"Zhenjie, you're so heartless."
At the dinner table, Meng Jiaran continued to cook the beef in the hot pot and complained, "You're never polite when ordering me around, but you never think of inviting me to dinner. If I hadn't been with Yuqing yesterday, I wouldn't have been able to snag this meal."
"So you know you're crashing the meal!" Ning Zhen retorted.
Meng Jiaran gave a snort of laughter. "But then again, why did you invite Yuqing to dinner?"
It was only then that he remembered this matter.
There was usually a reason for inviting someone to dinner. He had been too excited on the way here and hadn't bothered to ask.
Ning Zhen's eyebrows twitched, and she subconsciously looked at Song Yuqing.
Meng Xianwen's movement of drinking water paused slightly.
After Song Yuqing slowly finished chewing the food in her mouth, she smiled and said, "When I contacted Zhenzhen before and told her that I could take on the exclusive interview, she always wanted to invite me to dinner. But I was always busy, and our schedules didn't match, so I declined several times."
Although she didn't know why Ning Zhen was unhappy that day, she remembered what Ning Zhen had said.
Ning Zhen had said that she didn't want to talk about it.
Not wanting to talk about it meant not wanting anyone to know.
After a brief moment of stupefaction, Ning Zhen said with a beaming smile, "Yuqing, I'm really glad you could come today. Come, let's have a drink. I'm really, really grateful to you," she emphasized.
Song Yuqing met her gaze and laughed. "Okay."
Meng Jiaran also wanted to join in the fun. On the contrary, Meng Xianwen looked at Ning Zhen, whose face still had a faint flush.
She chatted with Song Yuqing and bickered with Meng Jiaran. When she got really excited, she kept gesturing with her hands. Accidentally, her finger knuckles touched the hot pot, and she let out a shocked cry from the burn.
Along with the searing pain, Ning Zhen frowned and got up, running towards the nearby kitchen. The cold water from the faucet rushed over her reddened knuckles, and she let out a breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall and straight figure approaching. His eyes were deep, and his gaze fell on her hand.
"Are you okay? Let me go and have a look!" Song Yuqing came to her senses, put down her chopsticks, and got up in a hurry. She wanted to go to the kitchen to check on Ning Zhen's situation.
Meng Jiaran wasn't a slow - witted person.
He had even lifted his butt off the chair, but when he saw his elder brother frowning tightly and striding towards the kitchen, he quickly sat back down.
Now seeing Yuqing about to follow, he reached out his hand to stop her and wanted to call her back, but he was a step too late. He watched as she walked to the kitchen door and suddenly stopped, looking like she was about to lose control of her "brakes". He slapped his forehead with his hand, looking utterly helpless.
Song Yuqing stood there stiffly, caught between a rock and a hard place.
She heard Ning Zhen mumbling softly that it hurt.
She saw Meng Xianwen pull Ning Zhen's hand up and blow on it, scolding her to be more careful next time.
An awkward look flashed across Song Yuqing's face. She felt that she shouldn't be here. After realizing this, she took two steps back straight away, then turned around and went back to the dinner table, sitting down as if nothing had happened.
Meng Jiaran propped his face up with one hand and looked at her with pity. "Why couldn't I stop you?"
"..." Song Yuqing said weakly, "I'll definitely be more careful next time."
Meng Jiaran tried to hold back his laughter.
He initially tried to endure it, but her expression was so cute that he turned his head and let out a muffled laugh.
Song Yuqing broke her composure and glared at him. "Stop laughing."
As the two of them were chatting back and forth, Ning Zhen was being led out of the kitchen by Meng Xianwen. Meeting the two pairs of eyes that were looking directly at her, she smiled carelessly. "It's okay, it's not a big deal. I'm going to apply some medicine. You guys keep eating!"
Meng Jiaran and Song Yuqing both said okay in unison, then fell silent in tacit understanding. One became the barbecue master, and the other buried their head in eating.
The first - aid kit was in the second bedroom. If it weren't for Meng Xianwen moving in, Ning Zhen wouldn't have had such a thing at home. He held her hand and used a cotton swab to apply the medicine to the reddened area. The gel was cool, and her finger trembled slightly.
Meng Xianwen paused and looked up at her. "Bear with it. It'll be over soon."
"Okay." The corners of her lips curled up slightly. She was unusually well - behaved and cooperative, but still couldn't help retorting, "I'm not that afraid of pain."
"Really?"
When he was throwing the cotton swab into the trash can, the distance between them suddenly closed. Their eyes met, and the faint smell of the ointment spread. Time seemed to stand still at this moment, and they both saw their own reflections in each other's eyes.
Ning Zhen's breath caught in her throat. Seemingly calm, only she knew that she was hiding her panic. "Let's go out now that the medicine is applied. They're still out there."
At the dinner table, Song Yuqing and Meng Jiaran were chatting in a low voice about what had happened at the bar last night.
Suddenly, Ning Zhen rushed out and plopped down into her seat, with a strange expression on her face, her complexion alternating between red and pale.
Meng Jiaran glanced at her a few times and was completely convinced. He winked at Song Yuqing and took the opportunity to complain. Now do you know what kind of difficult situation I'm living in?
He could instantly guess what good things his elder brother and Zhenzhen had done in the room.
These two people acted as if no one else was around and were really capable of making everyone a part of their little world.
Song Yuqing quickly bit her lower lip and lowered her eyelids to hide her smile.
She was laughing because Meng Jiaran's expression was so vivid and funny.
"Are you okay?"
Finally, Meng Jiaran showed concern for Ning Zhen's hand. Seeing that the burned area was only slightly red, he laughed and brought up an old incident. "Hey, Zhenzhen, do you still remember when we were kids learning to ride a bike? We fell and our knees were bleeding. We were both crying loudly downstairs, and then—"
At this time, Meng Xianwen also came out of the second bedroom with a straight face and returned to the dinner table.
The topic was interrupted for a few seconds, and the atmosphere felt a bit strange. After a moment of thought, Song Yuqing asked, "Then what happened?"
Meng Jiaran shrugged and pointed at Meng Xianwen, who looked calm. "Then my elder brother opened the window and warned us that if anyone cried again, he'd deal with us."
Ning Zhen was also reminded of the memory and looked at Meng Xianwen.
Now that she thought about it, maybe it was from that time that she started to be afraid of him. In the years that followed, she always tried to avoid him when she saw him. If she couldn't avoid him, she'd pretend to be well - behaved.
Song Yuqing was surprised. "Really?"
In her impression, Meng Xianwen always seemed unhurried and was gentle, proper, and considerate to everyone.
"I can testify. It's true!" Ning Zhen said firmly and took the opportunity to accuse him. "He was so fierce—"
Before she could even start her long - winded complaint against him, he calmly interrupted her. "I was about to go abroad to study at that time. Do you think I was in a good mood?"
Meng Xianwen looked at Ning Zhen as if he was only explaining to her.
"So you took your anger out on two cute kids just because you were in a bad mood," she said, her eyes smiling but her tone full of sarcasm. "How mature of you!"
"Cute?" He let out a soft laugh. "No one thought you were cute."
A six - or seven - year - old little boy was already quite annoying, and adding a chatty little girl to the mix, with their continuous noise, it was just too much.
For a long time, he had wanted to throw them all out.
Meng Jiaran was eating the beef that Song Yuqing had grilled for him. He felt so happy that on a whim, he blurted out in agreement, "Right, right, right. Zhenzhen, have you forgotten? Grandpa took out two hundred yuan to make us have a competition. Whoever spoke first would lose, and the winner would get the money. Hahaha, I always won."
"Shut up!"
The veins on Ning Zhen's temples were throbbing. She wanted to strangle Meng Jiaran.
He always held her back regardless of the occasion!
Even that time when they fell off the bicycles, it was because he was so bad at riding that he couldn't control the direction and crashed into her, and they ended up falling together.
At this moment, Meng Jiaran was feeling so good that he was fearless. He brought the topic back up again, "I mentioned this just to say that being in a relationship really makes a difference. Brother has changed so much. Look, it was just a minor burn. I bet it'll be okay in less than an hour, but Brother was so nervous. Hahaha."
"Shut up."
This time, it was Meng Xianwen who had reached his limit.
"Brother..."
There were only four people at the table, and two of them told him to shut up. Meng Jiaran was quite helpless.
Ning Zhen and Meng Xianwen were on the same side for the moment, and neither of them gave this troublemaker a good look.
Song Yuqing, the real on - looker of this drama, picked up her glass and took a sip of red wine. She was struggling hard not to laugh.
After the meal.
The sun was shining brightly outside. Ning Zhen pulled the curtains in the living room and told Meng Jiaran to move the coffee table away. Then the three of them were raring to play cards. Of course, Meng Xianwen had no part in it. He had no interest in such child - like entertainment. He went into the study to deal with work.
During the break, Ning Zhen got up and went to the kitchen to wash the fruits. She cut them into two fruit platters. She carried the one that looked less presentable towards the study. She peeked inside and met Meng Xianwen's inquisitive gaze.
"I'm coming in."
"Close the door," he said, rubbing his forehead. "It's very noisy outside."
Ning Zhen gave him a disdainful look.
His attitude of acting like the master of the house and complaining about the guests being noisy was really shameless.
Not to mention that one of the people outside was his younger brother and the other was his future sister - in - law. If this got out, he'd instantly get a comment saying that the wealthy family was full of intrigue, with only interests and no family affection, which would be really heart - breaking.
Although she was grumbling in her heart, she still closed the door behind her and complained, "Can you tone it down a bit? It's as if you've written 'When will these two leave?' on your face."
Meng Xianwen thought for a few seconds and said, "I've already toned it down. Isn't it only you who noticed?"
What he meant was that if the other two had noticed, they would have left long ago.
Ning Zhen was stunned.
Then she thought about it, and he was right. Meng Jiaran was okay, anyway, he was at the bottom of the Meng family's food chain. But Song Yuqing was different. She was delicate - minded and knew how to behave appropriately. If she had noticed something, she would have found an excuse to leave after lunch instead of staying to play cards with such enthusiasm.
So...
Was it really only her who noticed?
Had she unknowingly understood him so well and so deeply?
Aaaaaaaah!
She suddenly felt a tingling sensation on her scalp. She didn't want to talk to him anymore and turned around to leave.
Meng Xianwen at the desk, contrary to his usual self, was in a leisurely mood to watch her flee in a hurry. He even picked up a blueberry and chewed it slowly.
The stinging sensation on his tongue actually made the blueberry taste sweeter.
-
The sun was setting.
Ning Zhen was reluctant to end the card game. She had really been lucky today. Although she had burned her finger, she had completely defeated Song Yuqing and Meng Jiaran. In the small group they had temporarily set up, she had received so many red envelopes that her hands were full.
"It's still early..." she tried to protest. "Let's play a few more rounds."
Meng Jiaran twitched the corner of his mouth. He repeatedly told Meng Xianwen, who had just come out of the study, "Brother, she has very weak willpower. Be careful that one day someone might coax her to Las Vegas and empty your treasury."
After spending an afternoon together, Song Yuqing was gradually relaxing in this unfamiliar place. Hearing this, she couldn't stop laughing.
Ning Zhen was annoyed. "Hey!"
"Looks like you lost," Meng Xianwen said to his younger brother, looking as if he knew everything.
Ning Zhen immediately beamed with joy. "Yes, the loser is here, showing his impotent rage."
Meng Jiaran could only look at Song Yuqing with disappointment.
It was supposed to be a two - on - two situation, but she just watched from the side and didn't help him.
Song Yuqing received his look but shifted her gaze away, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Fine, fine, I can't argue with you guys," Meng Jiaran surrendered, looking at his watch. He suggested, "We've been at home all day. It's time to go out and get some fresh air. I've booked a table at a restaurant. Let's go there for dinner."
Ning Zhen gave him a sideways look.
What did he mean by "at home"? Did he have the same problem as his brother? This was her home, hers!
Only Ning Zhen's name was on the house deed.
There was no Meng Xianwen!
She was very vengeful. Whether she would empty Meng Xianwen's treasury in the future was another matter. Before that, she was going to eat Meng Jiaran out of house and home. "Let's go!"
Meng Xianwen wasn't very enthusiastic, but he still went out.
As soon as they got downstairs, Ning Zhen and Meng Xianwen fell silent for a few seconds. Meng Jiaran's sports car only had two seats. He only had eyes for his sweetheart. He opened the passenger door for Song Yuqing in an attentive and gentlemanly way. Then he got in the car and waved to his brother and sister - in - law. "Brother, Zhenzhen, follow me!"
"……"
"……"
A few minutes later, a flashy Ferrari was followed by a pink Audi as they drove out of the community.
The sky was filled with a beautiful sunset outside the car window.
At first, Ning Zhen was in the mood to enjoy the afterglow of the setting sun. But then she vaguely felt that the route was wrong, and she had a bad feeling. And the message that popped up on her phone screen confirmed her suspicion.
Song Yuqing: [Zhenzhen, it seems that Jiaran booked a table at Nebula Restaurant.]
