Qi Xiao sat in the hospital, only realizing in hindsight how reckless she had been.
What if Meng Ning was fine? What if Meng Ning was just on a trip, finally enjoying a hard-earned vacation after five years as a corporate drone, with no intention of contacting anyone?
She hadn’t even considered that one phone call from her would make Wen Zenian fly back from Paris. If Meng Ning turned out to be perfectly okay, how would she even explain herself?
Screw it.
She was going to charge recklessly across that line anyway, pushing her relationship with Meng Ning from “acquaintances” toward “friends.”
Wen Zenian hadn’t gone back to work.
Like Qi Xiao, she just stared at the abstract painting on the wall. Every so often, she stood up and peered through the small window embedded in the ward door to see if Meng Ning had woken yet.
Meng Ning hadn’t suffered any serious effects from the water she had choked on; she was just exhausted. She slept deeply until the first rays of dawn, finally stirring awake. Qi Xiao gripped the arms of her chair and watched as Wen Zenian hurried off in her high heels to call the nurse.
When the doctor and nurses entered the ward, Wen Zenian didn’t follow.
She stood at the door with her arms crossed, meeting Qi Xiao’s gaze and tugging at the corner of her lips in a faint smile.
Holy crap. Wen Zenian, who never smiled, was smiling now. It nearly scared Qi Xiao to death.
Later, Qi Xiao reflected that when people felt utterly helpless, their first instinct wasn’t often to cry—it was to laugh.
Even someone as strong as Wen Zenian was no exception.
The doctor and nurses emerged from the ward and told Wen Zenian she could go in. Wen Zenian asked in detail, double-checking every one of Meng Ning’s vital signs. The doctor assured her there were no issues; they had run all the tests upon admission the night before.
Only then did Wen Zenian nod. She thanked them and saw them off.
As she returned to the ward door without entering, she crossed her arms again and stood there stunned for a couple of seconds.
Lifting her gaze to Qi Xiao, she asked, “Mind if I go in first?”
“Of course, of course,” Qi Xiao said, nodding timidly like a scared quail. She caught herself and shook her head vigorously. “I mean, of course not!”
She had always known Wen Zenian had real feelings for Meng Ning!
If not, she’d rewrite her own profile in reverse!
Wen Zenian pushed open the door and went inside.
Qi Xiao couldn’t resist her gossipy urge. She stood from her chair and crept to the small window by the door to peek.
Holy crap! Clutching her chest, she stumbled back two steps to the waiting chair and sat down hard.
She shouldn’t have looked. It scared her half to death.
Wen Zenian had slapped Meng Ning right across the face.
Meng Ning leaned against the headboard while Wen Zenian stood opposite her, arms crossed.
“What the hell are you doing?” Wen Zenian demanded.
When she took on the project to optimize the C Hotel chain domestically, she never imagined running into Meng Ning again. Out of habit, she had quickly skimmed through all the staff profiles.
And there, on the Lifesaving Team roster, was Meng Ning.
Recognizing her was effortless. Meng Ning had always had delicate features, especially those clear black-and-white eyes with their long lashes—cool and aloof in expression, yet brimming with affection when they looked at you.
Staring at her computer screen then, Wen Zenian pressed her lips together.
Memories from the past flooded back.
She had met Meng Ning at fourteen, during the worst time of her life. Her face was puffy from hormone treatments, a curse for any teen awakening to puberty.
Everyone bullied her, but the most dazzling girl in class smiled and befriended her.
Wen Zenian had never known much warmth in life. Meng Ning was the kindest person to her—escorting her to the bathroom, helping with homework, bringing her home for her mom to cook meals.
In her teenage years, Wen Zenian lived in constant fear, wondering what she had done to deserve it.
Until one day, she discovered Meng Ning was using her.
The person who had been kindest to her in the world turned out to be the cruelest.
Now, all grown up, she stood in the ward with arms crossed, confronting Meng Ning. “Why are you still the same as back then? Whenever you face a mess you can’t clean up, your go-to move is to turn and run.”
Meng Ning’s face was pale. She tugged at the corner of her lips in a smile. “So you knew all along. I figured you did.”
Wen Zenian nodded. “How could I not? If I weren’t sensitive enough, how would I have clawed my way out of that hellhole of a past?”
Wen Zenian had figured it out back then: Meng Ning was only kind to lure her home.
Meng Ning’s mother, Shi Yang, was the renowned beauty of that old alley. With her long, straight black hair always tied back with a handkerchief, she was serene and gentle, looking far too young to have a child Meng Ning’s age.
Later, from the rumors, Wen Zenian pieced together that Shi Yang truly wasn’t Meng Ning’s biological mother.
Back then, Shi Yang’s family was poor. When Meng Ning’s father fell gravely ill, she agreed to marry him, becoming the mother to this illegitimate daughter and living with Meng Ning and her grandmother.
That summer, something big happened: Cen Meigui arrived in the alley and opened a small convenience store. Soon, whispers spread about Shi Yang and Cen Meigui.
In those days, anything between women was practically a sin, but Cen Meigui didn’t shy away much. Meng Ning grew terrified that Shi Yang would abandon her and leave with Cen Meigui.
Her grandmother and Wen Zenian’s grandparents were equally stubborn, rigid, and patriarchal. By bringing Wen Zenian home so often, Meng Ning forced Shi Yang to see firsthand how wretched a girl’s life could be in such a family.
The more warmth Wen Zenian felt, the more she understood her own life’s misery.
At first, she hoped Meng Ning was oblivious, but soon realized she knew exactly what she was doing.
Wen Zenian found herself trapped in a humiliating predicament.
The one who gave her the most warmth was also the most cruel.
Yet she couldn’t resist Meng Ning. Like a moth to a flame, she kept following her home.
In the end, Shi Yang stayed, and Cen Meigui left the alley.
Meng Ning made new friends and ruthlessly cut ties with her.
Later, Wen Zenian went abroad.
She tried to forget, even dated two girlfriends, but found she couldn’t form intimate bonds.
So when they reunited, she crafted a dream for Meng Ning.
Now, Meng Ning leaned against the headboard, eyes downcast. “I’m sorry.”
Wen Zenian uncrossed her arms and sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you kidding me? After more than a decade, this is the ‘sorry’ I get—and you can’t even look me in the eye?”
Meng Ning raised her head slowly, as if weighed down by something heavy at the nape of her neck. She met Wen Zenian’s gaze, tugged at her lips again, and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
It was a smile devoid of hope.
Because deep down, Meng Ning knew an apology meant nothing.
She had said “sorry” to Shi Yang a thousand times in her heart, but what good had it done?
Without her scheming back then, would Shi Yang have left with Cen Meigui? Might Shi Yang now be a renowned barista instead of languishing for years under her grandmother’s oppression until, after the old woman’s death, she was diagnosed with breast cancer—the kind linked to chronic stress?
Wen Zenian knew all of Meng Ning’s secrets now.
She asked, “Is this how you apologized to Aunt Shiyang too? To me?”
Meng Ning smiled again. “Go ahead, yell at me some more.”
With Shi Yang gone, no one from her past remained to scold her.
“What’s the point of yelling?” Wen Zenian stared at Meng Ning, her chest rising and falling slightly. “Do you think it absolves your sins? Listen to me, Meng Ning. Aunt Shiyang isn’t here anymore. Of the two people you wronged back then, I’m the only one left who can make you pay.”
“Aunt Shiyang was always soft on you. She’d forgive you no matter what.”
“But I’m telling you, I won’t. You’re not allowed to leave. Don’t you dare vanish on me. Stay in this world and atone properly. Otherwise, I’ll never forgive you.”
Meng Ning stayed in the hospital for a week.
On the day of discharge, Qi Xiao didn’t show up. Wen Zenian did.
Meng Ning pressed her lips together. Wen Zenian’s expression was impassive. “Now that everything’s out in the open, you’re even more afraid to face me?”
Only now did she understand why Meng Ning had agreed so readily to their physical relationship.
Meng Ning had planned to leave all along, wanting to give her as much pleasure as possible beforehand—to make herself suffer more.
“You think that’s enough?” Wen Zenian said. “Not a chance.”
She opened the car door for Meng Ning. “Get in.”
Meng Ning slid into the seat.
Damn, this was awkward.
Had she ever thought about “death”? Not really; the word was too concrete. Weeks of lost sleep and mounting guilt had turned her mind to mush.
She just wanted to vanish, to sleep forever. To donate all her money and clothes, erase the symbol of “Meng Ning” from the world, and let her unresolvable regrets finally lose her trail.
But now, she had been dragged back into reality. She didn’t know how to face Wen Zenian—or the world.
Wen Zenian was dressed in a black suit with slim trousers today, her hair in an elegant updo. She drove a Maybach, showing off her success without a hint of restraint, unafraid of hurting Meng Ning.
Meng Ning actually preferred it this way. If Wen Zenian had been overly cautious, it would have been even more awkward.
Wen Zenian drove straight, not toward the docks or Meng Ning’s old apartment—paths Meng Ning knew well. Instead, she headed into the city’s central business district, crossed through it, and entered a high-end residential area.
She pulled into a gated community.
Meng Ning noticed the system scanned her license plate automatically—no stop for registration.
Wen Zenian parked in the underground garage and grabbed Meng Ning’s duffel bag. Meng Ning had nothing left, not even underwear; Qi Xiao had brought some during a visit. Penniless and embarrassed, she had promised to repay her later.
Qi Xiao said they were from Wen Zenian.
Meng Ning was stunned.
It turned out that when she had asked Qi Xiao to buy her some necessities, Wen Zenian had already prepared everything and given it to Qi Xiao. “Meng Ning will probably ask you for help. Pass these along.”
Qi Xiao, figuring Meng Ning wouldn’t broach the subject directly with Wen Zenian, had probed, “Should I tell her they were from you?”
Wen Zenian had tipped her chin down. “Tell her. Why not?”
“Hey, after all this hassle, I thought you didn’t want her to know. Why not just give them to her yourself?”
