In the silence of the night, a bang startled the motion-sensor light in the hallway into turning on. After the door closed, it soon went out again.
Ning Zhen stumbled into the apartment in his arms.
She struggled to tilt her head back and endure Meng Xianwen’s passionate kiss. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and she accidentally touched a button on her phone. The video started playing again. In the dimly lit room, the flickering screen cast shifting light across the walls, while her words about how hard her boyfriend had been working overtime became the background soundtrack.
After a brief pause, he kissed her even more deeply and forcefully.
It was almost as if he meant to steal every bit of oxygen from her.
Ning Zhen could barely withstand a kiss that felt as though he might crush her into his body. Even the root of her tongue had gone numb.
She reached out to push against his shoulder, wanting him to slow down and take a breather, but he seized her hand and pinned it against the wall. Alcohol did not dull his emotions. This moment had come with such ferocity—the muffled gasps and hurried breaths all carried a surging, overwhelming desire.
“Mmm—mmph—”
Ning Zhen felt the taste of rust spread across the tip of her tongue.
She didn’t know whether it was his blood or hers—or both. They had become indistinguishable.
This was the first time he had been so rough, with no sense of restraint. She could clearly feel that he was truly drunk. Although he still looked fairly lucid, he seemed to have become another person—perhaps the most genuine version of himself.
Perhaps sensing her struggle and the pain she was in, his reason returned.
What was he doing? What exactly was he trying to do?
The kiss gradually softened. Meng Xianwen slowly released her, resting the bridge of his high nose against the side of her neck as he drew a deep breath, suppressing some powerful emotion.
Ning Zhen leaned against him, lifting a hand to touch her slightly swollen lips. They still stung a little.
The kiss had been thrilling, as if it had reached down and kissed her very soul. But thrilling was one thing—she still wanted to scold him. Yet when she opened her mouth, her voice came out soft and limp, almost like a pout.
“Did you do that on purpose? I still have to work tomorrow!”
Going to work with a split lip would be bad enough if she were single. But this would practically be announcing to everyone that she had a boyfriend who had bitten her.
In the dim room, Meng Xianwen’s phone screen lit up.
There was no vibration or ringtone.
Ning Zhen’s attention was instantly drawn to it. She muttered, “Why did you put your phone on silent? You didn’t even answer when I called. You nearly scared me to death.”
“My dad was sleeping in the car,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to wake him.”
“Was that Lu Yuan calling so late?”
Meng Xianwen didn’t answer. His head was buzzing. After releasing her, he dragged over a chair and sat down at the dining table, only to notice a palm-sized cake sitting there. The cream had been spread unevenly, as though it had been made by a beginner, and a smiling face had been drawn on top.
He fell silent.
Ning Zhen had specially bought a beautiful box of matches and some candles. She sat down across from him. When she saw him staring fixedly at the cake, his phone screen still lit up, she hurriedly reminded him, “Are you zoning out? Why aren’t you answering?”
She muttered that it was already past midnight, yet Lu Yuan still hadn’t gone to sleep. He was such a workaholic.
“Mm.”
Meng Xianwen answered the call just before it disconnected automatically.
“It’s me.”
He stayed on the phone, but his eyes remained fixed on Ning Zhen.
Ning Zhen had long since grown accustomed to his gaze. She glanced at him and smiled. Her lips were still red, and a few strands of hair had fallen against her cheek. She inserted the number candles—seven and six—into the cake, happiness radiating from her entire being.
On the other end, Lu Yuan had no time for small talk. Nervously, he fired off several questions in a row. “Is the message you sent real or not? What do you mean by ‘signs of recovering your memory’? Are you saying you’ve remembered some of the things you forgot?”
Scratch.
The match flared to life, illuminating Ning Zhen’s bright, smiling face.
Afraid she might burn herself, she wasted no time lighting the candles. Then she looked at Meng Xianwen with a smile and pointed at the cake, silently mouthing, “I made it. Isn’t it great?”
“Hello?” Lu Yuan called out.
Meng Xianwen’s eyes shifted slightly. His voice remained calm. “More or less.”
Lu Yuan was overjoyed. “That’s wonderful! I knew it. So where are you now? At Zhenzhen’s place, right? I’ll come over—”
“No need.”
His voice turned deep. “Look at the time. Do you really think that’s appropriate? I’ll go find you tomorrow. We’ll discuss everything in person.”
Lu Yuan was completely convinced by him.
Appropriate or not—was there anything more important than Meng Xianwen recovering his memory? Don’t tell him it was sleep.
“Fine, fine, fine!” Lu Yuan could only agree, reminding him repeatedly, “If you don’t come find me tomorrow, I’ll come find you myself. Don’t put this off again.”
“Mm.”
After Meng Xianwen ended the call, Ning Zhen immediately urged him, “Quick, quick, quick! Blow out the candles. You don’t need to make a wish—I’ve already made one for you in my heart. Something like wishing you peace, safety, and a long life.”
Meng Xianwen looked deeply at her.
She had installed a switch in him. A few seconds later, he blew out the candles.
Ning Zhen cheered and got up to turn on the dining-room light. The apartment instantly brightened. She was completely immersed in the surprise she had prepared. She didn’t know whether Meng Xianwen was touched, but she had moved herself. The feeling made her lightheaded and full, as though she were overflowing with happiness.
An unprecedented joy surrounded her.
She cut two pieces of cake, handing one to him.
“Try it.” Her eyes and brows were full of laughter. “I followed the instructions exactly. It’s made with real ingredients.”
Her gaze shifted to the bottle of red wine on the table.
“Don’t drink any more. I can see your tolerance isn’t very good. Anyway, brush your teeth and go to sleep after you finish. I still have to work tomorrow!”
Meng Xianwen seemed to be moving on instinct, as though his body were controlling his consciousness. He accepted the fork she offered and silently took a bite of cake.
His lips and tongue were still filled with her taste, so he couldn’t tell how sweet the cake actually was.
“Oh, right. What did Lu Yuan want with you?” Ning Zhen asked curiously.
“Something work-related.”
The moment Ning Zhen heard it involved work, she immediately lost interest.
The Lu family’s businesses extended beyond hospitals into various other fields, some of which overlapped with Hengxing Group’s. Lu Yuan did occasionally call Meng Xianwen in the middle of the night to discuss certain matters. Ning Zhen was always complaining that the three childhood friends had given up sleep—and had somehow decided that none of them needed to sleep anymore.
…
The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped.
Meng Xianwen emerged wrapped in a cold, sharp presence, all traces of alcohol washed away. He slowly came to a stop outside the master bedroom, but did not push open the door. Standing in the shadows, his expression was unreadable.
This was absurd.
It was laughable.
He was the one with the obvious weakness of having lost his memory. He had no reason to blame her for deceiving him. There was no need, because their agreement had never included honesty as a requirement or condition.
What Meng Xianwen ought to do now was tell her that he had recovered his memory. Since the agreement had not yet reached its one-year term, everything would continue as before.
And “as before” meant returning to the relationship they had shared before he lost his memory.
That was what Meng Xianwen should do.
But…
His hand settled on the doorknob, and he pressed down gently.
Unlike the complete darkness outside, a small night-light had been left on inside the bedroom. Its hazy glow filled the room. The curtains over the bay window were drawn, and a faint, delicate fragrance lingered in the air.
For a few brief seconds, he was dazed.
The person on the bed had already succumbed to sleep, her breathing light and even.
After Meng Xianwen closed the door, he walked over to the bed. He gazed at her sleeping face for a moment before lying down beside her. His eyes remained fixed on her, eventually settling on her bitten lips, as though they had lured him in. He reached out and slowly stroked them with his thumb.
“What are you doing?” Ning Zhen opened her sleepy eyes and met his gaze. The corners of her lips curved up, her voice lazy and languid. “Stop fooling around. Not tonight. I’m exhausted.”
So comfortable.
The room was cool and dry, the blankets soft, and lying in bed with him made her feel content and safe.
She was drifting off again when she mumbled, “You must’ve had a great time today. Actually, I prepared another present, but it’s too late now… Good night.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a kiss landed on her forehead. She let out a muffled laugh, burrowed into his arms, found a comfortable position, and fell asleep in bliss.
A long while later.
Once Ning Zhen was completely asleep, Meng Xianwen got out of bed and left the master bedroom. He had intended to get a bottle of water from the refrigerator to ease the restlessness inside him.
But he suddenly stopped.
Changing direction, he entered the study and stared thoughtfully at the safe. The gift she had prepared was probably inside. After a moment’s thought, he tried entering six digits.
Beep beep beep. Open.
His expression said, “Just as I thought.” Her overly obvious little scheme amused him, and he let out a quiet laugh. The boxes that had once held the brooch and watch had been moved elsewhere. Only a long, dark-colored box remained.
Inside was a fountain pen.
It was almost identical to the one he kept in his office for signing documents. The only difference was the two characters engraved on it—so subtle they would go unnoticed without careful observation:
[Really]
—
The next morning.
Ning Zhen dragged herself out of bed with an utterly defeated expression. When she found no one beside her, she pursed her lips. Could this jerk really have evolved overnight?
He had gone to bed later than she had, yet he had still gotten up this early. That simply wasn’t scientifically possible. Stretching, she walked out of the bedroom.
Meng Xianwen was sitting at the dining table, leisurely drinking tea. His gaze followed her all the way into the bathroom and only withdrew after the door closed. He calmly opened the lid of her cup, looking neither hungover nor tired from staying up late. He was composed and unruffled from head to toe.
Once sober, he had swiftly returned to his usual calm rationality.
“Xiaoding isn’t here yet, right?” After washing up, Ning Zhen sat across from him without even removing her headband. She took a sip of soy milk and raised her eyes to look at him. “I remember you told him to come later.”
“He worked hard yesterday too.”
Meng Xianwen set down his teacup and smiled faintly. “Besides, it’s going to rain today. I’ll drive you to work.”
Ning Zhen still had a bagel in her mouth. She opened the weather app. The forecast clearly showed that today would be overcast before turning rainy. It would rain, but not until noon. She held out her phone and raised her eyebrows, signaling for him to take a good look and see whether it was raining outside.
When it came to valuing his life, Meng Xianwen ranked first. No one ranked second.
Now he had dragged her into his caution as well, being careful about everything.
Meng Xianwen took the phone. He wasn’t interested in the weather. Instead, he exited the app and began operating the screen intently. Ning Zhen was puzzled. Neither of them had a habit of checking the other’s phone. She considered his phone too boring to bother with, while he was too busy—and too disdainful—to look at hers.
So what was he doing now?
Curious, she came around to his side. Before she had even fully reached him, his long arm swept around her and pulled her onto his lap.
He made no attempt to hide what he wanted to do.
Right in front of her, he enabled location sharing on her phone for himself.
Ning Zhen stared at him in disbelief. “You—”
He tilted his head, indicating that she should enable location sharing on his phone as well. His tone was matter-of-fact as he explained, “Weren’t you so worried about me last night that you couldn’t sleep? Don’t worry. Something like that won’t happen again. If you can’t reach me in the future, you can check where I am whenever you want.” He paused, then pressed his thin lips to her ear. “…And I can do the same.”
The warmth of his breath tickled her, and Ning Zhen giggled as she dodged away.
He seemed to take that as encouragement. Holding her waist tightly with both arms, he rubbed his chin against her ear and then her neck, teasing her until she laughed nonstop.
“Hahaha, that tickles! Go away!”
They finished breakfast in a clingy, affectionate tangle.
Since Meng Xianwen wasn’t in a hurry for once, Ning Zhen didn’t want to leave at eight either. Excitedly, she dragged him to the study and patted the safe.
“I had this planned as part of last night’s program, but you came home too late, so I had to move it to this morning. Now it’s my turn to give you a challenge. You get three chances to guess the password. If you get it wrong, I’ll put it up for sale on Xianyu!”
She gazed at him expectantly, urging him with her eyes to enter the password.
Leaning against the safe door, Meng Xianwen remained silent for a few seconds. He seemed rather uninterested and entered the default 123456 with obvious halfheartedness.
Incorrect.
Ning Zhen finally had an opportunity to make fun of him, and she didn’t hold back at all. With a snort, she said, “Did you think I’d be as lazy as you and not change the password?”
“Keep going, keep going. Take it seriously!”
So this was how good it felt to set someone a challenge and test whether they truly understood you.
Ning Zhen immediately empathized with him. She felt even more justified about the brooch and watch she had obtained from him. She had earned those with her own ability!
Meng Xianwen glanced at her and entered another password.
This time, it was her birthday.
Incorrect again.
Ning Zhen let out a long sigh. Should she be angry? At least he remembered her birthday. Should she be happy? Wasn’t that the bare minimum for a boyfriend? How had he had the nerve to say that he understood her fairly well that night?
He didn’t understand her as deeply as she understood him.
Calling it disappointment or dejection would be too serious.
But because she felt the scales were slightly unbalanced, she was still a tiny bit—so tiny it barely counted—depressed.
“This is your last chance.” She planted her hands on her hips in warning. “If you get it wrong, I’ll put it on Xianyu. Of course, I’m much kinder than you are, so I can give you a hint. Ah—”
Before she could finish, he pulled her in front of him and caught her hand. His dry palm guided her fingertips toward the keypad. She hurriedly turned her head to look at him. Noticing her gaze, he bent slightly and leaned close to the side of her face.
“Zhenzhen, concentrate,” he said evenly.
He entered the six digits very slowly.
It was as though he wanted her to see, bit by bit, just how well he understood her.
Beep beep beep. Correct.
It was the Qixi Festival coming up the following month.
Ning Zhen had never been the type to give without expecting anything in return. She wanted every ounce of what she gave to be repaid tenfold. That was what she considered sufficient proof of love—that she was being kept in someone’s heart.
The sincerity behind the surprise she had prepared for him was real, but when she bought the gift, she had also wanted something in return.
Her birthday? That was still several months away. How could she wait that long? She absolutely couldn’t!
After thinking it over, she had settled on the Qixi Festival. She was definitely going to celebrate it, and she wanted her boyfriend to remember it and give her a present—not one she bought by using his card, but one he went out and purchased himself.
The safe door swung open.
Ning Zhen’s fingers trembled slightly, and her heart gave a little jump. She stepped backward, only to sink into his embrace as he hugged her from behind.
—
There was no rain during the morning rush, so the roads were much less congested. Ning Zhen sat in the passenger seat, taking the fountain pen out of its box from time to time to admire it. Her gaze drifted from the nib to Meng Xianwen’s profile. He was focused on driving, his expression calm and composed.
She still couldn’t hide her amazement.
After the initial surprise, sweetness bloomed in the depths of her heart. But then she thought about it and decided it was only to be expected. He slept beside her every night; he was the person most familiar with her body, so naturally he should be familiar with her heart as well.
Otherwise, he’d be a scumbag the heavens ought to take away!
“What does the engraving mean?” Meng Xianwen asked casually while waiting at a red light, as though he had only just remembered it.
“Really,” Ning Zhen said, turning toward him in an excellent mood, her voice light and buoyant. “The ‘Zhen’ in my name. It means ‘true,’ and it belongs to me. There was supposed to be a suffix too, but I haven’t thought of a suitable one yet. My relationship with my parents will never change, so when I give gifts, I engrave them with ‘Zhenzhen’s Dad’ or ‘Zhenzhen’s Mom’…”
“Other than that, most relationships are fluid,” she said. “That’s what my grandmother told me.”
She had always remembered those words.
It had happened when she was in elementary school. She had forgotten what had caused her to fall out with the deskmate she had been close to, but the two of them had ended their friendship. When her grandparents came to pick her up, she had tried to hold it in at first. Now that she was older, she realized that adults could see through a child’s emotions at a glance. Her grandmother had known that she was unhappy, that she was holding back her tears.
On the way home, after her grandmother asked her what was wrong and showed concern, she burst into tears.
Once her grandmother understood what had happened, she comforted her. After Ning Zhen had cheered up again, her grandmother told her that relationships were not set in stone. Two people could be close friends today and grow distant tomorrow. That was simply how relationships between people worked. What mattered was that she could make her own choices.
“How are they fluid?” he asked in a low voice.
Ning Zhen thought, Isn’t that obvious?
There were only two possible endings for a romantic relationship: either they got married, or they went their separate ways.
“If I engrave ‘Ning Zhen’s boyfriend’ on it now…” She winked at him and delivered a half-serious, half-playful line of sweet talk. “Then if you become my true husband in the future, wouldn’t that mean the engraving hadn’t kept up with the change in status?”
Meng Xianwen quietly savored the meaning hidden beneath her nonsense and suddenly laughed in exasperation.
She really did take things in stride and see them clearly.
It was as though she was prepared to walk away at any moment. But had she ever asked whether he would agree to that?
“What are you laughing at?” Seeing the strange look on his face, she asked warily.
The light turned green. Meng Xianwen pressed down on the accelerator, his expression calm, with the faintest hint of a smile. “I’m laughing because you’re overthinking things.”
“Hey!”
Ning Zhen folded her arms and glared at him angrily. Even though she had no intention of marrying him right now and had only been saying it for fun, he had actually told her not to overthink things?
Maybe she had been too kind and gentle to him lately!
She wanted to bicker with him for a while, but since he was driving, she let it go. There was another reason, too: instinct told her that this topic was dangerous, and she subconsciously wanted to avoid it.
Meng Xianwen dropped Ning Zhen off downstairs at Shengdu. After watching her go inside with her colleagues, he started the car again, merged into traffic, and headed for Lanting.
…
“You’re really strange. Why didn’t you make an appointment at the hospital and come here instead?”
Lu Yuan handed Meng Xianwen a cup of warm water and leaned against the kitchen island, studying his expression with amusement. He naturally noticed the tiny wound at the corner of Meng Xianwen’s lips and teased, “You two finished showing off online, and now you’re doing it in person? Do you really not see your buddy as a human being?”
“An accident.” Meng Xianwen raised a hand and touched the corner of his mouth, neither confirming nor denying it. “You could just not look.”
“Get lost. Fine, let’s talk business.” Lu Yuan took a sip of coffee and grew serious. “You can trust my medical team. They’re all experts in neurology, and we can begin treatment at any time. You said you remembered some things. How much did you remember?”
“Nothing important.”
“…All right, that’s a good sign.” Lu Yuan rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Then starting today, we’ll implement the treatment plan.”
“No need. Thank you.”
“What did you say?”
Meng Xianwen set down his cup and slowly walked toward the glass balcony. Lu Yuan hurried after him, abandoning his coffee. “Wait. What do you mean? The project has already launched. What other reason could you possibly have for fooling around? Tell me!”
“Lu Yuan.” Meng Xianwen gazed deeply at the lake in the distance, his voice gentle and unhurried. “I’m very satisfied with my life right now. I won’t allow anything to change it. Even if I never recover my memories for the rest of my life, it doesn’t really matter.”
“What are you talking about? Recovering your memories won’t affect your life.”
Lu Yuan was completely baffled. He gritted his teeth. “Last time, you made me lie to Auntie Xiao, Uncle Meng, and Zhenzhen along with you. I still haven’t gotten over it! No, I’m going to do everything I can to turn those lies into the truth. You have to follow my arrangements!”
“I can’t.” Meng Xianwen glanced at his childhood friend and smiled helplessly. “You’ve been worrying about me and going to a lot of trouble these past few days. I appreciate it, but I have my reasons.”
Lu Yuan was so frustrated he was speechless.
He had finally come to his senses. At this point, there really was nothing he could do about Meng Xianwen!
Because he had realized that everyone in the world who could control Meng Xianwen had already been tricked by him the last time. If he called those people now and asked them to persuade Meng Xianwen to accept treatment, they would only be confused and turn around to question him:
Hadn’t they issued so many reports and confidently announced that Meng Xianwen was cured?
He immediately cursed under his breath, “You’re really insane!”
An inscrutable smile appeared on Meng Xianwen’s face. “What else would I be?”
If he weren’t insane, would he have made such an absurd and ridiculous decision?
Lu Yuan: “…”
—
Hengxing Group.
The employees on the twenty-third floor were all wearing long-awaited smiles of happiness and relief. The project launch had been a success, and the immense pressure hanging over them had vanished. Several core employees had not even come to work that day, choosing instead to sleep at home until noon.
Meng Jiaran emerged from the elevator, yawning nonstop.
He had always been carefree. Going by his usual style, after drinking himself senseless the night before, he could either come to work or stay home—and naturally, he would have chosen to stay home. But he had gritted his teeth, washed up, eaten breakfast in the car, and had his driver bring him to the company.
What those young talents and rising stars could do, he could do too!
“Assistant Xu, you came in today too?”
Meng Jiaran turned into the office and saw Xu Lai organizing documents. He thought he was still drunk and had mistaken someone else for him.
“You’ve been working overtime so much lately. Now that things are finally over, you should be resting at home today. Don’t push yourself so hard.”
Xu Lai turned around and called him “Young Mr. Meng” before explaining gently, “I’m taking leave starting next Monday. There are some important matters that require President Meng’s confirmation, so I need to come in today to brief him.”
“What are these?”
Xu Lai had organized a stack of papers. Meng Jiaran noticed an envelope among them and reached out curiously to take it. Xu Lai placed a hand over it without making a fuss and covered it with a newspaper, smiling faintly.
“Nothing important. It’s a private letter for President Meng. The employee who received it probably thought it was unimportant and put it in with the bank mail. It’s been sitting there for several days. I only just sorted it out and was about to deliver it to President Meng’s office.”
“People still write letters these days?”
“Of course they do.” Xu Lai lowered his eyes, his voice dropping slightly. “Perhaps they’re more formal and sincere than WeChat messages or phone calls.”
Meng Jiaran didn’t quite understand. He shrugged. “By the way, is my brother here?”
“Not yet. I just confirmed the schedule with Mr. Meng. He’s on his way to the company and should be here soon.”
“So I arrived even earlier than he did today?”
Meng Jiaran was immensely pleased with himself.
He felt he had taken another step forward on the path to becoming a young man of promise.
He lifted his eyes and looked Xu Lai over. He couldn’t help wondering if Assistant Xu fit people’s image of a promising young man better than he did. His interest was piqued, and he was just about to ask Xu Lai for some advice when Assistant Wang came in, still sucking on a supplement drink for his health.
“Assistant Xu, Mr. Meng is here. He just went into his office.”
Xu Lai’s smile faded slightly. “Got it.”
He stopped chatting with Meng Jiaran, picked up a stack of documents, and knocked on the door as usual. Once inside, he stood in front of the desk and first reported on business matters before bringing up the personal matter at the end.
“Mr. Meng, this also needs your signature.” He handed over a berthing agreement. “All the paperwork and certificates for the yacht we purchased have been completed. Once the berthing agreement is signed, it can be moored at the designated berth immediately.”
-----------------------
