Meng Xianwen handed Sheng Ming the signed documents. He neither stepped into the office nor lingered at the door to chat. From the moment he appeared to the moment he left, the whole visit probably lasted less than two minutes.
He really did seem to have come only to deliver the documents.
Sheng Ming was a man who always knew how to conduct himself. He had known from the beginning that Ning Zhen was Meng Xianwen’s girlfriend, but from the moment she entered his office until now, he had neither teased her nor even mentioned it once.
After Meng Xianwen left, Sheng Ming returned to his desk with a broad smile. He cast an inconspicuous glance at Ning Zhen, who was sitting with her head bowed as she wrote on a sheet of paper, as though he had just found himself some entertainment. Then he picked up his phone and sent a message to his boss, Chairman Meng, who was now semi-retired:
【Isn’t this something? Xianwen personally came to deliver documents to me. I’m so touched.】
He sent the message, turned his phone facedown on the desk, and asked with a smile, “It’s been so long since I’ve had such a relaxed conversation with anyone that I lost track of time. Why don’t I treat you both to dinner?”
Ning Zhen and Zou Shan exchanged a glance.
If they had been interviewing anyone other than Sheng Ming, they would have politely declined. Throughout the more than two hours they had spent chatting from the afternoon until early evening, he really had been just as warm and considerate as Fang Li had said.
“Would that be too much trouble for you?” Zou Shan asked courteously.
“How could dinner be any trouble?” Sheng Ming smiled. “I’d have to eat whether you came or not. Since you’re here, we might as well enjoy ourselves together.”
The three of them went to Jingyuan Restaurant near Hengxing. Ning Zhen entered the private room last, her face nearly stiff from smiling. She had discovered that Mr. Sheng’s “flaw” was not merely that he talked too much. He was also rather mischievous. The private room they had come to was none other than Meng Xianwen’s usual one.
He must have given them advance notice on the way there.
She remained perfectly composed, as if she did not know anyone named Meng Xianwen and had no idea what Sheng Ming was hinting at.
They had a pleasant meal and an enjoyable conversation. Then a message popped up on Ning Zhen’s phone:
【Miss Ning, I’ve arrived.】
She glanced at it and quickly replied with an emoji. Using a trip to the restroom as an excuse, she slipped out of the private room and quietly made her way outside. After winding through the restaurant’s corridors, she found Assistant Wang waiting by the entrance with the packed wooden meal boxes.
“Assistant Wang, have you eaten?” she asked hurriedly.
“Yes.” Assistant Wang felt too embarrassed to admit that he had ordered food through a delivery app before six o’clock. In another hour or two, it would be time for his late-night snack.
Ning Zhen nodded. “Then wait here for me!”
With that, she hurried toward the parking area. When she returned, she was slightly out of breath. She handed Assistant Wang a bottle of sparkling water with a sticky note attached.
“Sorry to trouble you. Please give this to him too.”
Assistant Wang took it. His eyes did not linger on the note for even a second before he quickly tucked the bottle into the paper bag with the packed meals.
After watching Ning Zhen go back into the restaurant, he carried the meal boxes to the car and drove back to the company. He knocked on the office door and, seeing that Meng Xianwen was still busy with work, merely reminded him in a quiet voice that his dinner had arrived before leaving.
A short while later, Meng Xianwen temporarily set aside his work and picked up his phone. Only then did he see the message she had sent ten minutes earlier:
【Oh my goodness, three dishes and a soup for one person? Couldn’t you be a little less extravagant with yourself?】
His gaze shifted to the lunchbox on the table. He got up and walked over, immediately spotting a bottle of soda water inside. His expression softened without him realizing it.
He picked it up and saw a sticky note on the bottle. She must have been in a hurry; the handwriting was a little messy, but the words were perfectly clear:
【This bottle is free!!】
A brief laugh broke the silence of the office.
Work occasionally brought Ning Zhen to Hengxing. The observant ones noticed that whenever she came by, Meng Xianwen would always find one excuse or another to visit Sheng Ming's office. He never lingered or interrupted her work. He would take one look, then leave.
Meanwhile, more and more little items utterly at odds with Meng Xianwen's meticulous style began appearing in his office.
-
In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again.
The original plan had been for Ning Zhen to bring Meng Xianwen home for dinner. But plans rarely survived reality, and no one had expected Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan to find out that their younger son had gotten his head cracked open and had even been hospitalized.
They were furious. Meng Xianwen, who had known about it and kept quiet, was deemed an accomplice, and his parents ordered him to return to the family estate no matter what.
Without a second's hesitation, Ning Zhen chose to come along. She could go home for dinner every week, but the chance to watch two Meng men on her personal hit list get disciplined at the same time? That was once in a lifetime. Who knew when another opportunity like this would come around?
The car drove smoothly toward the family estate. Ning Zhen hugged Meng Xianwen's arm and grinned as she interviewed him about his current state of mind.
"Do you remember the last time you got beaten up?"
"Could you be quiet for once?" He had his eyes closed, resting, and truly did not want to indulge her.
"No! If Uncle Meng decides to whip you two, what should I hand him? A golf club must hurt, right? Yes, that one!"
Meng Xianwen had a headache coming on.
He shifted toward the side, and she scooted right after him.
He lowered the window. Even in late August, the wind was still scorching. Looking out at the passing view, he listened to her chatter beside him. This summer had been noisier than any other, yet, as Lu Yuan had said, he was enjoying every minute of it.
"Don't worry. Don't be scared. Tonight, I'll put some ointment on you. I'm very good at that."
He could not help laughing. Raising a hand, he pushed her head away. Xiao Ding was a steady driver, slowing down as they took a curve, but Meng Xianwen still tipped forward with the momentum. In that split second, a thought flashed through his mind, so fast he nearly failed to catch it.
Ning Zhen, beside him, did not notice the subtle change in his expression. She was still happily lost in her imagination.
Meng Xianwen rolled up the window and leaned back against his seat, deep in thought. Every now and then, he turned to glance at her.
Today was the final day of the one-week deadline she had given him.
She seemed so confident, certain that he would never figure out how she had discovered the clue.
Which meant it had to be something he would never think of.
Until now, he had had no leads. But now he did.
When they arrived at the family estate, Meng Jiaran, the culprit behind it all, had not even arrived yet. No one knew what he was dawdling over. Seeing Xiao Xuezhen and Meng Jingshan's faces, darker than the bottom of a pot, Ning Zhen silently lit a whole row of candles for Meng Jiaran.
When she turned around, even Meng Xianwen had quietly slipped away.
Ning Zhen secretly texted him: 【Where are you?!】
When he received the message, Meng Xianwen was chatting with Uncle Yang in the terrace corridor of the side building. Casually, he asked, “The day Zhenzhen picked up her car, which driver came back with her?”
After a pause, he added as if it were nothing, “Zhenzhen may need a driver in the future. I thought I’d ask around and choose someone suitable for her.”
Uncle Yang recalled it with a cheerful smile. Fortunately, it hadn’t been long since she’d picked up the car. “I remember—it was Xiao Li.”
Meng Xianwen did not seem surprised by the answer. The corner of his lips curved up as he nodded. “All right. I’ll discuss it with her later.”
She had never been able to keep things to herself. She picked up her car one day, then went to the hospital to confront Lu Yuan the next. If his guess was correct, she had most likely learned from the driver about what had happened to him on the day of the project launch.
All that remained was for her to confirm it.
When he returned to the main building, Meng Jiaran had just arrived. With his shaved head, he stood in the middle of the reception room, impossible to miss.
Xiao Xuezhen cupped her son’s face in both hands, repeatedly inspecting the wound on his head. It had mostly healed, though the marks from the stitches were still faintly visible.
Her chest ached with anger as she scolded him, “What were you trying to prove?!”
Meng Jingshan was heartbroken too, but he held it in. Then he bellowed, “You spend your days doing nothing useful, loafing around—and that’s bad enough. Now you’ve learned to get into fights at bars? Who gave you the nerve?!”
Even Ning Zhen jumped at his booming voice.
“He knows he was wrong,” Meng Xianwen said helplessly, speaking up for his younger brother. “There was a reason for what happened that day. You can’t blame him entirely.”
“Meng Xianwen, shut your mouth! Nobody will mistake you for mute if you don’t speak!” Once Meng Jingshan’s temper flared, no one could stop him. He immediately turned his fire on his eldest son, unleashing a torrent of abuse. “Why didn’t you keep playing dumb? Something this serious, and you hid it from us!”
Ning Zhen held her breath and made herself into part of the background. As for Meng Xianwen being scolded, she did not feel the slightest bit sorry for him.
“Do the two of you think you’re so capable now?” Meng Jingshan fumed. “Take a look at the ridiculous things you’ve done!”
On the way back, Meng Jiaran had already decided that he would apologize sincerely: Mom, I’m sorry. Dad, I’m sorry. Bro, I’m sorry.
But had he really done anything wrong?
He didn’t think so.
Listening to his parents now, he grew more and more irritated. He lifted his chin and shouted, “If anyone can hear that piece of trash talk and still stay calm and unaffected, then that’s what I call ridiculous! I did nothing wrong. From now on, every time I see that piece of trash, I’ll beat him up again!”
The moment the words fell, the entire reception room went silent. Only Meng Jingshan’s heavy breathing could be heard.
Even Ning Zhen stared at Meng Jiaran in shock.
She hadn’t expected him to be this defiant.
He actually dared to say that???
Her eyes widened. For a moment, she thought she must have misheard him.
As Meng Xianwen kept an eye on his mother’s reaction, he caught Ning Zhen’s expression from the corner of his eye. He lowered his gaze, concealing a smile.
“What did you say? Say that again?!” Meng Jingshan roared.
Meng Jiaran refused to give an inch. “Say it a hundred more times and my answer will be the same. Go on, Dad. While this wound of mine still hasn’t healed, hurry up and hit me. Come on, right here.” He pointed at himself. “Hit me. I’m not apologizing. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why should I?”
Only four words drifted through Ning Zhen’s mind: He’s gone insane.
This guy had really lost it.
Then again, she thought, after secretly nursing a crush for so many years in such a pathetic, miserable way, it would be stranger if he hadn’t.
Xiao Xuezhen, who had said little until now, suddenly looked thoughtfully at her son and asked, “Do you have feelings for Yuqing?”
A mother really did know best. Straight to the heart of it.
A second ago, Meng Jiaran had looked ready to shout to the heavens that his fate was his own. Now, it was as though someone had seized him by the throat. His face flushed red, and he instantly lost all fight. Not a word came out.
Ning Zhen felt embarrassed for him.
He had kept this secret hidden for so long, only for it to be laid bare in front of all four of them.
Meng Jingshan, still simmering with anger, froze too. “What?”
Meng Jiaran: “...”
He stood motionless like a statue. A few seconds later, he seemed to come back to himself, nearly choked on the breath he drew, then turned and marched stiffly upstairs. He disappeared in an instant, followed by the bang of a door slamming shut on the second floor.
Ning Zhen hadn’t expected things to take this turn either. She glanced sideways at Meng Xianwen.
He remained calm.
Xiao Xuezhen stepped back and sat on the sofa, pressing a hand to her forehead with a sigh. “I should have realized sooner. Ah.”
Meng Jingshan still hadn’t recovered from the shock.
“Let’s go upstairs and check on him,” Meng Xianwen said evenly. “Mom, Dad, don’t worry about Jiaran’s injury. He spent a week in the hospital, then another week recuperating after he was discharged. He’s fine now.”
Xiao Xuezhen hesitated, then nodded. “All right. Let’s put this behind us.”
“It’s time to turn the page.” Meng Xianwen looked, intentionally or not, toward his father. “What’s done is done. Scolding him won’t make the injury on his head disappear. He was impulsive, but his heart was in the right place.”
With that, he took Ning Zhen upstairs. She kept looking back over her shoulder. Before they even reached Meng Jiaran’s room, he pulled her into the study.
As Meng Jiaran’s longtime fair-weather friend, Ning Zhen understood the thoughtfulness behind his older brother’s actions.
No one could get through that door right now, and Meng Jiaran didn’t want to see anyone. He only wanted to be alone. What they really needed to do was stay downstairs and make sure he didn’t do anything rash, like jump from his room.
Meng Xianwen closed the study door.
After some hesitation, Ning Zhen sent Meng Jiaran a message to check on him.
[Don’t do anything stupid, okay?]
Meng Jiaran replied with a screenful of question marks. He wanted to die.
He asked: [What the hell? You know too?]
Ning Zhen: [Obviously.]
Meng Jiaran felt even more hopeless.
This time, he sent a screenful of ellipses.
Ning Zhen made it worse: [It’s okay. We all know. Yuqing doesn’t.]
Meng Jiaran began sending periods instead.
Just as she was about to offer her good friend a few more words of comfort, someone confiscated her phone.
She looked up at Meng Xianwen. “What are you doing?”
Leaning against the broad desk, he looked down at her. But what he said had nothing to do with Jiaran.
“Did you notice something was off because of Xiao Li?”
Ning Zhen looked blank.
Then she quickly realized what he meant. She was startled, both because she hadn’t expected him to still be thinking about it, and because he had actually guessed right.
Meng Xianwen watched her steadily, already certain of the answer from her expression.
He laughed. “Looks like I guessed right. Exactly one week.”
Ning Zhen really wanted to argue that he hadn’t guessed right, but it was too late. She could only say reluctantly, “Fine, you got it right.”
Satisfied, Meng Xianwen leaned down and whispered a few words in her ear. Her lashes trembled, and she wanted to cover his mouth. Just as she was about to do so, inspiration struck, and she chuckled. “I only said I’d let you make one request. I never said I’d agree to it.”
It wasn’t as if he was the only one who knew how to play word games.
Seeing his expression change, Ning Zhen was absolutely delighted. “You’re the one who taught me!”
She had suffered so many losses at his hands. Naturally, she had to get a few of her own back.
……
Meng Jiaran stood in his room for a moment, utterly despondent. Thinking that he would have to face the consequences sooner or later, he gritted his teeth, yanked open the door, and prepared to go downstairs and apologize obediently to his parents.
The moment he stepped out of his room, he heard voices and laughter coming from the study, whose door was left ajar.
He peacefully closed his eyes.
Then he charged toward the stairs without looking back.
So annoying!
-----------------------
