“What exactly counts as drunken nonsense?”
Meng Huaijin gave her an unreadable look.
“What do you think you might say?”
Shu Wan was a little surprised by his attitude today.
Before coming here, she had already prepared herself to be lectured because of her drinking.
Unexpectedly, he hadn’t scolded her at all.
“Nothing.”
She lowered her head and continued eating her congee, suddenly feeling rather confident.
“I think I’m pretty wellbehaved when I drink. I’m the type who just falls asleep when I get drunk.”
Meng Huaijin’s expression darkened.
His cool gaze practically pinned her in place.
“If you dare drink again, I’ll throw you straight into a trash can.”
“!!!”
It was as if someone had possessed her for a moment.
Shu Wan’s eyes widened.
Then she quickly returned to normal and secretly muttered to herself,
You wouldn’t.
After breakfast, Meng Huaijin went back to work.
Shu Wan grew bored waiting for him, so she went to the open space beneath the office building and started building a snowman.
Snow was still falling, though not particularly heavily.
It was the weekend, so the open space was deserted.
A thick blanket of white snow covered the ground.
Shu Wan ran back and forth across it, working with great enthusiasm.
After more than an hour, she finally sculpted a nearly perfect snowman.
Especially its face.
The features were sharp and welldefined, the lines bold and striking.
Its posture was wild and carefree, with a hint of arrogant disdain for everything around it.
Even Shu Wan found herself staring in a daze.
When did I become able to sculpt that face so clearly?
“Not cold?”
The sudden voice made Shu Wan quickly wipe the snowman’s face smooth.
She looked up.
Meng Huaijin was standing not far away.
He was wearing the same overcoat as yesterday.
His tall figure stood straight in the middle of the snowy landscape.
There was something almost soldierlike about him—strong, sharp, and unyielding, like a poplar tree standing along the border defenses of China’s northwest.
Shu Wan suddenly thought of a melodramatic line:
If one day we could stand beneath the same snow…
She shook her numb hands and quickly pulled herself back to reality.
Then she smiled at him, her eyes curving into crescents.
“Not cold.”
Meng Huaijin walked over in long strides and glanced at her snowman.
“That counts as a face?”
“I haven’t drawn it yet.”
When Shu Wan lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembled slightly.
After a moment, she picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks and carved a pair of ordinary eyebrows and eyes onto the snowman’s head.
Then she added its nose and mouth.
Once she finished, she clapped her hands and turned around.
“Let’s go home.”
Meng Huaijin expressionlessly tossed a pair of his gloves at her.
Then he turned around, shielding the cigarette between his teeth from the wind with one hand as he lit it.
He walked ahead.
Shu Wan stared blankly after the gloves had landed in her hands.
It took her several seconds to realize what had happened.
She quickly put them on.
Then she pulled out a men’s scarf she had deliberately stuffed into her bag before leaving home.
She jogged after him.
With a light jump, she reached around from behind and wrapped the scarf around Meng Huaijin’s neck.
“Thank you for saving Grandpa Chen.”
“This is the best birthday present I’ve ever received.”
She had finally said what she’d wanted to tell him ever since she arrived at his office that morning.
Meng Huaijin didn’t discuss the matter.
He casually glanced at the scarf—the same one he’d already noticed the night before.
His mouth said,
“Ugly.”
But he didn’t take it off.
“You’re thanking me with this?”
“I’ll give you more in the future.”
Shu Wan swore it sincerely.
Meng Huaijin’s eyes briefly swept over the girl’s incredibly serious expression.
He didn’t seem to take her promise seriously and simply continued walking.
“When’s your birthday?”
Shu Wan tilted her head.
She heard his cold, matteroffact answer.
“I don’t celebrate my birthday.”
The girl shrugged.
You don’t have to tell me. I can find out myself.
Since she couldn’t catch up with him anyway, she simply stepped into the footprints he left behind in the snow, matching his long strides with little hops as she followed behind.
When Meng Huaijin reached the car, he looked back.
The sight before him left a rare trace of bewilderment on his usually expressionless face.
She’s young.
Apparently, even walking a few steps could become a new game for her.
He really couldn’t understand what was so interesting about stepping on footprints.
Compared with six months ago, she seemed to have grown a little taller too.
For some reason, Meng Huaijin suddenly felt a strange, completely unnecessary sense of accomplishment.
Before this, he had never imagined that he could raise Meng Xian’s daughter into someone so…
well, put together.
Not long after New Year’s Day came the final exams.
After the exams, the school added another week of classes before Shu Wan was finally allowed to go on vacation.
By then, there were only a few days left until the Lunar New Year.
Meng Huaijin had never told her when his birthday was.
But Shu Wan eventually found out from Meng Chuan.
It was on Little New Year’s Eve in northern China—the twentythird day of the twelfth lunar month.
And Shu Wan happened to be on vacation that day.
For this reason, she had started preparing half a month in advance.
Whenever she had time, she went to a bakery workshop and learned from the pastry chef how to make a cake.
It took her quite a while to finally get the hang of it.
She even bought all the ingredients and kept them at home, waiting for Meng Huaijin’s birthday so she could make him a cake herself.
But then…
He went out that day.
He still hadn’t returned after midnight.
Shu Wan sat there sulking at the cake she had made herself three times before finally being satisfied with it.
It wasn’t until one in the morning that she finally heard the door open.
She was still sitting there looking miserable when she saw the man enter.
A cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth.
He reeked of alcohol.
For the first time, Shu Wan boldly snatched the cigarette from his lips, crushed it out, and threw it into the trash.
For the first time, she questioned him like an angry prosecutor.
“Why did you come home so late?”
“What were you doing?”
She hadn’t expected him to find her still awake.
Meng Huaijin casually tossed the overcoat in his hand toward her.
His gaze fell on the crushed cigarette in the trash.
There wasn’t much anger in his voice.
“Shu Wan.”
“Who gave you the nerve?”
The girl pouted.
She threw his coat back at him without saying a word, went straight into her bedroom, and locked the door.
Meng Huaijin’s expression darkened.
He wondered if he’d been indulging her too much lately.
Just then, his peripheral vision happened to land on the dining table.
His gaze settled on the untouched cake.
The milkywhite frosting shimmered softly beneath the light.
A cartoon figure had been drawn across its smooth surface.
It looked somewhat silly.
And somewhat cute.
During the day, his mother had called him several times.
He had been busy and hadn’t answered.
Apparently, she had been calling to ask about his birthday.
Now that the day had already passed, it was no wonder the girl had dared to snatch the cigarette from his mouth and get angry with him.
Meng Huaijin studied the distinctly girlish cake for a moment.
Then he raised an eyebrow.
Without changing his expression, he used a utensil to cut off a small piece and put it into his mouth.
Too sweet.
He didn’t like sweet things.
The cake was six inches.
The man ended up eating more than half of it.
When Shu Wan heard footsteps outside her door, she immediately pulled the blanket over her head.
“Are you asleep?”
His tone was completely calm.
The girl gave a little “Hmph” and didn’t answer.
“If you’re awake, make me a bowl of hangover soup.”
“……”
Shu Wan hadn’t even taken off her shoes in the first place.
She turned over, got out of bed, and opened the door.
She met the man’s calm, silent, imposing eyes.
Because she knew she was in the right, she spoke with confidence.
“Who told you to drink?”
“I’m not making any.”
So, she had learned to talk back now.
Meng Huaijin’s lips curled into a faint smile.
Taking advantage of their height difference, he reached over and casually messed up the top of her hair.
“What are you angry about?”
“Didn’t I tell you I don’t celebrate birthdays?”
Shu Wan stared at that fleeting smile.
It had appeared and vanished as quickly as a shooting star.
For several seconds, her pupils didn’t even move.
So, this is what he looks like when he smiles…
He was unbelievably handsome.
Like spring arriving overnight, turning thousands upon thousands of trees into blooming pear blossoms.
The only problem was that the smile had disappeared too quickly.
So quickly that she almost wondered if she’d imagined it.
Shu Wan looked away and touched the top of her head where he had ruffled it.
Still unwilling to concede, she muttered,
“If you put it that way, then I was just making a fuss for nothing…”
“The cake was good.”
The man interrupted her before she could launch into another long speech.
Shu Wan looked toward the dining table.
Only then did she notice that more than half of the cake was gone.
The corners of her lips immediately lifted.
She happily went into the kitchen to make his hangover soup.
Meng Huaijin went out onto the balcony and lit another cigarette.
Watching her busy figure in the kitchen, he asked calmly,
“Your mother didn’t want me to take you back to the Meng family when she was alive.”
“New Year is coming.”
“What do you think?”
Shu Wan knew that for the past six months, he had deliberately kept her away from the Meng family.
But the Lunar New Year was approaching.
It was a time for families to reunite.
The Meng family had a distinguished military background and strict family traditions.
There was no way Meng Huaijin wouldn’t return home for the holiday.
If Shu Wan didn’t go with him, she’d have to spend the New Year alone.
“I’ll go with you.”
Shu Wan said,
“Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”
Since Meng Huaijin was now her legal guardian, dealing with the Meng family was unavoidable.
And officially, she was still the Meng family’s maternal granddaughter.
Completely cutting off contact with them wasn’t realistic.
That decision would later become one of the things Shu Wan regretted most.
If she were given another chance to choose, she would rather have spent that New Year alone.
Some things were like water.
Once they flowed out, there was no way to take them back.
And there would be no returning to how things were before.
On New Year’s Eve, Meng Huaijin worked until noon before finally taking the rest of the day off.
By the time he brought Shu Wan back to the Meng residence, it was already afternoon.
Although she had visited the Meng family ten years ago, Shu Wan no longer had any memory of the place.
As the car slowly drove inside, she once again saw the imposing villa that radiated an extraordinary sense of authority and grandeur.
Mrs. Meng had been waiting at the entrance for a long time.
The moment Meng Huaijin got out of the car, she warmly linked her arm with his.
She complained while barely managing to hide her happiness.
“You!”
“If you’d come any later, we might as well have eaten New Year’s Day dinner instead of New Year’s Eve dinner.”
“You’ve been transferred to Beicheng for more than half a year, haven’t you?”
“How many times have you actually come home?”
“Seeing you once is practically harder than reaching the heavens.”
Meng Huaijin didn’t respond.
Instead, he asked,
“Where’s Dad?”
“Playing chess with your eldest brother in the study.”
Her gaze shifted to Shu Wan, who had just gotten out of the car.
The woman’s smile paused for a moment before returning.
“So this is Shu Wan?”
“It’s been ten years since I last saw you.”
“You’ve grown into such a beautiful young lady.”
Shu Wan smiled politely.
“Grandma.”
Mrs. Meng studied her carefully for quite a while before affectionately taking her hand and leading her inside.
“You look like your mother.”
Shu Wan glanced at Meng Huaijin standing nearby before answering,
“Yes. I look like Mom.”
Mrs. Meng’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
“Since you’re in Beicheng now, come visit the family more often.”
“Otherwise, people might think we don’t welcome you, our granddaughter.”
“Actually, your mother back then…”
“Mom.”
Meng Huaijin interrupted her calmly.
“Let her rest first.”
Without waiting for his mother to agree, he turned to the auntie nearby and instructed,
“Prepare the room opposite mine.”
“Take Miss Shu there to rest.”
Shu Wan initially looked at him uneasily.
But when she heard that her room would be directly across from his, she relaxed considerably.
She turned and followed the auntie upstairs.
“For all these years, they haven’t had anything to do with the Meng family.”
“My son, on the other hand, has such a big heart. He picked up this enormous burden and took it upon himself.”
“And he kept her hidden away for more than half a year.”
“Was he afraid I’d mistreat her?”
Mrs. Meng’s voice was very low.
“I don’t like her mother, but I understand that children are innocent.”
“Do you really think I’d eat her alive?”
“Do you still want to have a good New Year?”
Meng Huaijin’s reply was low and unmistakably stern.
“…Fine, fine, I won’t talk about that.”
“Then I’ll talk about something else.”
“You’re not getting any younger.”
“Isn’t it time we started talking seriously about marriage?”
“Since it’s New Year, why don’t we settle this matter?”
“You spend all day with a halfgrown girl.”
“What kind of image does that give people?”
“Someone might even think she’s your…”
“Anyway, hurry up and bring my future daughterinlaw home.”
Shu Wan’s footsteps stopped at the corner of the second floor.
Her gaze remained fixed on the first floor.
Meng Huaijin’s profile was turned toward her.
She couldn’t see his expression clearly.
And she didn’t hear his response to his mother’s last words.
The guest room was spacious.
Everything on the bed had been freshly changed.
It was soft.
And it smelled clean and comforting.
Shu Wan lay quietly on it.
For several seconds, she could barely feel herself breathing.
Her mother had been the Meng family’s adopted daughter.
There must have been complicated grievances, conflicts, and history between her mother and the family.
Shu Wan didn’t know what they were.
No one had ever told her.
But since Meng Xian had chosen not to stay in contact with them, she must have had her reasons.
Shu Wan had never really cared about that.
Nor did she intend to spend too much energy worrying about what anyone in this family thought of her.
If she didn’t care about any of that…
Then why did her chest feel so tight?
Why was her breathing uneven?
Why was her mind so restless?
Shu Wan stared blankly at the withered tree outside the window for a very long time.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when someone knocked on the door.
Before she could answer, the door was turned open from the outside.
Meng Huaijin leaned halfway into the room.
His eyes swept over her.
They were deep and unreadable.
“What’s wrong?”