. "Let's go."
Those last words were aimed at Ning Zhen. By the time he finished speaking, he'd already pushed the door open and stepped out.
Ning Zhen stifled a giggle. She slid across the seat toward the door, then suddenly remembered the precious watch. She said softly to Xiao Ding, "Xiao Ding, I can't bring this down with me. Would you keep an eye on it for me?"
Xiao Ding agreed readily. "You got it!"
Only then did Ning Zhen relax.
She picked up her bag and got out of the car, following behind Meng Xianwen into the restaurant under the darkening night.
He had a private room that didn't require a reservation. The manager led the way enthusiastically, weaving down a winding corridor until they reached the private dining room.
"I'm going to the restroom!"
No sooner had they sat down and ordered than Ning Zhen got up to head out. She needed to splash some cold water on her face to sober up — otherwise, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from grinning like a fool at Meng Xianwen.
How could she not grin? That was a watch worth a fortune, and her heart was still thumping away.
Meng Xianwen lifted his eyes to watch her dash off, and gave a knowing smile.
It was only at this moment that Ning Zhen felt a sense of reality sinking in, but even the walk to the restroom felt like treading on clouds, dizzy and lightheaded. She didn't even notice the group of people coming toward her from the opposite direction—men and women alike, all Hsing Xing employees, their work badges still clipped to their chests.
They were chatting amongst themselves and didn't recognize her.
"Oh my god, I'm so close to passing out from overtime, I'm literally surviving on the promise of paid leave and a bonus at the end of this!"
"Don't even talk to me about that. You know what time Mr. Meng replied to my message yesterday? Two in the morning. I swear, I think that man has given up on sleep entirely."
"Hahaha, well, I've already decided—once I get my bonus, I'm trading in my car for something bigger. A proper toy for myself!"
Ning Zhen brushed past them.
Her ears caught the most crucial words and she turned her head.
They were already too far away, but their cheerful chatter drifted back to her faintly—discussing how they'd reward themselves once it was all over—until the sound faded completely. She stepped into the ladies' restroom, stood before the sink, and washed her hands.
Several images surfaced in Ning Zhen's mind.
All of them had the same person at the center.
Deep in the night, when she'd groggily woken up to use the bathroom, the study door would be open, the light still burning.
Early morning, sitting in the car, fielding one call after another—if you leaned close enough, you'd see the red veins in his eyes from lack of sleep.
And then there was that time.
After waking up from a car accident, he'd calmly and steadily changed into his suit and insisted on being discharged from the hospital.
Meng Xianwen was a complicated man, and also a simple one. His safe's password was laughably easy to guess—it was his grandmother he missed most, and the work he poured his days and nights into.
Ning Zhen pulled out a tissue and dried her hands.
She fished her phone out of her bag and sent Meng Jiaran a message: [Jiaran, you there?]
No reply...
After a moment's thought, she sent him a red envelope.
Within three seconds, the chat showed that he'd accepted the money.
Meng Jiaran: [? Out with it]
Ning Zhen: [Remember how you said you'd give me a safe? When are you actually going to send it?]
Meng Jiaran: [...]
Meng Jiaran: [Sis, that was two years ago. You yelled at me for it and I'll never forget that [smile]]
Ning Zhen: [Give me back the cream puffs I got you today]
Meng Jiaran: [What do you even need a safe for?]
Ning Zhen: [To store the love letters your brother writes me [blush][blush]]
Meng Jiaran: [Want to die, but someone else does first.jpg]
Based on what she knew of him, that was a yes.
Satisfied, she put her phone away and walked out of the restroom with a spring in her step, her smile freezing for a split second when she saw Meng Xianwen walking toward her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, stepping up to meet him.
"Washing my hands."
He furrowed his brows and looked at her, speaking slowly. "Do you know how to get back on your own?"
Ning Zhen was caught off guard by the question and immediately replied, "Of course! I'm not someone who gets lost!"
"Really."
He dropped those two words, brushed past her, and walked straight into the restroom.
Ning Zhen stood there for a moment, then turned and headed back to the private dining room. Meng Xianwen returned shortly after, and the restaurant waiters filed in with steaming dishes, one after another. She took a sip of soup, studying his faintly indifferent expression, and made small talk: "I just ran into your subordinates out there. They were talking about where they want to go on their trip after the project launch."
She paused, then added lightly, "And what gifts they want to buy for themselves. What about you—what do you want to do once you're all done?"
Come to think of it, her performance bonus this time would also set a new record!
So then...
A good deed deserves a good deed in return. She'd already taken his brooch, and his watch too—she ought to show some reciprocity!
She could ask about where he'd like to go, or what he might want.
If it was within her budget, she'd pay in full. If it exceeded what she could handle, she'd just forget it.
As she spoke, she picked up a piece of spare rib with her chopsticks, intending to place it in his bowl.
Her chopsticks had just reached over when she heard him say, in a tone that seemed casual, "Focus on my treatment. Recover my memory as soon as possible."
Ning Zhen: "..."
Of course. He never says anything worth a damn.
She withdrew her hand and put the rib in her own mouth.
"Will you stay with me through it?" He curved his lips slightly. "Zhenzhen."
Ning Zhen was momentarily speechless, but she had no choice but to smile through gritted teeth and say, "Of course. I'll be with you every step of the way!"
He stared at her with a meaningful look and proactively placed a rib in her bowl. "You'd better mean that."
—
Because Meng Xianwen had brought up the treatment and her memory again, Ning Zhen's otherwise wonderful mood took a slight hit. She and Guo Xia were catching a flight early the next morning, and after washing up at home, she lay in bed early, trying to coax herself into sleep.
But how could she possibly sleep?
In the drawer of her nightstand sat a watch worth more than this entire apartment.
Ning Zhen turned over and reached out to turn on the small nightlight on the nightstand. Confirming that the curtains over the bay window were drawn, she took the watch box out of the drawer. Thinking back on everything that had happened today, her eyes curved with joy from under her brows.
Why a watch, of all things?
If it had been anything else, she might have let her imagination run wild.
But a watch...
Even if she was reading too much into it, it was still his fault!
Ning Zhen lay on her stomach in bed, watching the watch's hands tick away the seconds. Though it made no sound at all, she could swear she heard a faint ticking—each pulse beating against her eardrums and slipping straight into her heart.
Just before midnight.
She threw off the thin blanket and got up, slipped into her slippers, and quietly opened her door, stepping out into the hallway.
The space outside was dimly lit, with only pale moonlight spilling onto the balcony tiles, hazy and soft.
Ning Zhen padded slowly into the kitchen and poured half a glass of water. She took a few sips to soothe her inexplicably dry throat, set the glass down gently—yet in this utter stillness, even the faintest sound made her heart skip.
She kept building up her mental defenses.
This was her home. The deed only bore her name. Why on earth was she creeping around her own house like a burglar?
Straightening her back, she marched out of the kitchen with an air of confidence.
As she headed back to her bedroom, she casually glanced at the study—door open, light off. How odd. He hadn't stayed up working tonight, which genuinely surprised her. Her gaze slid to the guest room; its door was half-closed, no light on either.
He'd gone to sleep this early?
She frowned, a flicker of curiosity passing through her.
Before she even realized what she was doing, she'd wandered into the guest room and found herself at the bedside.
The curtains were drawn shut. A phone was charging on the nightstand. A tall, broad-shouldered man like him looked almost ill-fitted on the narrow single bed.
He was sleeping soundly, one arm draped over his eyes.
The room was pitch dark.
Ning Zhen watched him in silence for a moment. She wanted to laugh but was afraid of waking him, so she covered her mouth, barely suppressing the urge.
The sight was too amusing.
Meng Xianwen, of all people—who would believe he was squeezed into this cramped ten-meter-square room?
After getting her fill of the view, Ning Zhen began to stealthily edge away, ready to leave. But suddenly, her wrist—hanging loosely at her side—was gripped hard. A tug pulled her off balance, and she tumbled onto the bed, landing squarely on his chest.
The darkness heightened every sensation. Their breaths intermingled.
She tried to get up, but his hot palm came down on the back of her head, pressing her still.
Though it was he who held her in place, he looked down at her and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
Ning Zhen's heart was in a panic, her voice trembling slightly. "I, you... why didn't you close the door?" She finally found her footing, turning the tables and accusing him instead. "Who sleeps with the door open? I, I got up to get water and you nearly scared me to death!"
Meng Xianwen had long been familiar with her talent for shifting the blame, yet she still drew a short, husky laugh from him, the sound vibrating through his chest.
"The room's too small, the air doesn't circulate," he murmured low against her ear. "Is that reason enough?"
"You—!"
Ning Zhen felt like she couldn't breathe either.
With every inhale and exhale, all she took in was his scent.
She wanted to argue with him, but they were standing so close that she could even hear his heartbeat.
Wait—heartbeat?
Ning Zhen blinked, as if she'd stumbled upon some secret. A soft laugh escaped her, her warm breath spilling against the side of his neck. "Meng Xianwen, why is your heart beating so fast—"
She didn't know whether it was a provocation or a temptation.
She also couldn't see how his eyes had slowly darkened.
The next instant, his fingers suddenly tightened in her hair, pulling her toward him as his lips pressed against hers in a kiss.
Ning Zhen's words were swallowed whole by that kiss.
As if carrying a hint of punishment, he kissed her deeply, heavily.
-----------------------
