Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming presence surrounding him, the kind that seemed powerful enough to make even ghosts and spirits keep their distance, but as Shu Wan listened to the steady scratch, scratch, scratch of Meng Huaijin signing and reviewing documents, she unexpectedly began to feel sleepy.
Before long, her consciousness started to fade.
Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep.
During the following week of her hospitalization, Meng Huaijin came to the hospital every evening with a stack of documents to review. He would stay until Shu Wan fell asleep before leaving.
She didn’t know how to describe this elder of hers.
Whenever she thought he was kind, he only needed a single sentence to shatter her innocent expectations.
Whenever she thought he was cold and heartless, some subtle little action of his would leave her wondering if perhaps he wasn’t as indifferent as he seemed.
.
On the day Shu Wan was discharged, Meng Huaijin didn’t come.
Meng Chuan came to pick her up instead.
He explained, “Brother Jin has a very important meeting today, so he asked me to come get you first.”
Meng Chuan drove an outrageously flashy Lamborghini. Parked outside the hospital, it attracted countless curious glances.
Shu Wan smiled and thanked him before getting into the car.
The August heat came rolling over them like waves, blazing and overwhelming.
The girl lifted her hand, enjoying the sensation of the wind slipping between her fingers.
What a wonderful family… and yet everything had to go wrong.
Meng Chuan sighed inwardly.
“Little Shu Wan, I have another gathering tonight. I originally wanted to take you along and let you have some fun, but I’m afraid my brother would skin me alive. So there’s nothing I can do. I’ll have to take you back to the apartment first.”
Shu Wan wasn’t stupid.
She knew exactly what he meant by a “nighttime gathering.”
It was probably the kind of place filled with flashing lights, beautiful women, and all sorts of decadent entertainment.
She smiled and asked, “Uncle Meng Chuan, are you afraid of Uncle Huaijin too?”
Meng Chuan shuddered.
“None of us in the younger generation aren’t afraid of him. But if you ask me, there’s more admiration than fear. Because wherever he is, we feel secure. Having him around gives us confidence.”
That was probably true.
Shu Wan cautiously probed further.
“Then… did he tell you whether he’s coming back to the apartment tonight?”
“He didn’t say. A new official always has plenty of fires to put out. He has more social engagements than there are cars on this street. I doubt he’ll be able to come back.”
Shu Wan fell silent.
Then she casually asked,
“Would he go to the kind of gathering you were talking about?”
Meng Chuan froze for a moment before laughing.
“Kids shouldn’t meddle in adults’ business.”
By the time they returned to the apartment, it was already getting late.
Meng Chuan gave her a few brief instructions before hurrying off to his next engagement.
The moment the door closed, Tiantian let out a loud meow and jumped straight into Shu Wan’s arms.
She bounced the cat gently and looked surprised.
“How did you get so fat?”
One glance at the cat’s bowl and she understood.
That man must have been feeding her three days’ worth of food in a single day.
No wonder she had gained so much weight.
Shu Wan could practically imagine the expression on the face of the famous Meng Huaijin as he fed the cat and cleaned its litter box.
It must have been quite a sight.
Holding Tiantian, Shu Wan sat down on the sofa.
At first, she smiled.
But as she continued smiling, she suddenly fell silent.
She didn’t know who she was supposed to talk to anymore.
At the hospital, Meng Chuan had constantly teased her and tried to make her laugh. Doctor Zhou had checked on her and shown her genuine concern.
And if nothing else, there had always been Meng Huaijin’s seemingly perpetually unsmiling face.
He might have been coldhearted, but his powerful presence somehow made her feel safe.
There were things Shu Wan had stopped deliberately thinking about.
But whenever everything became quiet, the fear and oppression buried deep inside her became impossible to control.
She wasn’t sure whether Meng Huaijin would come back tonight.
After all, he had never actually said that he intended to move back in with her.
Shu Wan looked toward the door several times, but never heard any movement.
When the clock struck ten, she finally stopped waiting and called him.
The phone rang three or four times before he answered.
The other end remained silent.
“Hello?”
Shu Wan took a small, careful breath before tentatively asking,
“Are you really not coming back to live here?”
The second hand ticked three times.
Only then did Meng Huaijin’s deep, slightly husky voice come through the receiver.
“Open the door.”
.
The cat in her arms let out a meow and jumped onto the wooden floor.
Shu Wan stood up and headed toward the door.
Halfway there, she realized she was barefoot.
She turned back, put on her shoes, and then returned.
Before opening the door, she deliberately checked the peephole to make sure everything outside was safe.
Only then did she unlock it.
Meng Huaijin held his navy suit jacket in one hand.
Wearing only a black shirt, he looked even colder and more unapproachable than usual.
He stepped inside and placed the things in his other hand on the dining table.
“You remembered to check the peephole first. Not completely stupid.”
Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?
As he passed by her, Shu Wan caught the faint scent of alcohol on him.
“You cooked?”
Meng Huaijin glanced at the blackened things inside the trash can.
Shu Wan strategically took a sip of her warm water.
“I just made something casually.”
“Did anything catch fire?”
“…No.”
“Then you did great.”
“…”
If you don’t know how to compliment someone, you really don’t have to.
During the several hours she had spent waiting for him, Shu Wan hadn’t simply sat around.
She had noticed the fresh vegetables in the refrigerator and decided to try learning how to cook.
The result?
One failure after another.
She had even managed to turn the kitchen into a smokefilled disaster zone. It had genuinely come within inches of catching fire.
Once she accurately recognized her own limitations, she decisively abandoned the experiment.
She quickly cleaned up the “crime scene,” scrubbed everything down, mopped the floor, and opened the windows to air out the smell.
She had thought she had cleaned everything so thoroughly that nothing could possibly give her away.
But after all that careful planning, she had forgotten to take out the trash.
Meng Huaijin didn’t actually hold it against her.
He opened the food container and took out a steaming basket of buns along with a bowl of soup.
Then he tapped the dining table.
When it came to meals, the two of them had developed a certain understanding during her days in the hospital.
More accurately, Meng Huaijin had unilaterally established a set of rules.
He wouldn’t force her to eat meat, but she had to follow his arrangements and eat nutritious meals that would help her recover.
No picky eating.
No arguing.
No objections.
Shu Wan pulled out a chair and sat down.
She took a sip of the soup first.
It was a delicate soup made with fresh vegetables, fragrant and refreshing.
Then she took a bite of one of the buns.
One bite, and she couldn’t stop.
It was a custard bun.
The pastry was crisp, fragrant, and sweet, melting in her mouth.
It was delicious.
“Shu Wan.”
Just as she was nearly finished eating, Meng Huaijin called her name.
His voice was low and even.
She looked up.
He had already loosened and removed his tie and was sitting lazily on the sofa by the balcony, a cigarette held between his fingers.
“Mm?”
He remained in the same relaxed position.
“You’ve been in Beicheng for almost a month. Have I ever really sat down and talked to you properly?”
That opening sounded exactly like the beginning of a conversation with a homeroom teacher.
Shu Wan instinctively straightened her back, instantly looking like an obedient student.
“About what happened to your parents—there’s no way to defend what they did. If you make a mistake, you have to face the consequences. You’re a survivor, and you’re innocent at the same time. Whether you can accept what happened or not, you need to move forward as soon as possible. Understand?”
It was the first time she had heard him speak to her in the manner of an elder, calmly, and patiently saying so much.
Shu Wan froze.
It took her a while before she remembered to nod.
She actually understood this herself.
A person couldn’t remain trapped in grief forever.
Meng Huaijin continued calmly,
“Before everything happened, your mother called me when she wanted to entrust you to me. I refused.”
Shu Wan looked at him, then lowered her eyes.
“I understand. I’m a burden. Everyone should stay away from me.”
That, of course, wasn’t the reason.
Meng Huaijin glanced at her.
“If you were a boy, I could throw you into the military. But you’re a girl.”
“What’s wrong with being a girl? Girls can’t join the military. If you really wanted to send me there, I could…”
“Even slightly rough fabric makes your skin break out. Put you in a tougher military uniform, and you’d probably end up with your skin covered in sores.”
“…”
Meng Huaijin looked at her.
“What I mean is that I don’t know how to take care of girls. And as it turns out, I really haven’t taken very good care of you.”
Shu Wan strongly suspected that he was only capable of this kind of selfreflection because he had been drinking.
Otherwise, she was certain she would never hear such a gentle admission from him in her entire life.
Still, to be fair, he was only a little cold in appearance and a little sharptongued.
Overall…
“You do have some good qualities.”
Shu Wan muttered vaguely, making sure he couldn’t hear her.
Taking advantage of the fact that he was drunk, she cautiously tested the waters.
“So… does that mean you’ve moved back in?”
Meng Huaijin gave her a casual sideways glance.
He shielded the lighter from the wind with his palm and flicked it open, about to light the cigarette at the corner of his mouth.
But at the last moment, he snapped the metal lid shut.
Instead of answering, he asked,
“How are your grades?”
“…They’re pretty good.”
“Did you have any friends back in Nancheng?”
At that question, Shu Wan fell silent.
She had originally had two close friends she had grown up with.
But after what happened to her family, their parents, wanting to distance themselves from the scandal and protect their own interests, forbade their children from seeing her again.
Shu Wan lowered her head and hugged the cat.
A few tears fell onto its back.
“It’s not worth crying over.”
Even when comforting someone, Meng Huaijin’s tone remained stern and cold.
He was an ironfisted leader, a man with an emotionless poker face.
How could he possibly understand the precious friendships of teenage girls?
Thinking about the friendship that had lasted more than ten years only made Shu Wan feel worse.
Meng Huaijin furrowed his handsome brows.
In the end, he abandoned all restraint, lit the cigarette, took a shallow drag, narrowed his eyes, and asked,
“Are you this upset because it’s your boyfriend?”