Shu Wan jolted awake from her sleep, relieved to find that she had been leaning against a cushion.
If she had accidentally leaned against that man instead, who knew what kind of threats and harsh words she would have had to endure?
The highway was pitchblack in the middle of the night.
Meng Huaijin was now driving, while his guard sat in the passenger seat, head tilted to one side as he snored loudly.
Hearing the movement behind him, Meng Huaijin glanced at the girl in the rearview mirror and said calmly, “There are some snacks in the trunk.”
Their eyes briefly met through the mirror. Shu Wan shook her head to indicate that she wasn’t hungry.
The man said nothing more and continued driving, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
Shu Wan continued staring at his profile.
Five minutes. Ten minutes. Perhaps even longer.
Meng Huaijin had a high, straight nose and welldefined, deepset features. His eyes were sharp and commanding, giving him a handsome, rugged appearance marked by both intensity and composure.
Looking at him this way, Shu Wan realized that his intimidating air wasn’t the crude sort. There was an unmistakable sense of nobility and worldly experience behind it.
“Shu Wan, is there something dirty on my face?”
Meng Huaijin hadn’t looked at her, yet he somehow knew she was staring.
Shu Wan froze for a moment. She understood what he was getting at, but still answered seriously, “No. Your face is very clean.”
“…”
After another moment, the man noticed that the girl was still staring at him.
He spoke again.
“Has no one ever told you that staring at someone like that is rude?”
Shu Wan lowered her eyes and replied softly, “Driving at night makes people more prone to fatigue. I… can talk to you.”
The hand Meng Huaijin had resting on the center console paused for a moment before he glanced at the rearview mirror again.
The girl’s facial features bore some resemblance to her mother, Meng Xian, yet there were differences as well.
She had an oval face, almondshaped eyes, long lashes like little brushes, an upturned nose, and delicate lips. Her skin was as pale and smooth as fine jade, with a tiny beauty mark at the corner of her eye that made her look as though she were perpetually on the verge of tears.
He had assumed that, even if she didn’t cry the entire journey, she would at least remain silent the whole way.
He hadn’t expected her to actually speak simply because she was worried about him driving while tired.
“I want a cigarette. Help me find my lighter.”
Meng Huaijin flicked the unlit cigarette between his fingers as he spoke to her.
The occasional glimpse of darkness and roguishness in his manner made it difficult to reconcile him with his official position and identity.
“No.”
Shu Wan mustered her courage to refuse him, then seriously explained, “You shouldn’t smoke while driving.”
Meng Huaijin raised an eyebrow. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry.
“How old are you this year?”
“I’ll turn eighteen at the end of the year.”
Ten years ago, when they had first met, she had been only eight.
After thinking for a moment, Shu Wan asked in return, “What about you? How old are you?”
Meng Huaijin answered casually, “I’ll turn twentyeight at the end of the year.”
They were ten years apart, and he had an unpredictable temper.
Most importantly, she was about to depend on him for everything.
At that time, Shu Wan had no idea that for many years to come, she would remain entangled with the man who had rescued her from the depths of despair.
And it would be in a relationship between a man and a woman that could never be spoken of openly.
After exchanging a few words, the awkward silence between them had finally been broken.
Shu Wan tugged at the corners of her lips, trying to force out a smile so she would look a little more normal.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t smile.
Meng Huaijin took everything in.
For once, instead of making a cutting remark, he showed her a rare bit of mercy.
“The dead are gone, and the living must go on. Follow me. You won’t go hungry.”
.
As it turned out, a man’s words really were the biggest lies.
After bringing Shu Wan back to Beicheng, Meng Huaijin didn’t simply throw her into the Meng family’s old residence.
Instead, he arranged for her to live separately in a government officials’ apartment, hired a housekeeper to take care of her daily needs, and left her a generous sum of money—enough to see her through college.
But after that, he didn’t show up for half a month.
Only after asking the housekeeper did Shu Wan learn that Meng Huaijin had moved somewhere else and no longer lived there.
.
Ever since Meng Huaijin had been transferred to Beicheng, his whereabouts had been unpredictable.
People constantly sent invitations, hoping to visit him or invite him to dinner, yet it remained extremely difficult to catch even a glimpse of him.
Tonight’s gathering was a welcome banquet arranged for him by Zhou Zhenglin and Meng Chuan.
The former was his childhood friend, while the latter was his younger cousin.
Meng Huaijin had little interest in socializing. But Beicheng was different from the military.
Here, personal connections and social etiquette mattered.
He had spent years stationed in the military region. Now that he had changed environments, there were certain social obligations he simply couldn’t avoid.
Inside an old courtyard house located within the Second Ring Road, nearly all the prominent young men and women of Beicheng had gathered.
Taking advantage of the occasion, everyone came forward to toast Meng Huaijin.
If the reputation of the older generation of the Meng family had been secured through their distinguished revolutionary military achievements, then the younger generation had Meng Huaijin to thank for its standing.
While other young heirs his age were still relying on the wealth left behind by their ancestors to indulge in extravagant lifestyles and waste their youth, Meng Huaijin had already carved out an extraordinary path for himself in the military.
And after his transfer to Beicheng, his already formidable family background, combined with his political ability, made him even more formidable.
Meng Chuan watched his cousin leaning casually against his chair, exchanging polite words with the people around him.
Deep down, he admired him to the point of utter reverence.
His cousin was the kind of man who, once dressed in military uniform, could lead a thousandmile night raid, sweeping aside all opposition and striking fear into the hearts of his enemies.
But put him in a suit and tie, and he possessed an entirely different kind of presence—an understated nobility and overwhelming authority that made people instinctively keep their distance.
“Brother, since you’ve already brought Sister Meng Xian’s daughter to Beicheng, why didn’t you leave her at the old residence? Wouldn’t it be easier to take care of her with so many people at home?”
Meng Chuan squeezed through the crowd and quietly asked him.
Only then did Meng Huaijin remember that it had already been half a month since he had last checked on the girl.
He didn’t explain that this had been Meng Xian’s request.
Their eldest sister had always been deeply resistant to the Meng family. Before entrusting her daughter to him, she had repeatedly begged him not to bring the girl into the Meng family residence.
“You brought Sister Meng Xian’s daughter here?”
Zhou Zhenglin looked surprised.
“Why didn’t you bring her out so we could meet her? What’s her name? Is she pretty?”
Meng Huaijin held his halfsmoked cigarette between his fingers and gave him a cold sideways glance.
Before he could answer, the phone in his pocket rang.
It was the housekeeper from the government apartment.
He casually answered the call, but after hearing what the woman said, his brows immediately drew together.
He instructed Meng Chuan to drive and dragged Zhou Zhenglin along with them.
On the way, the two asked in unison,
“What happened?”
They soon got their answer.
At the hospital, the girl was lying on a hospital bed.
Compared with half a month ago, she had lost a shocking amount of weight. Her skin was so pale that there was hardly any color left in her face.
“Give me an explanation.”
In the hallway, Meng Huaijin questioned the housekeeper, his voice icy.
The housekeeper trembled under his intimidating presence and avoided his eyes.
“MMiss Shu… she doesn’t really like eating. She has low blood sugar.”
“Is that so?”
The man’s cold eyes narrowed.
“Because from where I’m standing, this doesn’t look like simple hypoglycemia.”
The housekeeper suddenly burst into tears and complained,
“This young lady… she might have something wrong with her. She spends entire nights sitting on the bed staring blankly into space, and she refuses to let me turn off the lights. Whenever I do, she screams.”
“And she can’t have any meat at all. I didn’t know that on the first day, so I made some meat soup. After she drank it, she vomited terribly. Ever since then, she’s barely eaten anything. Even when she does eat, it’s just plain rice porridge. There’s no nutrition in that. How could she not have low blood sugar?”
“Mr. Meng, Miss Shu is just a little delicate…”
“Calculate her wages and let her go.”
With that cold command, Meng Huaijin pushed open the door and entered the hospital room.
The male doctor had already left. Only a female doctor remained, conducting the examination.
Zhou Zhenglin had changed into a white coat and came over to him. He clicked his tongue.
“So this is how you take care of a young girl?”
He was a doctor at this hospital.
He had originally planned to use his day off to attend Meng Huaijin’s welcome banquet, only to be forcibly dragged back to the hospital to work overtime.
Meng Huaijin walked to the designated smoking area and lit a cigarette.
After taking several deep drags, he asked,
“How is she?”
Zhou Zhenglin followed him.
“The low blood sugar and allergies are only the surface problems. The most serious issue is the trauma she’s carrying inside. How could you bring her to Beicheng and then simply leave her to fend for herself?”
“…”
“I never left her completely unattended.”
“She’s just been through something devastating. Giving her money and hiring a housekeeper to take care of her daily needs isn’t enough. Right now, she desperately needs a sense of security. What she needs is companionship and genuine concern, not a cold apartment and mechanical housekeeping.”
Meng Huaijin frowned.
Zhou Zhenglin continued earnestly,
“And judging from her appearance, she was clearly raised with great care and in considerable comfort by Sister Meng Xian. That housekeeper probably pocketed some of the living expenses you gave her and bought her the cheapest possible undergarments, which caused her allergic reaction…”
“You saw it?”
Meng Huaijin shot him a sharp look.
“…A female colleague told me. But that’s not the point. I’m a doctor. Even if I examined her, it would simply be part of my job.”
“Have a female doctor examine the affected area.”
Meng Huaijin dropped those words, crushed the cigarette butt out with his bare hand, and turned to enter the hospital room.
.
The doctors had already left.
Shu Wan was awake.
When she saw the tall, slender man approaching her, she pursed her lips in grievance and turned her face toward the window.
This was Meng Huaijin’s first time taking care of someone, and he had little experience in the matter. This situation was indeed partly his fault.
He pulled up a chair and sat beside the hospital bed, looking at the girl’s thin back.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
“Do you want something to eat?”
Shu Wan shook her head.
Then she asked softly,
“Do you hate me?”
“No.”
His answer was calm and immediate.
“Then… are you not going to live there anymore? And are you still going to keep hiring housekeepers for me?”
The man gave a quiet “Mm.”
“Two of them. I’ll find people with proper professional experience.”
The girl merely responded,
“Oh.”
Her voice was filled with unmistakable disappointment.
Meng Huaijin’s brows knitted tightly.
He stared at her without moving.
“Shu Wan, what exactly do you want?”
Only then did Shu Wan turn her head and meet his deep, unreadable eyes.
Although his sternness still frightened her a little, she tried to negotiate.
“I’m not used to living with strangers. Could you move back?”
The man refused.
“You’re a grown girl now. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to live together.”
The young girl’s large eyes flickered several times, half confused and half innocent.
“But… aren’t you my family?”
Although they had only met once in the past, her mother had often told her stories about this man and his accomplishments.
So now, after losing everything, Shu Wan had instinctively clung to him like a drowning person grasping the only lifeline within reach.
In this world, in this unfamiliar city, she saw him as the only family she had left.
The only person she could turn to.
The only source of comfort she had.
Meng Huaijin quietly looked at her without answering.
It seemed there was no room for negotiation after all.
Shu Wan sighed inwardly.
Her chest had been unbearably itchy, so she silently pulled the blanket up to her neck. Then, without making it obvious, she slipped her hand beneath it and discreetly scratched the irritated skin.
Meng Huaijin’s gaze shifted from her suspiciously moving blanket.
His voice dropped into a stern command.
“Don’t scratch.”
Shu Wan froze and obediently stopped.
After a moment, she raised her clear, bright almondshaped eyes toward him.
Once again, she sincerely and earnestly pleaded,
“Can’t we… live together?”