Chapter 66 Part 1

“Ning, once you pass your psychological assessment, does that mean you can go back to work at the Lifesaving Team?”

On her day off again, Qi Xiao had insisted on eating braised peanuts. Meng Ning had bought some spices and braised them together with her, but they still didn’t taste as good as the ones sold outside. Qi Xiao picked at them a bit disdainfully. After dinner, she sat on the sofa, shelling them one by one, absentmindedly.

Meng Ning grabbed a tissue and wiped the braising juice she had splashed onto the coffee table. “I don’t plan to go back to C Hotel.”

“Huh?”

Meng Ning asked solemnly, “Isn’t it a bit too thrilling to have an office romance with a boss at that level?”

Qi Xiao burst out laughing.

Meng Ning smiled along with her.

She hadn’t forgotten the slap Wen Zenian had given that investor last time. Actually, there was one question she had never asked: If the financing deal had gone smoothly, would Wen Zenian still have slapped the investor?

It wasn’t that she was afraid of the answer being “no.”

She was afraid of the answer being “yes.”

That was why she had no intention of letting her work intersect with Wen Zenian’s anymore. Qi Xiao said, “I get it if you want to avoid any suspicion. So what kind of job are you planning to look for?”

“I checked online earlier. Some five-star hotels in the city are hiring pool attendants. I think… I should be able to handle that.”

“You’d be perfect for it! No one in our Lifesaving Team is more professional than you. Sometimes I feel like when danger strikes, you don’t just see it—you sense it.”

Meng Ning paused.

She hadn’t expected Qi Xiao to be spot on.

She really didn’t see it; she felt it. Growing up, her family hadn’t been well-off, but she had a mother she was proud of—beautiful, elegant, and always treating her like an equal. She had never even felt the absence of a father as a regret.

But at fourteen, she suddenly learned that she wasn’t Shi Yang’s biological daughter. And then Cen Meigui had shown up in their old alley.

She realized in a flash that what she had been so proud of didn’t really belong to her. What she wanted to keep forever was something she could lose at any moment.

Danger was dangerous precisely because it always wore the mask of “happiness.” Like a frog in warm water, it crept closer while you were blissfully unaware.

That was probably why Meng Ning outperformed the other lifeguards. She never let her guard down.

She knew all too well that the calmer the waters, the more likely danger was brewing beneath.

Qi Xiao crunched on a braised peanut, gazing at her with the fond approval of an old mother. “Once you pass your final assessment round, everything will be fine.”

“Fine how?” Meng Ning tossed a peanut kernel into her mouth and sighed. “I owe her so much money. Who knows when I’ll pay it back.”

Meng Ning clearly remembered that the day of her psychological assessment was a Wednesday.

The final round was more complex, so she couldn’t have the doctor come to her. She had to go to the hospital herself. Once she passed, she would officially be a fully competent member of society again.

To protect privacy, appointments were staggered. When Doctor Han came out to get her, Meng Ning was sitting quietly on a waiting room chair.

She wore a horizontally striped T-shirt and jeans. She looked delicate, and even her posture was refined. Her backpack sat on another chair beside her. The sunlight filtering through the window was softened by her eyelashes as she kept her head slightly lowered, absorbed in the book cradled in her hands.

Doctor Han glanced at it.

The full English edition of Harry Potter.

Meng Ning heard the footsteps and looked up calmly. “Doctor Han.”

Doctor Han smiled and nodded at her. “Come with me.”

At that moment, under the trees outside.

Wen Zenian’s Maybach was parked there, sunlight dappling the hood in patches of light. She sat in the driver’s seat, taking a call in French.

Her last words were: “My schedule isn’t set yet.”

The other person said something, and she gave a slight nod of her chin before hanging up. She lifted her gaze to the hospital building.

She had told herself not to come.

Yet here she was.

And since she was here, she didn’t go up. She just sat in the car, waiting.

Once Meng Ning passed her psychological assessment, their relationship would enter a new phase.

Like, what job Meng Ning would find. Or when she would head to Paris.

In the consultation room.

Doctor Han looked at Meng Ning. The young woman’s face was still calm, but there was a subtle hint of bewilderment in her eyes.

When she noticed Doctor Han watching her, she smiled, and that elusive glint in her eyes vanished in an instant.

“It’s okay,” Doctor Han said. “It’s normal for the process to take a little longer.”

Meng Ning nodded. “Can I go today, then?”

“Yes,” Doctor Han replied. “You might need more time before the next round. We’ll notify you once it’s scheduled.”

“Okay.”

After Meng Ning left, Doctor Han called Wen Zenian.

Since Meng Ning had no family left, Wen Zenian’s name was listed as the contact.

“She didn’t pass?” Honestly, Wen Zenian was surprised by the result.

Doctor Han said, “That’s perfectly normal.”

“I understand.” Wen Zenian switched the phone from her right hand to her left and rested her right hand on the steering wheel. Her slender index finger tapped absently as her mind raced through the current situation.

In a casual glance upward, she froze.

Meng Ning stood under a tree not far away, peering at her through the windshield. She wasn’t smiling, nor did she look particularly sad—just empty.

It evoked the image of festering flesh that had rotted for too long. To treat it, you had to scrape it all out completely, leaving a hollow gap in the wound that exposed the stark white bone beneath.

Wen Zenian forgot to take the phone from her ear. Her right hand instinctively tightened on the steering wheel.

The sunlight scattered over Meng Ning, turning into a cold, colorless white. By Meng Ning’s usual route, she shouldn’t have come this way at all. She must have wandered aimlessly around the hospital after failing her assessment, backpack and all.

Their eye contact lasted only two seconds before Meng Ning turned with her backpack and walked away.

Wen Zenian had come downtown for business that day too, and by the time she finished, it was evening. She drove home.

Before stepping into the elevator, she steadied her breathing, bag in hand, and went inside.

The living room was empty, but there were sounds from the kitchen. She took off her suit jacket, turned on the air conditioning, and rolled up her sleeves to her elbows as she walked over.

Meng Ning had used her phone to unlock the door for her earlier. Hearing the footsteps, she didn’t turn around, focusing on the mushroom and pork stir-fry in the pan. “You’re back.”

“Mm.” She approached and placed a hand on Meng Ning’s nape. “What’s cooking? Smells amazing.”

“You’ve got good taste.” Meng Ning turned her head and grinned at her. “Go wash up. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Wen Zenian washed her hands, opened the rice cooker, and scooped two small bowls of rice onto the table.

Meng Ning brought out the dish and sat across from her.

“You won’t believe what happened when I went to buy these mushrooms today.”

“What?” Wen Zenian picked up a piece of mushroom, placed it on her rice, and watched the sauce soak in. Her thick lashes lowered halfway as she poked at the grains with her chopsticks.

“The vendor said they were from Yunnan, and someone asked if they were the kind that makes you see little people after eating them. She said online, someone ate mushrooms and saw this super special pink color—described it so beautifully. She’s renovating her place and wants to paint one wall that exact shade. Had to try the same mushrooms. Isn’t that ridiculous? Haha… hey.”

Meng Ning was really annoyed by Wen Zenian’s habit of suddenly glancing at her like that!

Especially with that striking face of hers—put on makeup, and she exuded such intensity. A single glance felt like looking down from on high. How could she not get nervous?

Wen Zenian asked, “Do you want to renovate the house?”

Meng Ning blinked. “Huh?”

What kind of skill was that at picking up the key point? She’d rambled on so long, and all Wen Zenian heard was “paint the walls.”

Wen Zenian said, “I bought this place in a rush back then. Never properly redone it. If you want to repaint the walls, that’s fine.”

“No, did you misunderstand? I wasn’t saying I want to repaint…”

“I want to redo it.” Wen Zenian picked up some greens with her chopsticks. “Otherwise, it looks too much like a model home—kinda sterile.”

Meng Ning paused, then shoveled rice into her mouth, cheeks puffing out as she mumbled, “Oh.”

After dinner, Wen Zenian worked a bit more while Meng Ning curled up on the sofa, reading the original English version of Harry Potter. Then they each showered in separate bathrooms.

Blow-drying Wen Zenian’s thick, long hair always took longer. When she returned to the bedroom, Meng Ning was lying on her side, seemingly asleep.

Wen Zenian said softly, “Lights out.”

The room lights switched off instantly. She lifted the covers and slipped into bed, but there was a rustle beside her.

Meng Ning scooted over and buried her face in Wen Zenian’s chest.

Her heart skipped a beat. She cradled Meng Ning’s head, threading her fingers through her straight, black hair.

Meng Ning’s muffled voice seemed to speak directly to her heart. “Your voice when you talk to the lights is so nice.”

“What?”

Meng Ning tilted her head, her lips brushing against softer flesh.

“Meng Ning…” Wen Zenian reached to pull her up, but Meng Ning slid downward.

The thin sleep robe offered no real barrier. Meng Ning’s soft lips and tongue had other uses besides kissing. Wen Zenian’s heart jolted; before she could stop it, electricity surged through her body.

Spring deepened, and in this climate, the air conditioning couldn’t be set too low.

Wen Zenian felt herself split in two. She closed her eyes and tilted her chin up, one arm draped across her forehead, fingertips chilled by the AC. But under the thin blanket was a scorching spring night; one part of her skin felt like it was about to combust.

Until her fingers clenched hard, her fingertip grazing the lines on her palm.

Meng Ning emerged from under the covers, propping herself up. “Lights on.”

She gazed down at Wen Zenian, her features soft, lips and eyes alike gleaming brightly.

She asked softly, “Are you crying?”

Wen Zenian steadied her breathing. “No.”

She hadn’t meant to tear up, but it was the first time she realized that immense pleasure brought an equally immense fear.

That fear came from knowing the more brilliant something was, the more fleeting—like fireworks, too intense to last.

Some things inspired terror of loss the very moment you obtained them.

Wen Zenian didn’t know if she meant this climax or Meng Ning herself.

Because Meng Ning gently stroked her chest in comfort, yet asked, “Aren’t you going to Paris soon? Why repaint the walls then?”

Wen Zenian said, “Let me up first.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Uncomfortable.” Wen Zenian gave her a light push. “I need to shower again.”