“This must have been during my sophomore year…”
Ning Zhen began, slipping into a moment of reminiscence.
She and Xu Lai had both been students at Beicheng University. Technically, though, he was a first-year graduate student while she was a sophomore, and they weren’t even in the same department. If not for that campus secondhand sale, they probably would never have crossed paths.
After they got acquainted, whenever she ran into him on or off campus, she would always take the initiative to greet him.
He was either alone or with his roommate every time.
Eventually, something miraculous happened. After his roommate and hers bumped into each other a few times, they hit it off and started a shamelessly sweet romance. Shocked but delighted, Ning Zhen immediately took advantage of the situation and made the couple treat her and Xu Lai to a lavish meal.
That day, she happened to overhear him talking to his family outside and learned by accident that it was his birthday.
He was a quiet, composed man. Yet at the dinner table, he didn’t mention it even once.
Given the boundaries she maintained in her relationships now, the twenty-three-year-old Ning Zhen would never secretly order a cake for a senior she wasn’t particularly close to.
But when she was still under twenty, she viewed everything from her own perspective—she was more willful and acted more on impulse.
She thought, How could anyone celebrate a birthday without a cake?
How could anyone not make a wish and blow out the candles?
She and her roommate excitedly whispered to each other over their phones. The four people at the table secretly ordered an expedited birthday cake and planned a surprise for him.
After dinner, she pretended to “blackmail” his roommate into treating them to karaoke. Halfway through, she slipped out to pick up the cake. When she returned to the private room, she shouted, “Happy birthday, Senior!”
“Senior was so embarrassed that day—completely mortified. He was totally stunned.” Nestled in Meng Xianwen’s arms, Ning Zhen gave a soft laugh. “I suspected he wanted to strangle us, but you know what he’s like. Even though he was unbearably awkward, he kept thanking us. Thinking back, I probably overstepped a little. Hahaha.”
“Mmm.”
Meng Xianwen kissed the crown of her head. “Anyone else would’ve strangled you.”
“You mean you?”
Ning Zhen fired back without mercy. “Don’t worry, you definitely won’t run into something like that. You’re nowhere near as popular as I am!”
“Keep going.”
Meng Xianwen didn’t want to continue discussing Xu Lai, so he urged her to flip through the photos.
They had been looking at that photo he disliked for far too long.
Ning Zhen couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She swiped her finger across the screen and continued showing him the happy memories from her university days.
She was so absorbed in her recollections that she didn’t notice Meng Xianwen’s distraction until she cried out in pain. “You pulled my hair!”
She turned around and glared at him.
At last, he came back to himself. The hand around the back of her neck tightened slightly as he asked in an offhand tone a question he shouldn’t have asked.
“Didn’t you ever think about dating in college?”
Ning Zhen instinctively sensed danger in the question.
Naturally, she wasn’t about to answer him directly. Instead, she countered, “What about you?”
“You think I had as much free time as you?”
Why was he attacking her again?
Ning Zhen was speechless. “Who said I had free time?”
You had time to celebrate someone else’s birthday.
The thought sprang into Meng Xianwen’s mind, and his brows immediately drew together. He felt an unpleasant sense of offense.
He could accept losing control where Ning Zhen was concerned, but that loss of control should exist only within their relationship. It had no business involving anyone else.
He couldn’t—and wouldn’t—allow a third person to be dragged into it.
Especially when that person was his executive assistant.
“Who said that?” Meng Xianwen tipped his chin toward the phone, his eyes now calm as they settled on the screen. “The photos you can never seem to finish scrolling through did.”
“…”
Ning Zhen wanted to strangle him.
Before, she had only thought about it. Now she actually dared to act. She shoved him away, and fortunately, the sofa was wide enough for her to straddle him. She clawed at him and pinched him with both hands, huffing indignantly.
“And you still say I have too much free time? You’re the one asking whether I ever thought about dating in college. Ha! If I’d dated someone else, would there even be anything left for you now—”
Before she could finish all the self-congratulatory nonsense, he tightened his arms around her. His thin lips pressed against the side of her neck, covering it with a trail of soft, lingering kisses, interspersed with gentle bites and sucking.
The sting was entirely bearable.
His kisses drifted slowly from her neck down to her collarbone. Through the thin fabric of her clothes, he captured the frantic beat of her heart between his lips.
By the time her breathing had quickened and her body had gone soft, Meng Xianwen lifted her steadily from the sofa.
She let out a startled cry and instinctively tightened her legs around his waist. She was just about to complain when she met his deep gaze and understood at once.
Burying her face in his shoulder, she laughed under her breath.
He carried her toward the master bedroom.
They paused several times along the way.
He wasn’t in a hurry. When they passed the study, he set her down on the desk, braced one hand against its edge, and kissed her with tender intensity.
He also carried her to the window, letting her take in the best view of the night before abruptly drawing the curtains shut.
…
Unlike their last trip, the person Ning Zhen had been thinking about was sleeping right beside her. She didn’t have to toss and turn, unable to sleep. Held securely in his arms, she fell into a deep sleep after leaving the bathroom, breathing in the clean scent of his body wash.
Meng Xianwen turned on only a small reading lamp, its light soft and warm.
He finally had time to look through her social media posts from that day. He was in the habit of liking them, but then he noticed that Xu Lai’s profile picture was among them as well.
Whether it was the agreement between them or the deception, everything had always been a matter between him and Ning Zhen.
Now that he had discovered a third person had once been involved, even Meng Xianwen found the situation troublesome—genuinely troublesome, like a handful of soft thorns piercing his palm.
Should he pull them out or not? It was a question that required careful consideration.
At that moment, a message appeared on the screen.
Lu Yuan: Are you free to take a call?
Meng Xianwen immediately felt a headache coming on.
His gaze shifted from the screen to Ning Zhen, who was sleeping soundly. He typed a reply:
Meng Xianwen: Give me ten minutes.
Lu Yuan: Okk, I’ll call you in ten.
Exactly ten minutes later, Meng Xianwen’s phone lit up. It was Lu Yuan calling.
He didn’t want to wake Ning Zhen, nor did he want her to overhear even a word of the conversation. So he went to the gym, the room farthest from the master bedroom, and answered the call unhurriedly.
Lu Yuan immediately launched into a rapid-fire explanation. “I’ve thought it over. I understand your concerns. How about this? Since you’ve just finished dealing with your recent workload, we can start with the gentlest plan.”
Meng Xianwen stood by the window, phone in hand. At that, he gave a helpless little laugh.
He didn’t respond to Lu Yuan’s suggestion. Instead, he abruptly changed the subject and asked, “Lu Yuan, do you think Zhenzhen is easily moved?”
Lu Yuan was silent for several seconds before nearly swearing. “If you’re trying to drive me to an early grave, just say so!”
His usual good temper barely held, but he still swallowed his irritation and answered, “I don’t know.” After a pause, he asked in surprise, “Are you planning to propose?”
“Not for now.”
“Then why ask me that out of nowhere? I thought you were calling to discuss proposal ideas.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to help with that.”
Lu Yuan laughed in exasperation. “Still, I recommend waiting until you recover your memories before thinking about any of this. Think about it—you’ve forgotten how the two of you started. How can you propose without even remembering the beginning? I don’t agree with it, and I don’t approve. It wouldn’t be fair to her, so listen to me—”
“She isn’t someone who’s easily moved.” Meng Xianwen’s voice turned heavy. “And I won’t allow her to be.”
“...Are you sick or something?” Lu Yuan asked, pinching his nose in exasperation. “Spit it out. Which blind idiot is trying to pursue Zhenzhen?”
“It’s very late. You should get some rest and try not to overexert yourself.” Meng Xianwen softened his tone. “When you have time, you should go out and clear your head like I do. Relax a little.”
“So someone is pursuing Zhenzhen,” Lu Yuan said. “That’s perfectly normal. Weiwei told me that one of Zhenzhen’s four husbands once sent her a private message. That’s why he died.”
“Who?”
“If you want to know, come to my hospital.”
With that, Lu Yuan hung up.
Meng Xianwen’s expression remained unchanged. He put away his phone and turned to leave the gym, returning to the master bedroom. She seemed to be searching for him in her sleep, unable to find him. Both hands rested on the pillow where he had been sleeping, and the marks left by his kisses were faintly visible on her slender, pale wrists.
He lay down beside her.
He believed Xu Lai had no intention of pursuing her. Otherwise, when Xu Lai had tested him on the yacht during his amnesia, he would have answered honestly.
Xu Lai was a smart man. If he wanted to be with her, why would he risk himself just to make Meng Xianwen believe that his relationship with her was real?
But Meng Xianwen was equally certain that Xu Lai had feelings for her.
However, Xu Lai had known her for a long time before she became his girlfriend. He should have had countless chances to confess his feelings. Why had he always stopped short?
It didn’t matter anymore.
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
That was no longer important.
—
Sunday afternoon.
Half an hour after landing in Beicheng, Ning Zhen updated her Moments again, adding her location: “Return to Earth.”
Quite a few people left teasing comments.
“Ran away together for two days and came back already? Looks like you’ve won over the parents and made it official!”
Ning Zhen laughed heartily.
But her smile quickly faded. Xiao Ding drove them downstairs. Just before they got out, Meng Xianwen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, said calmly, “Xiao Ding, wait downstairs. In about an hour or two, drive me back to the Imperial Garden.”
Ning Zhen froze.
It took Xiao Ding a few seconds to react before he hurriedly replied, “Yes, Mr. Meng.”
Meng Xianwen got out first and stood beside the car. Ning Zhen followed him, her face clouded with displeasure. She glanced at him, her lips moving as though she wanted to say something, but she swallowed the words.
Ignoring whether anyone passing by might see them, he drew her in front of him and held her with one arm while stroking her hair with the other. In a low voice, he said, “I promised your parents.”
“Mm.” Her voice sounded a little sullen as her fingers toyed with the buttons on his shirt.
“Let’s go upstairs first.”
He took her hand and led her toward the entrance.
They rode the elevator upstairs and entered the apartment. The lighthearted sweetness between them had turned into silence.
Ning Zhen knew perfectly well that this man might not have many virtues, but he always kept his word.
As he had said, he had promised her parents.
Even though they both knew that after catching them together once, her parents would not question them further, he would still keep his promise and move out of her apartment.
“Be careful living alone.”
He led her into the bathroom to wash their hands, as though trying to soothe her. He pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped each of her fingers dry.
“Did you hear me?”
Ning Zhen immediately grew angry.
She knew her anger was unreasonable and that she shouldn’t take it out on him—but no, that wasn’t right. She had every reason to take it out on him!
Damn it, this was all his fault!
He had been the one who had inexplicably decided to move in, making her grow accustomed to having another person in the apartment. He had made it impossible for her to return to a simpler life after getting used to comfort and convenience. She had grown accustomed to being driven around and having breakfast prepared for her every day. And now he wanted to move out again.
He treated her home like a hotel!
“Sorry, I can’t hear you. I don’t take orders from my husband!” She pushed him away and walked out of the bathroom without looking at him. “Go ahead and leave. It’s not as if this is my first time living alone.”
Meng Xianwen couldn’t help laughing.
He sauntered out of the bathroom. Instead of being annoyed by her temper, he seemed to be enjoying it. “If you’d confessed sooner, I wouldn’t have had to keep moving in and out.”
He was bringing that up again!
Without thinking, Ning Zhen replied, “Well, I didn’t know—”
She immediately stopped herself.
She had almost blurted out what she really meant.
“What didn’t you know?” he asked, looking perfectly at ease.
Ning Zhen pressed her lips together and said aloud, “I didn’t know my parents were going to come over either.”
But in her heart, she said, I didn’t know I would fall in love with you either.
He was so annoying.
Meng Xianwen gazed at her without blinking. Then he suddenly smiled and walked over to sit on the sofa. She turned her head away, sulking, while he leaned forward, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and calmly turned on the television.
Ning Zhen stared at him in astonishment.
She angrily turned back to look at him, only to meet his eyes. He wasn’t watching television at all. He had been watching her the entire time.
She had fallen for this shameless bastard’s trick again.
They stared at each other for several seconds before she broke into laughter and took the opportunity to bargain with him.
“This is all your fault.”
“Fine.”
“You have to make it up to me.”
“How?” He lifted his wrist to check his watch. “Xiao Ding is waiting downstairs. I can still keep you company for forty minutes.”
Ning Zhen: “?”
What an utterly shameless man.
She corrected him. “I said compensate me, not accompany me!”
Meng Xianwen put on a thoughtful expression and took out his wallet. He pulled out a card and handed it to her.
“Buy whatever you want. There should be a little over seven thousand left on it.”
The corner of his lips curved as he mimicked her old tone. “Try not to spend it all.”
Ning Zhen took a closer look.
Wasn’t this her card? He was trying to compensate her with her own money?
“Think carefully.” His voice carried a faint, unmistakable hint of amusement. “Which kind of ‘pei’ did you mean—the one for keeping you company or the one for compensating you?”
Faced with such shamelessness, Ning Zhen could only admit defeat. Gritting her teeth, she smiled and said, “You’re so annoying!”
Forty minutes later, Meng Xianwen began packing his luggage. Ning Zhen followed him around like a little tail, watching as he slowly removed every trace of himself from the apartment.
She felt as though she were caught in a dream. When he had first moved in, she had resisted so fiercely, even wishing every day that he would leave as soon as possible.
But now, before he had even gone, she already felt reluctant to let him go.
“You do it.”
Meng Xianwen pulled her over and said meaningfully, “I remember you once said that you packed all my things for me.”
“That was then. This is now.” Ning Zhen refused to help him pack. “Go away. I’m not doing it.”
He didn’t have that many belongings, and he left a few things behind: a toothbrush, a towel, shaving supplies, and a change of clothes.
He had not even moved out yet, but he had already prepared for his next overnight stay.
Ning Zhen saw through him but said nothing. She merely smiled to herself, and her mood was no longer so gloomy.
Still, she was mindful of Xiao Ding waiting downstairs.
As soon as he finished packing, she urged him to hurry downstairs.
Meng Xianwen silently pulled his suitcase to the door. Ning Zhen changed her shoes as well, intending to see him out. But just as she slipped off one of her slippers, he pressed her against the shoe cabinet.
She looked up at him in surprise and hurriedly covered his mouth.
“Don’t start. If we do, we’ll never finish...” she warned him. “Xiao Ding has been waiting downstairs for ages!”
“You’ve always been looking forward to me moving out, haven’t you?” He leaned close, resting his forehead against hers. “Zhenzhen.”
When two people spent enough time together, they really did start picking up each other’s habits.
Ning Zhen thought that he had finally learned how to turn the tables on her.
He was the one who had promised to move out, yet now that he was actually about to leave, he was the one acting unhappy.
This fussy, melodramatic man—what exactly did he expect her to do?
She moved her hands away from her mouth, steeled herself, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
When your mouth couldn’t speak, didn’t know how to speak, and only knew how to say hurtful things, you could always keep it shut and use it for kissing instead.
Meng Xianwen’s body stiffened slightly. He didn’t move, simply allowing her to press her moist lips against his.
However, when she tried to pull away, his hand closed around her waist, forcing her to continue.
He wasn’t satisfied, so she wasn’t allowed to stop.
…
The sun sank below the horizon.
Ning Zhen stood to one side, waving at Meng Xianwen in the car as she watched it pull away and disappear into the distance. For a brief moment, she was lost in a daze.
Was it because she had kissed him for too long? Had she somehow caught his sentimentality? She actually felt as if she had returned to the days before he lost his memory—the days they had spent together back then.
At that time, she would come downstairs early and wait for him here.
Then, after watching his car drive away from this very spot, she would go back upstairs.
She shook her head, casting off those far-fetched thoughts, and strode back inside. The short trip had been fun, but exhausting. Meng Xianwen had ordered the same Japanese food as last time for her. She planned to eat, take a shower, then lie in bed and play on her phone.
Tomorrow was the dreaded Monday again. She would definitely have to get up early.
Ning Zhen’s plan was perfect. But after she finished showering and reached for a bath towel only to grasp empty air, then habitually called, “Husband,” and received no answer, she froze for quite a while.
Her mood was affected once again. Cursing under her breath, she returned to the master bedroom and flopped onto the bed. She opened WeChat, deliberately ignoring the cactus profile picture, and pestered Guo Xia instead.
Ning Zhen: I’m unhappy!!!
Guo Xia: What happened this time?
Guo Xia: [Transferred 200 yuan]
Ning Zhen instantly accepted the money and poured out her grievances in one breath.
Ning Zhen: That’s what happened. You and him are both people I hate very much.
Guo Xia: ? No, what does this have to do with me?
Ning Zhen: Who was it that said she’d move in with me once her lease expired?
Guo Xia: Fine, I give up. Do you want me to come over and keep you company for one night? Or a few nights? I can help you through the withdrawal period.
Ning Zhen: Too late! The current me is far beyond your reach.
Guo Xia burst out laughing, then comforted her as someone with more experience.
Guo Xia: This is actually a good thing. You two are still in the honeymoon phase. Isn’t it better to prolong the freshness? Look at me and Ye Chuyang. I’m already completely unmoved when I see him, and I’m sure he feels the same way about me. What’s the point of being an old married couple?
Ning Zhen suddenly saw the light and was immediately comforted.
She should look on the bright side. He had already moved out, so there was no point in sulking at home when there was no one to see it.
She might as well think about all the joys of living alone in the past—how free she was.
At eleven that night, Ning Zhen reluctantly turned off a variety show and yawned as she prepared to switch off the lights and go to sleep. Just then, her phone rang. It was a call from Meng Xianwen.
She gave a cold snort. He had probably finally finished working late in his several-hundred-square-meter luxury apartment and remembered that he had a girlfriend, so he was calling to make a token effort to check on her.
A man like him didn’t deserve to have a girlfriend. He should just get married to his work!
Since he had left, he had only sent her one message after arriving at Yuyuan.
Two icy words: I’m here.
At the time, her fit of sentimentality hadn’t passed, so she had replied just as coldly with a single character: Oh.
“Hello? What do you want?” Ning Zhen cleared her throat before answering, keeping her tone just right—lazy, casual, and completely indifferent.
“Are you asleep?”
“No.” Her thoughts shifted, and pleasant words immediately rolled off her tongue, though she didn’t forget to add a sarcastic edge. “How could I sleep? Unlike certain people, I actually miss you. You, on the other hand, didn’t think of me at all and only called now.”
“Can’t sleep?” he asked lightly. “Then get up and open the door for me.”
