Which of Meng Xianwen’s statements had been true? The answer was revealed around noon the next day.
Not a single word he’d said had been true!
Ning Zhen sat beside him with a smile on her face, watching him calmly exchange pleasantries with everyone. She finally couldn’t resist. With the tablecloth hiding her actions, she reached over and kicked him in the leg.
That bastard had played with her feelings and left her giddy with excitement at the scenic spot the night before.
He hadn’t been passing through, nor had he come to pick her up early.
Damn him—he’d come on a short business trip!
When she’d gotten up and gone to wash up that morning, she’d overheard him speaking with Assistant Wang on the phone. A few scattered words had reached her ears, and after piecing them together with the lunch banquet, she’d quickly figured out what was going on.
It turned out that Hengxing was considering launching a new cooperative project in this city, but during the initial stages, they had run into a problem that could be either major or minor.
The vice president in charge of the project had once clashed with the local powerhouse.
Meng Xianwen had personally come this time to show sufficient sincerity and resolve the conflict.
And the results had been just as expected. The other party was hospitable and enthusiastic, already addressing Meng Xianwen as a sworn brother over lunch. They had even called her sister-in-law several times.
“You lied to me again!”
The moment they got into the car and she saw there was no one else inside, Ning Zhen immediately lowered her voice and accused him.
Meng Xianwen couldn’t avoid drinking at this kind of business dinner, but she hadn’t touched a drop. Whenever someone tried to pour her a drink or toast her, he had subtly stopped them.
“I asked whether you wanted to hear the truth or a lie.” He leaned back against the seat, calm and composed, and loosened his tie. “I never said I’d definitely tell you the truth.”
Ning Zhen: “…”
Quick as a flash, she grabbed his tie.
If there hadn’t been two drivers in the car, she would absolutely have demonstrated a chokehold and taken his life.
Meng Xianwen pressed her hand against his chest, following the momentum of her movement. He hadn’t drunk much. There was a faint smell of alcohol on him, but he was nowhere near drunk.
“Whether it’s the truth or a lie isn’t important.”
“What kind of twisted logic is that?” Ning Zhen demanded. “Then what is important?”
“Right now.”
Meng Xianwen gave her that answer. He stretched out an arm and pulled her against his shoulder, his breathing low and deep. “Get some sleep first.”
Ning Zhen still wanted to argue a few more points, but when she looked up and saw him close his eyes to sober up, she let it go.
He had a whole pile of crooked logic, and apparently she had quite a bit of her own. Just like now—she thought it over and decided that he had come to pick her up and had given her plenty of face in front of her classmates. Who cared whether his words had been true or false?
The business van sped along the highway.
Before they had even passed a single service area, Ning Zhen seemed to be lulled by the scent of alcohol on Meng Xianwen. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she eventually fell asleep against him.
Once her breathing had become light and even, he quietly opened his eyes. His palm closed around her right hand, gripping it tightly.
Meanwhile, Xu Lai checked out of the hotel and parted ways with Guan Hao in the lobby.
Guan Hao patted him on the shoulder. “Old Xu, thanks. You’re a real friend, coming all the way from Beicheng to attend my wedding.”
Xu Lai’s expression remained faint and distant. He gave a self-mocking smile. “Don’t thank me. I’m not particularly loyal.”
Guan Hao didn’t understand the meaning behind his words.
He opened his arms and hugged him. “You can’t spend every day focused only on work and making money. You need to pay attention to your own life too. Oh, right—I remember that around graduation, you asked me what kind of gifts girls liked. You can tell me now, can’t you? Which girl from our department did you like?”
“No one.” Xu Lai gave a helpless laugh. “That’s all in the past.”
“Is it really over?”
Xu Lai fell silent for a moment. “It’s over.”
—
Another Friday arrived.
Thanks to her excellent performance during this period, Ning Zhen had wheedled two hours of personal leave out of her boss.
She had been looking forward to this ever since receiving the news the night before last, waiting until it felt like an eternity. The Rolls-Royce she and Xiao Xuezhen had ordered together had finally been modified and was ready for pickup!
When she walked out of the building, the Meng family’s car was parked beside the fountain. She jogged over, climbed inside, and greeted the woman in the back seat warmly. “Aunt Xiao!”
Xiao Xuezhen smiled and nodded. “You left work early. Won’t your supervisor object?”
Actually, she could have postponed picking up the car until Saturday. The Meng family could also have sent a driver to collect it and deliver it to Ning Zhen.
But of course she wasn’t willing to wait. After looking forward to the car for so long, she wouldn’t have tolerated delaying it by a day—or even an hour.
“He won’t.” Ning Zhen quickly shook her head. “I haven’t taken time off in ages. My boss even said I’ve been performing suspiciously well lately.”
There were two drivers in the car: one would drive this vehicle, while the other would drive Ning Zhen’s new car later.
They would all end up at the Meng family’s old residence.
She and Meng Xianwen had agreed to return to the old residence that evening for dinner with the elders.
The only downside was that he was too busy to accompany her to pick up the car.
Ning Zhen regretted not having a larger audience. After thinking for a moment, she decided to bother another member of the Meng family.
She messaged him: [Have you set off yet?]
Meng Jiaran: [Can’t go. My brother told me to do something useful and sit in on a meeting.]
Meng Jiaran: [I’m a willing volunteer.jpg]
Ning Zhen: [?]
What did he mean by “do something useful”?
Picking up her car was the most important thing there was!
She was in too good a mood to argue with Meng Xianwen, so she simply turned her expectant gaze toward the view outside the window. As they drew closer, her heart began racing even faster than it had when Meng Xianwen had surprised her.
Unlike Meng Xianwen’s car, hers was white—elegant and refined, with a soft glow all its own.
Under Xiao Xuezhen’s amused gaze, Ning Zhen could barely contain her excitement as she walked around the car twice, taking in every detail.
She was much more low-key this time. Although she took plenty of photos, she didn’t post a single one to her social media. Instead, she sent them all to Guo Xia in one go.
Guo Xia: [Heavens, how could I fall in love with a car at first sight? This isn’t scientifically possible!]
Guo Xia: [So, when are you taking me for a spin?]
Ning Zhen: [Tomorrow. This car has cured my aversion to driving.]
When she had first gotten her license, she had been thrilled and driven her car around aimlessly whenever she had the chance. Now, however, she was tired of driving. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten up early just to ride in Meng Xianwen’s car.
Guo Xia: [A miracle worker!]
Ning Zhen was eager to try it out. She quietly discussed it with Xiao Xuezhen and proposed that she drive back to the old residence, with the driver sitting in the passenger seat to guide her whenever necessary.
She didn’t dare let Aunt Xiao ride in her car. Given Meng Xianwen’s cautious nature, if he found out that Ning Zhen had driven an unfamiliar new car on the road for the first time while carrying his mother, he would never let her hear the end of it…
Seeing the excitement on her face, Xiao Xuezhen hesitated before finally agreeing. Still, before Ning Zhen got into the car, she couldn’t help reminding her several times. She also turned to the driver sitting in the passenger seat. “Xiao Li, keep a close eye on her and have her drive slowly.”
Xiao Li hurriedly nodded.
Ning Zhen took the driver’s seat. Xiao Li had driven this model many times before, so he sat beside her and patiently explained everything. She listened attentively, committing every instruction to memory.
A few minutes later, the car slowly pulled out and merged into the road, while Xiao Xuezhen’s car followed at a safe distance behind.
After driving for a while, Ning Zhen gradually got the feel of the car. Her body was no longer as tense as it had been when she first got behind the wheel. While waiting at a traffic light, she could even chat and laugh with Xiao Li.
Seeing that she was cheerful, easygoing, and free of airs, Xiao Li gradually relaxed and became more talkative as well.
They were just over a hundred meters from the bend when he promptly reminded her, “Miss Ning, whenever you drive through this bend—or any other bend in the future—you must, absolutely must, slow down, whether there are other cars around or not. I nearly learned that lesson the hard way here not long ago.”
Ning Zhen had been driving for quite some time, so she knew all the basic rules of the road. She began slowing down and asked casually, “What happened?”
Xiao Li smiled, but waited until they had driven out of the bend before answering. “It was raining heavily that day. I was taking Chairman Meng home. Oh, and Mr. Meng was in the car too.”
“It was pretty late, and there weren’t many cars on the road, so I was driving a little fast. When I went through that bend just now, a car came toward us. It was so late, and it was raining, but the driver wasn’t using his high beams. If I hadn’t slammed on the brakes in time, we probably would’ve scraped each other.”
“What an inconsiderate driver!” Ning Zhen immediately realized he must be talking about the night of the project launch. Though she knew nothing serious had happened, she still pressed him. “Was everyone all right?”
“Yeah, nothing happened…” Xiao Li had been deeply shaken by that incident and wouldn’t forget it anytime soon. Even now, recalling it still made him uneasy. “I just had to brake too hard, and Mr. Meng was jolted around a few times. He’d probably been drinking, so his head hurt and he felt awful. It took him quite a while to recover.”
A glimmer of amusement flashed through Ning Zhen’s eyes. Meng Xianwen placed great importance on road safety—the accident in Nancheng had left him with a psychological scar. That must have scared him half to death!
As she pictured what had happened, a strange, indescribable emotion suddenly swept through her heart.
For a moment, her heart skipped a beat.
Why hadn’t he mentioned this to her?
It wasn’t as if he would tell her every trivial detail of his day, but somehow, she felt that something was off.
“That was the night of the project launch, wasn’t it?” she asked again.
Xiao Li nodded. “Yes, that night. Hey, Miss Ning, why did you stop the car?”
He watched in confusion as she pulled over and unfastened her seat belt. Unsure of what was going on, he got out as well.
As they passed each other at the front of the car, Ning Zhen forced a smile. “I just remembered I have something to take care of. Xiao Li, could you drive the rest of the way? Sorry to trouble you.”
“Oh, sure.” Xiao Li scratched his head and got back into the car.
After switching seats, Xiao Li continued driving from behind the wheel while Ning Zhen sat dazed in the passenger seat.
Her thoughts were a tangled mess. Almost unconsciously, she took her phone from her bag, opened her conversation with Meng Xianwen, and scrolled through their chat history.
Her finger trembled slightly as though it were searching for something, though she didn’t know what. Her eyes darted over the screen with every swipe until, all at once, her fingertip stopped.
She had paused on the messages from that night.
He had sent her one message:
[I have something to tell you. Wait until I get back.]
Ning Zhen’s breathing slowed. She suddenly remembered that when he returned that night, he hadn’t mentioned anything to her.
And she had forgotten to ask him what he had wanted to tell her.
-----------------------
