“Honestly, I stopped believing that a long time ago.”
She lifted her cold fingers to my cheek and gently stroked it.
She stroked it a few times, then slowly lowered her hand. Her warm breath was very close to me. “But either way, thank you.”
“You’re the first person who’s ever said something like that to me, and maybe the last.” Her voice softened.
“If only…”
I knew what she wanted to say.
If things hadn’t started so badly, if we hadn’t met the way we did.
If only—
3.
We spent two peaceful months in Nam Thành. As soon as we returned to Beijing, I took Mạnh Tư Nguyệt to her competition.
News of our return to Beijing spread, and my phone rang nonstop.
First came the Giang family. Mom Giang was so furious she was shaking as she shouted over the phone, “You unfilial son…”
I calmly reminded her, “Take it easy. Don’t get so worked up.”
Mom Giang: “Where have you been for the past two months?”
Me: “On our honeymoon.”
Mom Giang: “…”
Before she could finish, Dad Giang snatched the phone from her.
Dad Giang didn’t have much of a reaction. It wasn’t as if I’d held anything up; I’d even brought the company a few projects.
He only hinted around the subject: “I hear you’ve been doing a lot to help and support Mạnh Tư Nguyệt lately. The relationship between husband and wife is important, of course, but she’s just a woman. Don’t let her interfere with your work.”
I gave him a perfunctory answer. “All right, I know. I understand.”
After I hung up, my friends heard the news and came over too.
Some asked with concern whether I really had feelings for Mạnh Tư Nguyệt. Others were pursuing Hứa Nhuận Ninh; they angrily berated me and asked how I could treat her that way.
Mặc Phong was even angrier. “You really left Ninh Ninh alone in the capital for two months?! Giang Mục Dã, are you even human? What’s so great about Mạnh Tư Nguyệt? Did she put a spell on you?”
I shot back, “If I don’t care about my own wife, who should I care about—some outsider?”
Mặc Phong: “Be clear about this—who are you calling an outsider?”
I said, “Anyone who wants to interfere in my marriage is an outsider.”
Mặc Phong insisted, “Ninh Ninh has had a miserable time these past two months. She’s cried so much.”
Me: “That’s none of my business.”
Mặc Phong: “You! Giang Mục Dã, you really don’t care about Nhuận Ninh anymore?”
Me: “That’s none of my business.”
Mặc Phong sneered. “Fine, then don’t blame me for not honoring our brotherhood. If you won’t look after Ninh Ninh, I will.”
I replied, “I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.”
Then I hung up.
Even Hứa Nhuận Ninh called me.
In the past, Giang Mục Dã had always been the one to comfort her. This was the first time he’d gone so long without reaching out to her.
At first, she’d been confident she had Giang Mục Dã wrapped around her finger. After I came along, she started to panic. Now, when she called me, she broke down sobbing.
“Mục Dã…”
For a moment, I couldn’t tell whose voice it was. “Who is this?”
The sobbing on the other end stopped abruptly. “It’s Ninh Ninh.”
“Oh,” I answered bluntly. “Hadn’t I blocked you?”
Hứa Nhuận Ninh was quiet for a moment, then asked softly, “Are you still mad at me?”
I hadn’t wanted to waste my breath on her, but her question amused me. “What would I be mad about?”
“You blame me for not confessing my feelings sooner…” Her voice sounded deeply pained. “I wanted to be with you too, Mục Dã, but I didn’t have the courage. I’m not part of the Mạnh family anymore, so I…”
“So you drugged me?” I cut her off. “And then spread rumors that Tư Nguyệt had done it?”
There was almost immediate silence on the other end.
“Mục Dã, who told you…” Hứa Nhuận Ninh feigned innocence, but there was a hint of fear in her stiff voice.
“How could you trust an outsider? How could I—how could I do something like that?”
“Do you think I don’t know anything?” I smiled. “If you dared to do it, you should be ready to face the consequences.”
[Only I won’t be the one collecting this debt from you—someone else will.]
The Giang family’s relationships were fascinating. The love between Giang Mục Dã and Hứa Nhuận Ninh was a sham, and the friendship between Mặc Phong and Giang Mục Dã was even more fragile than a soap bubble.
How utterly boring.
Bored, I blocked them all and went to pick up Mạnh Tư Nguyệt.
She was very busy, with plenty to do every day. Sometimes we had dinner together, sometimes we didn’t. I never interfered in her work or asked about it. I simply went to pick her up, then left the lights on in the car each night as I drove her home.
The Mạnh family had run into trouble lately, so they didn’t bother Mạnh Tư Nguyệt.
The Mạnh family’s business suddenly started going badly. In their panic, they called me for help.
I agreed, then immediately turned around and helped Mạnh Tư Nguyệt clean up the traces she hadn’t managed to erase.
I knew very well that Mạnh Tư Nguyệt was behind all of it.
How could a twenty-two-year-old woman have that much ability? Of course she’d secretly borrowed the Giang family’s influence.
I didn’t interfere in what she did. At most, I helped smooth over a few problems for her.
The Mạnh family had no idea they’d wasted a genius.
They didn’t remember that Mạnh Tư Nguyệt had visited the Mạnh family just once and already recognized the head of the family.
They didn’t remember that Mạnh Tư Nguyệt had been invited to the dinner party because she’d helped her cousin with a project. They didn’t remember that she’d also worked at the Mạnh family company, only to be forced into marriage at a young age.
The Hứa family had plotted to switch the children from the very beginning. They didn’t care about Mạnh Tư Nguyệt, so of course they wouldn’t remember how incredibly bright she’d been as a child—how she could remember anything after seeing it once and recite poetry on the spot. No matter how deliberately people tried to bury her brilliance, she still shone too brightly to ignore.
She’d always been at the top of her class. She’d been an average student in high school, but still got into a good university on the college entrance exam.
During the two years her family forced her to work, she never stopped studying, and she met many insightful, capable friends.
Even so, Mạnh Tư Nguyệt was still far too weak to stand up to giants like the Mạnh and Giang families.
So my star dimmed, but it would soon shine brightly again.
4
I gradually began taking control of the Giang family’s power and slowly gathering shares.
No one noticed—not even Dad Giang.
Even if he had noticed, he certainly wouldn’t have cared much. In his eyes, the family’s assets mattered more. As the heir, I was no longer hung up on Hứa Nhuận Ninh, and he was very pleased.
At the company’s regular meeting, I listened to a report about a company called “Minh Húc” and said calmly, “I understand.”
After the meeting, the manager followed me into my office.
“I don’t know where this company’s technology came from. It’s already established itself in China’s artificial intelligence industry,” the manager said. “Our market share has also shrunk…”
I tapped the cleaning robot on my lap and couldn’t help smiling. “It’s so cute.”
The manager: “?”
When the “Smart Home” cleaning robot was released, it caused a sensation. Even the Giang family had heard of it.
Dad Giang came to explain to me why we needed to obtain a sales license for the “Smart Robot.”
Afterward, as usual, I drove home in a good mood.
I asked Mạnh Tư Nguyệt if she wanted to have dinner at home. She said she’d already eaten out.
I asked her again if I could pick her up, but she didn’t reply.
But an hour later, I got a call from Mạnh Tư Nguyệt.
There was a lot of noise on the other end. A woman’s voice came through: “Are you a friend of Tư Nguyệt’s?”
I frowned but didn’t deny it. “Who is this?”
“She’s drunk…” The woman paused, sounding like she had a headache. “I want to take her home, but she insists on calling you.”
“Where are you two?” I started getting dressed. “I’ll come pick her up.”
The woman gave me the address. Just as the other end of the line went quiet, I suddenly heard a somewhat urgent voice.
“Giang…” Her words were slurred with drink. “Giang Mục Dã?”
Ever since someone drugged her, Mạnh Tư Nguyệt had stopped drinking.
But maybe she was just too happy today.
“Huh?” I hurried to open the car door. “Wait a minute. I’ll be right there.”
“Giang Mục Dã,” she whispered my name, then suddenly smiled as if she were sharing a secret.
“Giang Mục Dã.”
“What’s wrong?” I couldn’t help lowering my voice. “Are you feeling sick?”
She said, “When are you coming to get me?” “This is the first time anyone’s come to pick me up.”
I fell silent. It felt as if something had pierced my heart. The strange sensation made me clutch my chest, and even my fingers went numb.
“I’m coming to get you right now,” I suddenly promised. “And I’ll always come get you from now on.”
“Really?” I could hear the question in her voice. “Are you lying to me?”
“I’ll never lie to you,” I said. “I swear.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “I believe you.”
I drove fast and reached the restaurant in no time.
Mạnh Tư Nguyệt was being supported near the entrance. Her gaze was hazy, but the moment she saw me, her eyes lit up.
A crowd had gathered around her. The woman leading them had short hair. When she saw me, she looked a little surprised. “Mr. Giang?”
The three others all had different expressions.
I didn’t know her, but I still nodded in greeting and took Mạnh Tư Nguyệt away.
She was so drunk she could barely think. She sat quietly in the passenger seat while I buckled her in. She didn’t react at all, only looked up at me with a steady, hazy gaze, like moonlight shining through the clouds.
As I drove, she kept tilting her head to look at me.
I felt my ears turn bright red, but I couldn’t tell her to look away. All I could do was focus on driving and pretend I hadn’t noticed.
She was still looking at me.
By the time I helped her out of the car, she was sleepy and could barely stand.
I carried her to bed. Just as I was about to help her take off her shoes, she suddenly sat up and said, “I want to take a bath.”
Me: “……”
Mạnh Tư Nguyệt had a severe cleanliness obsession and couldn’t sleep without bathing.
I could only go run the bath for her, then stand guard outside the bathroom, calling to her every two minutes because I was afraid she’d fall asleep in there.
She staggered out of the bathroom to brush her teeth, her pajamas hanging loosely around her, unbuttoned.
I glanced over, my face flushing, and hurriedly covered my eyes. “Tư Nguyệt, put some clothes on.”
“Your face is so red.” She slowly came closer and reached out to feel my forehead. Her beautiful cheeks showed her confusion clearly. “Do you have a fever?”
I felt like my whole body was about to catch fire. I was worried about leaving her alone in the bathroom and didn’t dare look at her, so I could only close my eyes and help button her shirt.
“I’m not.”
She stood there quietly, letting me help her, but grabbed my hand just as I was about to pull away.
I froze in place, unable to move.
The girl’s fingers were slender and soft. She’d just finished bathing, so her fingertips were still warm as they gently curled around my palm. “Giang Mục Dã.”
“Mm…” I answered vaguely. “What is it?”
“You’re helping me.” Her fingers deftly slipped between mine and laced with them, as if she were playing.
“…I know you’re helping me.”
Her gaze was hazy and unfocused. “Only you… are willing to help me.”
We stood there, and she tilted her head slightly upward. Her long, soft black hair was soaking wet, setting off her snowy-white shoulders and elegant, slender neck.
I didn’t even dare look directly at her. “I’m not helping you with anything.”
“Do you know what I’m doing?” She took a step closer, like a child who needed an answer. Innocently and stubbornly, she asked, “Giang Mục Dã, do you know what I’m doing?”
“I know.” I felt dizzy and took an embarrassed step back, only for her to push me against the door. “I think…it’s time for bed.”
She placed her other hand on my shoulder, rose onto her toes, and pressed her soft lips to my ear. “Why are you so good to me?”
I’d never been in such an awkward situation before. I didn’t dare push her away for fear she’d fall, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands. Everywhere I looked, I felt guilty, so I could only close my eyes. “Because you’re Mạnh Tư Nguyệt.”
Her voice suddenly fell silent.
I opened my eyes in alarm, only to find her staring intently at my face. Mine burned as if it were on fire.
The look in her eyes, once restrained and calm as a still pool, suddenly rippled. Those usually tranquil black eyes were filled with my reflection.
A moment later, she kissed me on the lips.