Ning Zhen stood there, rooted to the spot, dumbstruck.
The fact that she and Meng Xianwen were living together had just been caught red-handed by her parents, without any warning whatsoever. She hadn't even had time to prepare herself mentally. At this moment, she was completely at a loss, her mouth wouldn't open, and she had entirely lost the ability to come up with an excuse. "I..."
As her eyes darted around frantically, the hand on her waist let go, and his deep, low voice brushed past her ear. "Let's go inside first before we talk."
Ye Junlan and her husband naturally heard Meng Xianwen's words as well.
For a moment, both of their expressions shifted slightly.
They had wanted to give their daughter a piece of their minds, that was true. But the months of goodwill they had accumulated toward Meng Xianwen instantly evaporated—worse, it had turned into a negative number.
If not for their good upbringing, their poise, and their manners, they would have barely been able to restrain themselves from cursing him out. Who the hell did he think he was!
If you're going to date, date properly. But dragging their precious daughter into a life of lies—and now, living together, something this big, she actually dared to keep it from them. Who had coaxed her into that? It went without saying.
They weren't closed-minded parents.
Their daughter had grown up. She was an adult now, so of course she would have her own life. If she wanted to fall in love, if she wanted to live day and night with someone she loved, those were perfectly normal things. They weren't going to stop her, and they'd never intended to. But shouldn't she at least have let the family know?
Ye Junlan and Ning Hui were just as blind to their daughter's flaws as Xiao Xuezhen was.
Meng Xianwen reached out and closed the door.
Facing the cold, reproachful gazes of the two elders, he met them with calm composure. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Ning Zhen, who was still standing foolishly at the entranceway, not daring to take a single step forward. He let out a quiet sigh inside. If she hadn't been honest about this, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
Suddenly, he reached out and took her hand.
"Uncle, Auntie," Meng Xianwen said in a steady tone. "This should be something I confess to you myself. I was the one who asked Zhenzhen to keep it a secret. Please don't blame her."
Held by his hand, the warm touch of his palm brought Ning Zhen back to her senses instantly.
She gathered her courage and looked at her parents, desperately wanting to nod vigorously—yes, yes, yes, it's all his fault. But when she saw their expressionless faces, she pursed her lips and dared not make a sound.
There was nothing she could do about it. It was both a matter of blood-bound authority and pure muscle memory. In this life, she could lie to anyone and not care if she got caught—except her parents. It was just like when she was a kid and got a bad grade, forged their signatures, and got caught on the spot. Her heart would race, and cold sweat would break out.
Ye Junlan gave a tight, insincere smile. "She's my own daughter. Why wouldn't I be able to blame her?"
Ning Hui's face darkened as well. His hand on the table clench into a fist.
"Auntie, let me apologize to you and Uncle first." Sensing that Ning Zhen was trying to pull her hand away, he gripped it even more firmly, not letting her escape. "Zhenzhen was really just looking out for me. She promised me she would keep the aftereffects of my car accident a secret and not tell anyone—including you and Uncle."
Ye Junlan was about to continue with her sarcastic remarks, but she caught the key phrase in time and froze. "Aftereffects of a car accident? What aftereffects?"
Ning Zhen whipped her head toward Meng Xianwen, barely able to hide her shock.
Had he misspoken, or had she misheard? Did he even know what he was saying?
"I don't know if you and Uncle still remember the difficult period my grandfather went through when he was young."
He confessed in a low voice. "I've run into the same situation. I've forgotten some very important things."
"Xingheng is at a critical juncture right now. I didn't want to stir up speculation from the outside, so aside from my family, Zhenzhen, and a friend who's been helping me with treatment, no one else knows."
Ning Zhen stood there, stunned, utterly incredulous.
Wait a minute. Wasn't Xingheng's upcoming project launch the most important thing to him? Hadn't he been paranoid enough to do everything in his power to keep it hidden? And now he was just confessing everything to her parents?
She was certain that with his cunning nature, he could have come up with a flawless story in an instant to defuse the situation.
Ye Junlan and Ning Hui exchanged a startled glance.
Coming to their daughter's place today had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
They'd thought about how Zhenzhen had been whining and complaining on the phone about how much work she had and how exhausted she was. Of course, their hearts ached for her. They'd made soup at home, cooked a nice meal, packed it into insulated containers, and driven over.
When the place had been renovated and they'd first moved in, their fingerprints had also been registered for the door lock.
They'd wanted to surprise their daughter. What they never expected was for their daughter to surprise them instead.
For an entire afternoon, they'd been both anxious and angry, and they'd even managed to discuss how to handle the situation. But now, caught off guard, they were completely thrown off and bewildered.
They had heard about the old man's troubles that Meng Xianwen mentioned. And because of that, after the initial shock, they didn't doubt his words. Instead, they pressed on in surprise. "How did this happen? And now? Has he recovered? What do the doctors say? Is there any serious problem?"
Ning Zhen was still in a daze.
It wasn't until her parents' barrage of questions pulled her back to reality.
She and Meng Xianwen were holding hands. Was it because the weather was too hot? She felt like her palm was burning.
"It's recovering. Nothing serious." He didn't want the people in the know to focus on his memory loss, so he subtly steered the conversation back to their original complaint. "Uncle, Auntie, I moved in with Zhenzhen because I wanted someone close by who knows the details of my situation—"
"Mom."
Ning Zhen, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up and cut Meng Xianwen off. "Dad, it's not his fault. When we went back home for dinner before, he actually wanted me to tell you earlier. I just hadn't figured out how to say it yet, so I kept putting it off, and then you found out."
She could feel his gaze turn toward her.
Was he surprised that she had chosen to speak up instead of hiding behind him?
Did he think he was the only one in the world with a sense of responsibility?
Ye Junlan and Ning Hui fell silent.
They had spent the entire afternoon in this apartment. They were both old enough to know the ways of the world, and they could tell that these two weren't sleeping together. But that was the couple's private matter; they weren't going to pry into that.
One thing at a time. Moving in together without giving them a heads-up, and concealing it on their own—that was what had made them furious.
But now that everything was out in the open, and there was a legitimate reason behind it, they suddenly didn't know what to say anymore.
The atmosphere was thick with tension.
Time ticked by, slowly.
After a long pause, Meng Xianwen spoke again. He was well aware that staying in a stalemate would only lead to a dead end, so he said, "Auntie, Xingheng's new project is about to be launched soon. Once I've gotten through this busy period, I'll focus on my treatment, and I'll move out. I won't cause any trouble for Zhenzhen."
"What?"
This time, it was Ning Zhen's turn to look at him in shock.
But he remained earnestly fixed on Ye Junlan and her husband. He was cold toward her, not even sparing her a glance.
With Meng Xianwen having said as much as he did, Ye Junlan's anger had cooled considerably.
She knew full well that if she kept hounding him about this, in the end, it would only be Zhenzhen stuck in the middle of it all—caught between a boyfriend with aftereffects from a car accident and her own parents...
What was the point?
But even so, she had to say her piece and lay down the law. Her tone became gentler. "Xianwen, before this, your uncle and I didn't know about your situation. But you know our family well enough. I only have this one daughter. I never expected her to be some great talent or achieve anything spectacular—"
Ning Zhen, listening closely, thought to herself: "?"
She blinked, a little tempted to argue—she thought she was plenty accomplished!
The conversation landed back on Ning Zhen, which gave Meng Xianwen the excuse to look at her openly. One second she was wilting like a frostbitten eggplant, drained of all energy; the next, her expression was lively again. A flicker of amusement crossed his eyes.
“As long as she stays healthy and happy, that’s all that matters. She’s been spirited since she was little, but she’s optimistic. I believe she’s not the type to get stuck in a rut, nor does she force things.” Ye Junlan looked deeply at Meng Xianwen. “Your uncle and I feel the same, understand?”
To have mutual love is indeed a rare kind of fate.
But fate can be long, or it can be short.
She just wanted Meng Xianwen to know that their family wasn’t set on forming a marital alliance with the Meng family—and their child was certainly not his for the taking just because he wanted her.
He must not, just because he was older, more experienced, rich and powerful, think he could have his way with Ning Zhen.
Meng Xianwen was silent for a moment, then nodded with a hint of solemnity. “I understand.”
“Alright, you young people can sort out your own affairs.”
Ye Junlan stood up and walked toward Ning Zhen. Both her expression and tone were far less courteous now. She shot her daughter a fierce glare. “If you keep hiding big things from us again, see what I do to you!”
Ning Hui trailed behind her. “She’s got her wings now—thinks she can fly to the sky!”
“Dad, stop adding fuel to the fire!” Ning Zhen had her own survival tactics. She could tell her parents had already let it go, so she seized the opportunity, slipped her hand out of Meng Xianwen’s, and went up to wrap her arms around her mother like a spoiled child.
Ye Junlan had kept a stern face, but with her daughter clinging to her so shamelessly, she finally let out a sincere smile.
After soothing her mother, Ning Zhen opened her arms to hug her father.
…
Downstairs.
Ning Zhen jogged a few steps behind a Toyota, waving as she watched her parents drive off. Then, as if she’d just survived a brush with death, she patted her chest in relief. Even she hadn’t expected to talk her way out of such a big mess.
She really did have some luck on her side.
Just as she was savoring her good fortune, a bland voice came from behind her: “If you’d confessed earlier, none of this would have happened.”
She rolled her eyes, spun around, and put on a different face, lying without a hint of a blush. “I was totally planning to tell you after your company’s project launch!”
Meng Xianwen’s gaze swept over her face. “Is that so?”
He didn’t buy a word of it.
How many honest words ever came out of that mouth of hers?
Before she could keep making excuses, he walked past her, brushing by her side without stopping, striding on ahead with an air of unhurried calm.
“Hey, where are you going?” Ning Zhen called after him.
He didn’t answer, walking forward as if he hadn’t heard.
Ning Zhen’s curiosity ran deep, and what he’d done today far exceeded her expectations—it was his strangeness that got to her. She bit her lip and quickened her pace to catch up. In the night, two sets of footsteps mixed together.
One steady, one brisk.
“Meng Xianwen, where are you going!” She finally caught up to him and leaned in to study his expression.
Naturally, she could read nothing from it. He was always inscrutable.
Only when they walked out of the neighborhood and crossed the street did Ning Zhen realize where he was headed—the park where they’d strolled before. She was slightly taken aback, a strange feeling washing over her once more.
The night was already deep, and a gentle breeze drifted by.
The vast park held only a few scattered pedestrians—spacious, quiet, serene.
With his good sense of direction, Meng Xianwen walked to the lakeside bench from last time and sat down.
“Didn’t you not want people to know about your injury and memory loss?” Ning Zhen sat beside him, asking hesitantly.
His expression was faint and unreadable: “How about you first demonstrate how you would have spun the lie in that situation?” He turned his head to look at her. “I could learn a thing or two from you, don’t you think?”
Ning Zhen: “...”
She knew he wouldn’t say anything nice. Trying to change the subject, she said, “Aren’t you worried my parents might let it slip?”
“No.”
He said those two words without a pause, his tone utterly assured.
A smile tugged at the corners of Ning Zhen’s lips.
Then, unhurriedly, he added, “Their daughter is in my hands. What is there to worry about?”
The smile on Ning Zhen’s lips froze. She glared at him in indignation. “You—!”
“Zhenzhen.” He turned to face her, meeting her eyes, his gaze deep and dark, as if carrying countless emotions. “Have you ever thought that what you thought was world-shaking news—in your parents’ eyes, the matter itself matters far less than the fact that you hid it from them.”
Ning Zhen’s breath hitched.
She met his inscrutable gaze without flinching, then blinked and flashed him a grin, covering her ears. “I’m not under my husband’s thumb, I’m not under my husband’s thumb, I’m not listening!”
Utterly unreasonable.
Meng Xianwen looked at her as the night breeze lifted strands of her hair, a faint, almost imperceptible smile surfacing on his face.
They sat on the bench for half an hour before leaving side by side.
After walking a stretch, Ning Zhen frowned slightly and looked down at the high heels on her feet. The shoes were pretty, but they were a pain to walk in. She cast a sideways glance at Meng Xianwen’s profile. “Darling, I can’t walk anymore. Carry me on your back.”
She was always making absurd demands with complete shamelessness.
Meng Xianwen ignored her entirely and kept walking calmly ahead.
Leaving Ning Zhen standing there—one walking, one stopped, and she fell behind a few steps.
Ning Zhen shook her fist at his back. A man like this alive was just wasting air. Did he really think that if he refused to carry her, she had no other options?
She wasn’t going to torture herself. Decisively, she unbuckled the straps and slipped off her high heels.
Meng Xianwen slowed his pace to wait for her.
Now free of restriction, barefoot Ning Zhen quickly caught up to him, as if challenging him to a race—she lifted her chin and passed him, triumphant and lighthearted.
Without the crisp clicking of her heels, Meng Xianwen’s gaze slowly traveled from her smooth hair down to her pale bare feet. He frowned at once, drew in a deep breath, and took a long stride forward, grabbing her wrist.
Under her defiant stare, he turned his broad back to her and spoke in a low tone: “Hop on.”
Ning Zhen beamed from ear to ear.
Afraid he might change his mind, she leapt lightly onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Off we go home!”
