Jiang Wenyan glanced at Meng Shining upon hearing her, then calmly looked away. “Understood.”
Meng Shining smiled slightly. “I believe Jiang Wenyan will not disappoint me.”
Jiang Wenyan said no more, placing the folder down and turning his gaze out the window.
Meng Shining was quietly proud of achieving her goal when her phone suddenly began to vibrate, followed by Meng Ci’an’s distinctive ringtone.
She stared at the incoming call, trembling. She neither dared to answer nor hang up, letting the phone ring.
“Not answering?” Jiang Wenyan turned to look at her, somewhat puzzled.
Meng Shining shook her head. “It’s a death-bringing call. I dare not answer, if I do, it’s over for me.”
Jiang Wenyan glanced down at her phone and saw the caller ID, his lips curling slightly.
Meng Ci’an stood at the entrance of Green Moss Hotel, his face dark, having called Meng Shining multiple times, none of which she dared to answer.
He thought for a moment and dialed Jiang Wenyan’s number. He had seen Meng Shining get into Jiang Wenyan’s car and assumed the two were still together.
Meng Shining exhaled slightly as the ringing stopped. Indeed, as long as she didn’t answer, it meant nothing was wrong.
As soon as her phone stopped, Jiang Wenyan’s phone started ringing in turn.
Meng Shining peeked at Jiang Wenyan’s phone screen and saw Meng Ci’an’s name.
Seeing Jiang Wenyan about to answer, she quickly grabbed his hand. “Don’t pick up!”
Jiang Wenyan looked at her with mild displeasure.
Seeing him glance at her, Meng Shining quickly released his hand, then clasped her own in a pleading gesture. “Please don’t answer my brother’s call. I beg you, please, absolutely don’t.”
Jiang Wenyan’s expression remained indifferent. He looked away and ignored her plea, sliding his finger to answer Meng Ci’an’s call.
As soon as the call connected, he hadn’t spoken before Meng Ci’an’s angry voice came through. “Is Meng Shining with you?”
“Yes.”
“Give me the phone.”
Jiang Wenyan handed the phone to Meng Shining. “Your brother is calling.”
Meng Shining glared at him, cursing him silently countless times.
“Brother~”
Hearing her voice, Meng Ci’an grew angry. “Meng Shining, I’m giving you half an hour to get home. If I don’t see you at the door within half an hour, the consequences are on you!”
Meng Shining frowned tightly. She absolutely could not meet the furious Meng Ci’an tonight; she would be skinned alive.
If her parents were home, it would have been fine, leaving her a way out, but they had gone to the villa for a two-day hot spring trip.
Her savior was unavailable, and she had no intention of going back.
Her gaze drifted to Jiang Wenyan beside her, gentle yet cold and aloof.
“Brother, I can’t go home tonight. Jiang Wenyan is ill, and as his fiancée, I must stay up all night to take care of him,” Meng Shining hastily made up a reason.
“So brother, don’t wait for me. If it’s fine, go wash up and sleep. I’ll have a sleepless night.” She hung up before Meng Ci’an could speak.
She thoughtfully blocked him for Jiang Wenyan. “I blocked my brother to keep him from bothering you.”
Jiang Wenyan’s expression remained unreadable. He glanced at her, his gaze icy. “Does Miss Meng usually speak nonsense and fabricate facts?”
“Sorry, it was wrong of me to curse you ill. How about this, you curse me back next time.”
“I really cannot go home tonight. My brother is furious. If I go back, he’ll make me see Great-Grandmother. Jiang Wenyan, Master Jiang, Mr. Jiang, benevolent Jiang, immortal Jiang, just do a good deed and let me stay the night.” Meng Shining whispered her plea.
“Go to the Meng residence,” Jiang Wenyan commanded coldly.
Seeing him intend to send her back, Meng Shining became urgent. “If you don’t want to take me in, you can throw me on the roadside. I’ll find somewhere myself.”
“But if my brother asks, please help me tell a lie, that I spent the night taking care of you without sleeping.”
“Please, please!”
Jiang Wenyan’s smile was tinged with cold mockery. “Why should I help you?”
Meng Shining was momentarily stunned, then said slowly, “Sigh, everyone has moments of pleading. As long as you help me today, I guarantee that in the future, if you, Jiang Wenyan, need help…”
“I, Meng Shining, will go through fire and water without hesitation, wholeheartedly and utterly faithfully!”
Jiang Wenyan’s brows furrowed slightly as if considering.
Meng Shining pressed on. “As long as you help me, I promise after we marry, I will never bother you. If you don’t want to see me, I can vanish without a trace, never appearing in front of you.”
“If necessary, my salary can be a little less.”
“Please, Mr. Benevolent Jiang, just help me. You wouldn’t want to receive an abnormal wife when we marry, right?”
The more Jiang Wenyan listened, the tighter his brows knitted. How could this woman speak so much?
“Please~” Meng Shining tried again, relentlessly.
Jiang Wenyan sighed, helpless. “Return to Chaoying.”
Hearing him relent, Meng Shining exhaled in relief. “Thank you, kind person.”
After being hung up on, Meng Ci’an’s anger surged, and he called again, but the line was unreachable.
He tried once more, still unreachable.
His chest heaved violently. Indeed, his “good little sister” had just handed him off to another woman and then blocked his number.
Trying to hide? He would see how long Meng Shining could avoid him.
“Bao Linglong, doesn’t the system have some NPC favor tracking function? Do you have it?” Meng Shining asked idly.
“The function depends not on me but on whether you are qualified,” Bao Linglong replied.
“I have all the functions, you just aren’t qualified to use them,” Bao Linglong added.
Meng Shining rolled her eyes silently. “Honestly, was your system copied from that stupid pre-release app?”
Bao Linglong said nothing. Meng Shining gave up questioning further.
At this time, the car slowly entered a high-end residential area. The driver parked and hurriedly opened Jiang Wenyan’s car door. Meng Shining didn’t wait for him and opened the door herself.
“No need for the car tonight,” Jiang Wenyan said in a low voice.
“Yes, young master,” the driver said respectfully.
Meng Shining followed Jiang Wenyan into the elevator.
Upon reaching their floor and stepping out, they saw a familiar figure.