Qi Xiao suddenly got it.
On second thought, Meng Ning’s path to topping probably wasn’t going to be easy. After all, Wen Zenian had made her pass out from pleasure, which meant the woman’s technique must be top-notch.
Look at that—a bottom trying to top out of love could be that skilled. Meng Ning saw herself as a top in her mind, but she had zero technique. Where was the justice in that?
Qi Xiao felt she absolutely had to help with this. “I know, but I can only download it for you during my day off.”
“Why?”
“It’s on the intranet! What if there’s monitoring? That would be mortifying.”
Meng Ning let out an “oh,” then said, “Thanks.”
“Don’t make it sound so serious, like I’m really helping you study hard and improve every day.”
There were still two days until her day off. During those two days, Meng Ning didn’t seek out Wen Zenian, and Wen Zenian didn’t come looking for her.
Thinking back on it now, Wen Zenian really never took the initiative.
She just kept casting out bait—stories, cards, a little flick of her bangs. Or maybe she didn’t even need to do that much. Her mere presence was enough.
Meng Ning took the speedboat back to the city with Qi Xiao. Once they reached downtown, Qi Xiao grabbed her hand and pulled her onto a subway train heading in the opposite direction. “Let’s hit the computer district first.”
“What for?”
“To buy a terabyte portable hard drive. I’ll load it up with extra study materials for you—don’t delete any of it. Save them up.” Qi Xiao gazed at Meng Ning with a look of deep regret. “That’s the Lesbian Circle Hottie we’re talking about. We can’t do her dirty.”
After buying the hard drive, the two of them hopped on a subway train heading home. A girl pushing a massive suitcase boarded. She gripped the handle with both hands, but when the train lurched forward, she stumbled ahead.
Meng Ning quickly steadied her.
The girl glanced at Meng Ning. Her cheeks were flushed pink—maybe from wrestling with the suitcase—but her eyes darted away, avoiding Meng Ning’s gaze. “Thanks.”
Meng Ning gave a small shake of her head and pointed to a nearby strap. She gestured for the girl to hold on tight.
Then she turned back around and stood with Qi Xiao.
Qi Xiao had seen this kind of reaction from strangers toward Meng Ning plenty of times. She grinned slyly and nudged Meng Ning. “Think that girl knows she’s dealing with a woman desperate to rush home and watch her little movies?”
Meng Ning: …
In fact, when they got home, they made dinner as usual, cleaned up, and watched a particularly cheesy popcorn flick with Song Xiao, who rarely finished work early. Only then, under Qi Xiao’s meaningfully knowing smile, did Meng Ning retreat to her own room.
She didn’t spend much time with electronics. The last time she’d opened her laptop was to post about subletting the apartment.
But thanks to her “weak willpower,” that plan was on hold for now.
She plugged in the portable hard drive.
She didn’t click on anything right away. Instead, she sat quietly at her desk. The curtains were half-drawn, but not thick enough to block the light. That faint pinkish glow from the aviation safety sign—which had once brushed across Wen Zenian’s face—now swept over her own eyes before drifting away.
Her expression wasn’t cold. It was just… empty. If anyone saw her like this, they’d think she was utterly unapproachable.
She waited until she heard soft footsteps in the living room. Once she was sure Qi Xiao and Song Xiao had gone to bed, she slipped on her headphones and clicked on one of the “study materials.”
It was a pointless precaution, really. The door lock was broken, but she and her roommates always respected each other’s space—no one barged in unannounced. And with headphones, not a sound would escape.
For some reason, she just didn’t want to watch this kind of thing while anyone else was still awake.
Because whenever she watched these videos, she thought of Wen Zenian.
She had touched her, pressed against her, but never really studied her. Because whenever Wen Zenian was in front of her, she was either in an evening gown or a crisp uniform.
Those were their private moments—stolen from the world, crafting a chaotic paradise amid the heavens and earth, weaving yet another layer of dream within a dream.
She didn’t even want anyone sensing her fantasies.
It had to be quiet. It had to be secret. Just her and the night, slowly savoring it in the depths of her heart.
The next day, Song Xiao had the day off. Qi Xiao invited her shopping and asked Meng Ning, “Still no time?”
Meng Ning nodded.
Qi Xiao found it strange. Since Song Xiao didn’t know about Meng Ning and Wen Zenian, she pulled Meng Ning aside and whispered, “I always guessed you vanished for half a day on your days off to go on dates. Now I see that’s not it. So what do you do?”
Meng Ning smiled carelessly at moments like this. “Can’t adults have a few secrets? I’m building my mysterious and aloof persona.”
Qi Xiao laughed and cursed her. “Get outta here.”
Actually, Meng Ning dressed in athletic wear and slung on a backpack before heading out. Today’s destination was different from her usual ones.
She had no intention of returning to that “3rd” café after delivering the greeting card to Cen Meigui.
She went hiking.
There weren’t many mountains in the city, but Silkveil Mountain was the tallest. It had a cable car for tourists and winding trails that led into secluded spots. The trails weren’t crowded, mostly locals—elderly folks out to stretch their legs.
Meng Ning started her climb, backpack and all.
The path wasn’t steep, just long and meandering without end. She paused at a platform to rest. Nearby, a narrow waterfall tumbled down a sheer cliff, and a cool mountain breeze wafted over.
“Young lady, young lady.”
Meng Ning turned around.
A kind-looking grandmother warned her. “Step back a bit. There used to be a railing here, but it’s rotted away over the years. Someone fell once. Look—half your sneaker’s hanging over the edge.”
Meng Ning smiled. “Thank you. This mountain breeze feels so nice. I was just greedy for the cool air.”
The grandmother, seeing how pretty and refined Meng Ning looked, was delighted. She pulled a boiled egg from her bag and offered it. “Tired from the hike? Rest a bit before you go on.”
“Thanks.”
The grandmother left first. Meng Ning glanced at the stone steps, then sat down without a care, gazing at the waterfall on the cliff and letting the breeze tousle her hair as she ate the whole egg.
When she got home, Qi Xiao and Song Xiao had just returned too. Meng Ning and Qi Xiao went downstairs for bowls of seafood noodles as usual. It was still early, so they decided to take the bus.
The sunset bathed everything in gold, as if staining their clothes.
Meng Ning leaned against the bus stop sign, her backpack hooked casually over her other shoulder. Her long black hair was tied back, and the collar of her athletic shirt was flipped up, revealing her elegant neck and half of the black mandala flower tattoo.
Even Qi Xiao, who saw her every day, stared for a moment.
Meng Ning’s expression was distant, like a wisp of cloud on the horizon. It was impossible to tell if she was lost in thought or just spacing out.
She seemed so touchable, yet impossibly far away.
Qi Xiao asked, “Ning, what are you thinking about?”
The young woman, tall and graceful, leaned against the half-rusted bus stop sign. “I’m thinking that later, I’m going to go find her.”
In the two days before Meng Ning’s days off, Wen Zenian hadn’t appeared along the coastline.
Including her time off, it had been four days since Meng Ning had last seen her.
It was easy to start imagining that all those enchanting moments before had been nothing but her own fantasies.
But after showering back at the dorm and changing into her athletic uniform, Meng Ning’s pocket clearly held Wen Zenian’s room keycard and lighter.
She sat by the window, propping her head on one hand while fiddling with the lighter. She didn’t flick it on—just spun it between her thumb, index, and middle fingers, round and round.
Qi Xiao had gone to see Ju Mengya. When she returned, Meng Ning was about to head out. Qi Xiao reminded her sternly, “Review your notes. Don’t forget the key moves!”
Meng Ning knew this joke wasn’t going away, so she fired back on purpose. “Qi Xiao, after all those study materials, how come you still haven’t even had your first kiss?”
“Hey! Don’t hit a girl where it hurts! No need to rub it in!”
Meng Ning was already laughing as she left the room.
She always waited until after midnight to head to Wen Zenian’s room, as if that hour steeped in ritual marked the start of a dream.
No one else was in the staff elevator at that time, but the jumping red numbers made her tense.
Until the door finally beeped open.
The room inside was utterly silent, shrouded in darkness. Only the open terrace let in the faint glow of streetlights from the coastal road.
Wen Zenian wasn’t there again.
Meng Ning had considered this possibility—Wen Zenian was always so busy, after all.
She stepped out onto the terrace for some air. The coastal strip was closed by now, but suddenly she wondered: What if some guest ignored the rules and wandered in? Would they spot her?
With that in mind, she retreated back inside.
On the obsidian coffee table sat Wen Zenian’s cigarette case, but no lighter. A slender-stemmed wineglass held the last shallow sip of white wine, alongside a few scattered pages of documents.
Wen Zenian must have been worried about leaks—commercial secrets, probably—so she’d told housekeeping not to clean today.
Meng Ning had no desire to pry into those files, so she averted her eyes and simply tidied them up.
Beneath the papers peeked a piece of chocolate.
It was the one from when she’d passed out from low blood sugar, and Wen Zenian had come to “visit” her. She remembered the angle where she’d bitten into it, still bearing her faint tooth marks.
Wen Zenian had wrapped it back in gold foil at the time. Now it sat on the table with the foil peeled off again. And her tooth mark? Half of it had been bitten away by Wen Zenian, overlaid with her own bite. Plus—
Meng Ning leaned in for a closer look. On the deep brown chocolate, there was a faint imprint of Wen Zenian’s earth-toned lipstick—not obvious, just a subtle lip shape with a slight glossy sheen.
Meng Ning sat on the sofa for a while, not sure what possessed her.
She picked up the chocolate and took a bite.
Her tooth mark covered Wen Zenian’s once more. Her lip print overlaid the lipstick stain again.
Then she placed the chocolate back on the table.
Her sleep had been poor these past few days, and now she felt unexpectedly drowsy.
She grabbed a cushion and lay down on the sofa, still fully clothed.
When she opened her eyes again, her mind was foggy. A faint fragrance filled her nose, and she realized someone was kissing her.
Wen Zenian had kissed her awake.
The room was still dark, the night thick and heavy. Even the streetlights filtering from the coast seemed dim. She could feel Wen Zenian’s body heat and weight, but her form was just a vague silhouette.
