Despite Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan's earnest attempts to make him stay, Lu Yuan still begged off by saying the hospital had too much on his plate, then drove away.
He simply couldn't keep up the act any longer.
Growing up, he'd feared few elders, but Meng Jingshan was definitely one of them. Against a hot-tempered elder like that, you can imagine the psychological toll it took on him to help Meng Xianwen pull off such an enormous lie.
A few nights earlier, Meng Xianwen had shown up at his place.
Figuring they'd both been busy and hadn't had a proper chat in a while, he'd called a nearby restaurant to have some late-night snacks delivered.
But before he'd even had two sips of his drink, Meng Xianwen cut straight to the point. “Lu Yuan, based on your judgment, what are the odds I'll regain my memory? There's no outsider here, so don't try to be optimistic on my account. Just tell me the truth, alright?”
No doctor could guarantee that possibility was one hundred percent.
In fact, Lu Yuan also thought Meng Xianwen's case was extremely tricky.
If his brain had suffered a major impact and that had caused the memory loss, there might be more approaches and solutions available.
But with no clear way to target the cause, and with Meng Xianwen himself putting work above everything else—out of the hospital just two days after being admitted—it was no exaggeration to say that the optimal window for treatment had likely already passed.
He asked with such gravity that Lu Yuan had no choice but to answer honestly: “To be frank, it's difficult. The human brain is too complex—it's not like a visible injury you can treat directly. You use your mind heavily every day, and frankly, I wouldn't dare let you risk stimulating the brain. Neither would I, for that matter.”
“I understand.”
Meng Xianwen sat upright on one side of the sofa, his expression unreadable.
After a long pause, he looked at Lu Yuan and spoke in a low voice: “In that case, will you do me a favor?”
As the man at the helm of a conglomerate, Meng Xianwen couldn't afford to put aside his ambitions at a critical moment just to bet on a mere possibility.
He was always one to weigh the pros and cons.
Anyone in his position would have made the same call.
But as a son, he also couldn't stand by while knowing his parents were so worried about him they couldn't sleep at night.
So he needed Lu Yuan to help him stage this act.
To stop his parents from worrying about him any longer.
Lu Yuan settled into the driver's seat and rolled down the window. Outside, Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan wore barely concealed joy on their faces, and Ning Zhen had her arm linked through Meng Xianwen's, tilting her head slightly to whisper something in her boyfriend's ear. Lu Yuan let out a mental sigh.
Fine.
It wasn't like he hadn't done his penance in a past life, having been friends with Meng Xianwen for all these years.
“Aunt Xiao, Uncle Meng.” Lu Yuan was still annoyed, so he deliberately skipped over the person he was closest to—Meng Xianwen. “Zhenzhen, I'll head off now. Get in touch if anything comes up.”
The smile in Ning Zhen's eyes deepened. “You're busy today, so that's fine—but next time, we absolutely have to have a meal together!”
Lu Yuan gripped the steering wheel tighter, letting out a guilty, dry laugh. “Sure.”
The black G-Wagon swung around the other cars and sped off.
“Good thing I changed my flight and came back early.” Ning Zhen withdrew her gaze, glancing sideways at Meng Xianwen's sharp jawline. “Otherwise, when exactly were you planning to tell me this good news?”
He looked at her calmly.
Ning Zhen let out a light laugh. “Alright, alright—you gave me a surprise, and I gave you one, so I won't hold it against you.”
How could this not count as a surprise?
Her eyes were smiling.
But her heart was sinking.
“Meng Xianwen, Meng Xianwen,” she thought. “What is there to say? Well done. Truly well done.”
She'd almost been fooled, almost stumbled right into his trap.
Still, it seemed fate was on her side, wasn't it?
He'd given her another vivid lesson.
“Why did you come back early?” he asked in a low voice, gazing at her for a long moment.
Ning Zhen pressed closer to him, the sunset seemingly reflected in her bright eyes. With a brilliant smile, she said knowingly, “What do you think? Because Miss Ning wanted to see her boyfriend sooner.”
Meng Xianwen watched her quietly, the furrow in his brow easing. “Is that so?”
“Who told someone to be so childish?” she hummed with a hint of pride. “Playing such boring games.”
The couple, fresh from their brief long-distance stint, were playfully affectionate, oblivious to everyone around them.
She teased; he laughed. All harmony and warmth.
Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan exchanged a glance, sharing a knowing smile. The tension that had gripped them since their return from Nancheng finally released, lifting their spirits—so much so that they didn't even mind how close their son and Zhenzhen were being.
...
During this period, the social engagements Meng Xianwen couldn't dodge were all passed off to Meng Jiaran.
He wouldn't be back anytime soon today, and without him—that amusing, joke-cracking mascot—the dinner table wasn't as lively, but it was still warm and pleasant.
Xiao Xuezhen was all smiles, constantly serving food to the two younger ones. “Xianwen, Lu Yuan put in a lot of effort for you to regain your memory. But Zhenzhen worked hard too—she carried even more pressure. She's younger than you and has been extremely understanding. You need to treat her well from now on.”
Meng Xianwen paused in his soup, then nodded calmly. “Mm.”
Ning Zhen, as talkative as ever, laughed brightly. “As long as he's fine, everything's worth it. And he was really good to me even during the time he'd lost his memory.”
“And so he should be.”
Meng Jingshan, who had stayed mostly quiet, finally spoke up. When he saw everyone at the table turn to look at him, he cleared his throat. “Isn't there something... that should be considered by now?”
Ning Zhen didn't catch on at first. It was Xiao Xuezhen who rolled her eyes at him. “That's for the young folks to sort out themselves. What are you rushing for?”
Meng Jingshan's brows shot up. “And he thinks he's still young?”
“...”
Ning Zhen couldn't help but laugh—the first genuine smile she'd had all dinner. As her laughter faded, she sensed the person beside her looking at her. She turned to meet his steady gaze and gave a light, teasing blink—half mocking, half playful.
Neither of the two at the center of that marriage-pushing topic wanted to engage with it, so the subject quickly passed.
After dinner.
Since Ning Zhen had switched her flight back early, Meng Xianwen didn't need to rush off to the airport to pick her up. Hard to say who made the first move, but as the clouds on the horizon took on blue tones, the two of them took a leisurely stroll around the man-made lake, enjoying some rare time alone.
They walked and walked, and eventually reached the greenhouse.
The entire greenhouse was made of glass. The staff responsible for its upkeep had already clocked out, so it was completely empty inside.
“I didn't want to ask at the dinner table.”
Ning Zhen stood in front of a pot of lilies, snapping photos but unsatisfied with every shot. She finally put her phone away, her voice light and airy as she asked the man following close behind her, his presence heavy and imposing, “When did you get your memory back? Why didn't you tell me?”
He stayed silent.
She turned around, already generously making up an excuse for him, tilting her face up to look at him. “Are you worried that if you told me, I'd hop on a plane right away and ruin this trip?”
Meng Xianwen looked down at her, his gaze slowly tracing every inch of her face.
No sign of anything wrong.
He curved his lips, as if silently agreeing with that explanation, and reached up to stroke her soft hair. “No.”
Ning Zhen's heart skipped a beat.
“I never regained my memory.” The answer was unexpected—yet exactly what she'd anticipated.
The stone that had been hanging over her heart finally dropped.
But it was lifted too high, and it fell too fast—aside from a sense of relief, a faint, subtle ache began to spread through her.
“What did you say?” she murmured.
Meng Xianwen leaned in close to her and said in a low voice, “Dr. Li contacted me privately. Mom and Dad haven't been sleeping well lately, and their moods are unstable, but she can't find the reason, and they won't tell her. Zhenzhen, you can understand where I'm coming from, right?”
Ning Zhen's eyelashes trembled slightly as she looked at him.
There was feigned disbelief in her eyes.
And there was genuine disappointment too.
For a long moment, she seemed to snap back to reality, her face full of astonishment, her breath uneven. “Are you crazy? Why would you do something like that?”
She was trembling with anger, questioning him with her eyes, yet she took half a step back.
But Meng Xianwen didn't want her to put any distance between them. He looked at her in silence for a few seconds, then opened his arms and pulled her into an embrace, his chin resting on the top of her head.
She tried to break free, but he held on too tightly—she couldn't move an inch.
“Let me hold you for a moment.” His steady tone carried a hint of exhaustion.
Ning Zhen immediately went still. Even though she was in his arms and could feel his heartbeat, it seemed they couldn't resonate—like a lake under the setting sun, however brilliantly it was colored by the clouds, it couldn't stir the slightest ripple.
She leaned softly against his shoulder, a slow smile curling at the corners of her lips.
Dusk settled around them.
Ning Zhen, finally soothed by the embrace, got into the car holding a pot of lilies.
Meng Xianwen glanced at the flowers sitting between him and her on the seat, pressing his forehead. “Are you sure you can keep it alive?”
Ning Zhen was adamant: “I want to try!”
Whether she could keep it alive was another matter. She just wanted to put those flowers in the house to remind herself that no matter how careful she was, men—especially the one right beside her—were the hardest to guard against. Day after day, his schemes were so numerous they could pass as a sieve!
Damn it! If she hadn't changed her ticket and come back early, she would never have seen through his little plot in time.
Ning Zhen didn't doubt for a second that the reason he had Lu Yuan help with this lie was for Aunt Xiao and Uncle Meng. She didn't doubt his intentions at all.
Someone like Meng Xianwen, in his position—the people he would go through all this trouble to construct a lie for had to be the ones he truly cared about, the most important people in his heart.
He wouldn't go to such lengths just to test her amid his busy schedule.
She wasn't that important.
But she believed he also wanted to kill two birds with one stone—to force her to tell the truth while he was at it.
He seemed to be in a good mood. A crack in the window let the wind blow through her hair; he watched her for a moment, then reached out and tucked a strand behind her ear. “If you want to try, go ahead and try.”
Ning Zhen seized the opportunity to strike a deal. “If it blooms, that counts as my win. I want a reward!”
Meng Xianwen mused, “What kind of reward?”
A dozen ideas flashed through Ning Zhen's mind, but she didn't mention any of them. She gave him a sly smile. “Haven't thought of it yet. You owe me one. I'll collect when I figure it out. You owe me.”
Meng Xianwen never promised conditions that came with no strings attached.
By instinct, he frowned.
Seeing that he neither agreed nor refused, Ning Zhen nudged his shin with the tip of her shoe. “Look at you—today you even promised Aunt Xiao you'd treat me well. It's not like I'm asking for your life. Is it really that hard to answer?”
He stared at her for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement.
“Fine.”
Whether Meng Xianwen would actually follow through was something Ning Zhen wasn't entirely sure of either, but she was good at climbing the ladder—getting a promise out of him was a win no matter what. No losses there.
…
Ning Zhen had been out having fun for a few days, and the moment she stepped through the front door, she couldn't help but sigh. East or west, home is best—at twenty-three, she was no match for her twenty-year-old self. Back then, she could go out with Guo Xia for seven days and not feel tired.
This time, it felt like all her energy had been spent.
After washing up, she yawned lazily, said goodnight to Meng Xianwen, and dove headfirst into the big bed in the master bedroom.
Just as she thought she could lie there until the end of time, the phone on the quilt lit up, dimmed, and lit up again. With the last of her strength, she reached for it and opened WeChat.
It was Guo Xia.
Guo Xia: [?]
Guo Xia: [Why haven't you shared the update? I've been waiting forever!]
Guo Xia: [Don't tell me you've been too busy to even look at your phone, lost in your own little world haha]
Ning Zhen smiled to herself.
She typed patiently: [Coming]
Guo Xia: [So? Was he surprised or what?]
Ning Zhen rolled over.
Surprised, all right. Surprised as hell.
She mustered her energy and made up an outrageous story with a perfectly straight face: [Does he dare not be surprised? I got up at the crack of dawn just to come back six hours earlier to be by his side!]
Guo Xia: [Such a hopeless romantic, this one]
Ning Zhen laughed out loud, then typed seriously: [Xiaxia, thank you. Thank you for coming back early with me]
Guo Xia: [Why are you suddenly being all sentimental!]
Ning Zhen pulled the blanket up to cover her face.
-
Wednesday morning.
Ning Zhen stretched as she came out of the master bedroom. Meng Xianwen, just like every morning before, sat at the table eating breakfast and looking at his phone.
“Morning.”
He glanced up at her, reached out with his long arm, and opened the paper cup of soy milk for her.
She smiled weakly, drifting into the bathroom.
When she came back out, her face still showed signs of exhaustion, and she couldn't help complaining to him, “How is it Monday again? I can't stand it. Do I really have to wait until I'm fifty for this life to end?”
Meng Xianwen, on the other hand, looked thoroughly content. “Not that early.”
“Hey!”
There was no denying it—he was getting more used to these noisy, lively mornings now.
Ning Zhen chattered away, sharing funny stories from her trip and the bizarre people she'd encountered. It was her habit. And his too.
After breakfast, they left on time at eight. But when the elevator reached the ground floor and they walked out of Building 18 side by side, she slowed down.
Meng Xianwen took a couple of steps, realized she wasn't following, and turned back.
Ning Zhen fumbled around for a moment—she'd always been a bit clumsy—digging through her bag until she found the car keys.
Seeing him looking at her, she raised her head with a smile on her face: “Consider yourself lucky, having such a considerate girlfriend as me. Alright then, I'll drive myself to work today.”
-----------------------
