“If you’re sick, go get treated. Stop bothering me!”
Ning Zhen realized that Meng Xianwen was serious. In the middle of the night, he had dragged her out of bed and was carrying her off to deal with something. Her anger made her temples throb, and she struggled, demanding that he put her down, though she didn’t dare fight too hard. She wasn’t the only one whose strength had been drained—he was just as exhausted.
Who knew how much energy he had left?
“Be quiet.” He lowered his eyes to look at her, his expression solemn. “Jiaran’s gotten himself into trouble.”
Ning Zhen froze.
He didn’t look as though he were joking. But what kind of trouble could Meng Jiaran possibly have gotten into? Her mind was still foggy, and she had no time to argue with him. She hurriedly asked, “What happened?”
Meng Xianwen glanced at her impassively. “It has nothing to do with you.”
Ning Zhen was speechless.
If it had nothing to do with her, why had he dragged her along in the middle of the night?!
She hadn’t wanted to leave the house at first, but now her curiosity had been piqued. She struggled less and less, merely pretending to resist. He carried her all the way to the door but still didn’t put her down. Just as he was about to open it, she hurriedly said, “My phone—I didn’t bring my phone!”
Meng Xianwen stopped. His tone was calm. “You remember you need your phone now?”
With that, he turned and walked back toward the master bedroom.
Ning Zhen unplugged her phone from the charger. The screen lit up, and when she glanced at the time, her eyes widened in disbelief. It was past three in the morning. What on earth had Meng Jiaran done?
Her mind was completely occupied by the matter, and she didn’t come back to herself until Meng Xianwen placed her in the passenger seat.
Only then did she suddenly realize what he had said.
Wait. What exactly had he meant?
You remember you need your phone now?
What was that supposed to mean?
Meng Xianwen leaned into the car. His eyes inadvertently fell on the hickeys on her neck, and he was silent for a moment. His movements unconsciously grew gentler as he fastened her seat belt.
Nothing about tonight had been part of his plans.
Her leaving without a word had caused the last shred of his rationality to vanish.
“What did you mean just now?”
After he took the driver’s seat, Ning Zhen bit her lower lip. In the end, she still couldn’t help breaking the silence first.
“I was planning to spend a pleasant Saturday with you.”
He started the engine. After saying that, he didn’t speak again. Partly for safety reasons and partly because he was exhausted, he had no desire to continue arguing with her. He drove out of the residential compound and sped along the empty, broad road.
Ning Zhen stared at his sharply defined profile, shocked and bewildered.
She understood what he meant.
“You went home?”
“You leave whenever you feel like it, and you still call that place home?”
Ning Zhen glared at him resentfully before turning away. Leaning back against the seat, she stared through the windshield at the road ahead. “You always make things sound nice. Spend Saturday with me? Where were you?”
“I got a call. There was something I had to take care of.”
Perhaps because they had both expended most of their strength, the two of them were finally able to “confront” each other calmly.
“Do you remember what you promised me?”
Ning Zhen gripped the seat belt tightly.
How strange. Whenever she was with him, tears always came so easily. “I don’t remember!”
If he had been busy working at the company, she would have felt utterly disheartened.
If he had been waiting at the company for her to lower her pride and go looking for him, she would have been unwilling to accept it.
But if she had to choose between the two, she would have preferred the latter. At least then, all those hours she had spent waiting that afternoon wouldn’t have seemed quite so humiliating.
“Didn’t I tell you before that, in the future, if there’s something you want to know…” Meng Xianwen paused. “Come and ask me directly.”
“Then why couldn’t you tell me yourself?”
“If I told you, you’d run off before I could finish.” He let out a derisive laugh. “That’s how you handle things.”
Ning Zhen detected the mockery in his voice.
“And is the way you handle things any better?”
She immediately fired back, “You sit in your office and wait for me to come to you, confess my mistake, and admit defeat before you graciously forgive me? Keep dreaming. You’ll be waiting forever!”
Meng Xianwen’s expression changed slightly.
He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he was driving. He wasn’t ready to die just yet. Safety came first.
Gradually, his breathing steadied.
…
After that, neither of them said another word.
Ning Zhen lowered the back of her seat and watched one streetlight after another flash past.
She suddenly realized that whenever he was beside her, all her emotions seemed to have somewhere to go. Even when she was angry, those feelings were no longer left floating aimlessly, tossing her heart up and down.
Slowly, sleep came surging back over her.
They drove for half an hour.
When Meng Xianwen reached their destination, he switched his phone to silent mode as soon as he parked.
He unlocked the screen and replied to a message: [Give me another half hour.]
After sending it, he casually set the phone aside. Reaching into the back seat, he took a cashmere scarf and draped it over her.
She was only well behaved when she was asleep and quiet.
He watched her without looking away. Everything that had happened between them recently surfaced in his mind, and he gave a self-mocking smile as he remembered a sentence she had once made up out of thin air.
She had said that he had done many things for her that he didn’t understand but would do anyway.
It had actually become true.
Ning Zhen felt a pair of hands moving over her face. Irritated, she raised a hand to push them away, only for it to be caught and held still. With no way to move, she could only wake from her dream.
She opened her eyes to Meng Xianwen’s deep gaze, stared blankly for a few seconds, then turned to look out the window. Seeing that they were in a parking lot, she asked, “We’re here? Where’s Jiaran?”
“Get out.”
He released her, turned off the engine, and got out. Then he walked around to the passenger side and helped her down.
Only belatedly did Ning Zhen realize that this seemed to be a hospital parking lot.
Her heart lurched. Grabbing Meng Xianwen’s arm, she anxiously pressed him for answers. “Wait—why are we at the hospital? What happened to Jiaran? Is he hurt? What happened?!”
“He’s fine.”
Meng Xianwen’s expression softened as he reassured her, “What serious thing could possibly happen to him?”
Ning Zhen still looked alarmed and uncertain. On the way there, she and Meng Xianwen had argued a few more times, leaving her no room to spare a thought for Meng Jiaran. Now, however, her heart was in her throat.
As he guided her toward the elevator, she began piecing together the plot of the original novel, which she had cast aside ages ago.
A hospital. Trouble. The middle of the night.
The elevator chimed, and the doors opened.
As though she had suddenly realized something, she slapped her forehead. “Oh, right, right, right!”
Good heavens! She had nearly forgotten the most important turning point in the original story.
In the real world, Song Yuqing had been meeting suitable young men from families of comparable social standing at the arrangement of her elders. Meng Jiaran was already as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. That day, he had gone out drinking with a few close friends and happened to run into one of the eligible bachelors flirting passionately with a young woman.
He followed them.
He also overheard the so-called eligible bachelor flirting with the woman and saying some extremely unpleasant things.
Song Yuqing was mentioned as well. In no uncertain terms, the man complained that she was cold and boring.
Meng Jiaran couldn’t possibly let that slide. He was fiercely protective of the people he cared about. Even if the man had been talking about an ordinary friend of his, he wouldn’t have pretended not to hear it. Once his temper flared, he threw caution to the wind and began pounding the man with one fist after another.
The other man wasn’t made of clay. Who could be beaten for no reason and not fight back?
As luck would have it, he was holding a liquor bottle and smashed it over Meng Jiaran’s head.
The entire venue descended into chaos. In the end, by the time Meng Xianwen received the call, the matter had more or less been dealt with. Meng Jiaran’s friends had shown their loyalty, doing everything they could to hold people back and preventing the incident from escalating to the point where the police had to be called.
Meng Xianwen pressed the elevator button and shot her a glance.
As if she were reminding Ning Zhen of something that went without saying, he added, “Don’t tell your family about this.”
Ning Zhen nodded.
Aunt Xiao would only worry and become anxious if she found out. If Uncle Meng learned about it, Meng Jiaran would have to take another beating. Still, getting injured this time had been worth it. For one thing, Song Yuqing had long since grown sick of blind dates, and Meng Jiaran’s injury had finally pushed her past the point of tolerance, prompting her to reject all the arrangements her parents had made. For another, this injury had given Song Yuqing the perfect excuse to care for him without leaving his side.
That kid must be thrilled!
In a sense, this had nothing to do with any ridiculous “hero saving the beauty.” It was a good old-fashioned ruse of suffering for sympathy.
Once she was sure that Meng Jiaran was all right, Ning Zhen felt relieved. Then, with a turn of her gaze, she caught sight of Meng Xianwen’s reflection in the elevator’s mirrored wall. Something about him seemed off. She looked over and saw him frown almost imperceptibly, one hand pressing against his stomach.
She parted her lips, about to ask what was wrong, but the next second, her gaze met his. He casually lowered his hand, letting it hang at his side as though nothing had happened.
The elevator reached the ninth floor.
The entire floor was occupied by VIP rooms. It should have been quiet, but several people were waiting in the corridor.
Ning Zhen was startled by the sight as soon as she stepped out.
If she hadn’t known the original story, and if Meng Jiaran’s own older brother, Meng Xianwen, hadn’t remained so calm, she would have thought Meng Jiaran was hanging on by a thread.
These people were familiar faces too. Cai Zechuan was the first to come forward, his face sporting a few scrapes as well. “Brother, sister-in-law, you’re finally here.”
“What happened?” Ning Zhen pressed.
She wanted to go in and see for herself, but Meng Xianwen pulled her back.
Without looking at her, he asked Cai Zechuan, “Have Jiaran’s head wounds been bandaged?”
Cai Zechuan hurriedly replied, “They’ve been bandaged and treated.”
“Is there blood anywhere else?”
“No. Don’t worry, Brother. Several of us were there at the time.” Cai Zechuan was still worked up. “That bastard was just too underhanded. Otherwise, he never would’ve gotten the drop on us!”
Meng Xianwen nodded calmly. Only then did he let go of Ning Zhen.
It was only a few steps to the hospital room, but he stopped in front of each person he passed to thank them. By the time Ning Zhen hurried into the room, he had even taken out a handkerchief and handed it to Cai Zechuan so he could wipe the sweat from his face.
Cai Zechuan grinned.
In a gentle voice, Meng Xianwen said, “Sorry to drag you all out so late at night. Once he’s discharged, I’ll make sure he thanks you properly.” Then his tone shifted. “You’re all tired too. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? We’ll discuss the details after daybreak.”
“Okay, Brother,” they answered in unison.
After watching them enter the elevator, he let the polite smile fall from his face and turned back toward the hospital room.
Inside.
Ning Zhen glanced at the emergency record, then looked at the man curled up on the hospital bed like a frightened quail. She let out a soft laugh, raised her phone, and began taking photos and videos. She was practically shoving the camera in his face.
Meng Jiaran looked as though he were on the verge of death. By reflex, he covered his face. “Please, just go away.”
The words had barely left his mouth when steady footsteps came to a stop at the foot of the bed.
Meng Jiaran’s scalp instantly went numb. He really had to hand it to those guys. When he’d been taken in for stitches and bandaging, he had made it perfectly clear that they were not to call his parents or his brother.
Cai Zechuan had asked whom they should call instead.
How about Zhenzhen? The thought had barely crossed his mind before he rejected it. He didn’t even need to guess—at this hour, Zhenzhen was certainly snuggled up with his brother, sleeping sweetly. Calling Zhenzhen would be no different from calling his brother.
In the end, he had left it up to Cai Zechuan to decide.
But he hadn’t expected them to bring his brother here anyway.
“Are you tired?”
The three low words immediately made Meng Jiaran’s nose sting. He hadn’t even had time to say, “Brother, I’m not tired. I’m fine, just a little dizzy,” before his brother continued in an unhurried voice, “If you’re tired, lie down on the sofa for a while. I’ll have them prepare the room next door, and then you can go sleep there.”
“…?”
Meng Jiaran’s tears immediately disappeared.
