Chapter10

The long-established Sheng Ji street stall was renowned for its exceptional cooking. Because the stall was near a film and television base, many actors came here after work, spreading word of mouth. It had now become the go-to late-night snack spot for celebrities, mostly serving artists from the entertainment circle, with business booming.

At this moment, Cen Zhen and Meng Fanchuan were sitting quietly in a private room that Qiao Tingting had booked in advance, waiting for the arrival of the big star.

Time rewound to ten minutes earlier.

After Meng Fanchuan requested to have a late-night snack together, Cen Zhen was momentarily stunned. She looked down, thought for a few seconds, and then messaged Qiao Tingting: “I’m bringing a friend later.”

No matter what, Meng Fanchuan had helped her tonight first. It would be unreasonable if she wasn’t even willing to invite someone for a meal.

Moreover, if one late-night snack could settle things for the night, Cen Zhen was more than willing to do it. With Qiao Tingting accompanying, the atmosphere should be relaxed.

At ten o’clock at night, the restaurant downstairs was bustling, making the private rooms upstairs — set especially for famous directors and actors — seem somewhat cold.

But perhaps it wasn’t the rooms that felt cold, it was Cen Zhen and Meng Fanchuan.

The two were separated by a seat, neither close nor far—

Cen Zhen could clearly feel the unreachable aura emanating from him, so out of place with the spot they were sitting in.

The street stall focused on flavor; the environment was naturally simple, even the private room’s decoration was quite basic. After Meng Fanchuan sat down, Cen Zhen looked around awkwardly and asked, “Second Young Master, are you not used to this place?”

Meng Fanchuan was indeed dining in such a down-to-earth spot for the first time. The sizzle of frying in the oil, the spicy fragrant smells floating in the air, and the waiters calling out when dishes arrived.

Used to gourmet delicacies, occasionally sitting in such a lively, everyday place had its own charm.

“No.” Meng Fanchuan took a sip of tea and casually asked, “Is your friend also an actor?”

“She was my classmate, but she switched careers to become a singer.” Cen Zhen hesitated slightly, testing the waters, “Maybe you’ve seen her on TV — last year’s Singing Star champion.”

Back in school, Qiao Tingting’s acting grades weren’t very good; she usually played minor roles in the department’s productions. She felt down, and Cen Zhen accompanied her, thinking her singing was good, so encouraged her to enter singing competitions.

Later, she won the championship and shone on the singing and dancing stage. Cen Zhen was her biggest fan, and Qiao Tingting always said she would sing theme songs for Cen Zhen’s acting projects for free once she started acting.

Their friendship was rare in this cutthroat circle.

But after hearing this, Meng Fanchuan shook his head, “I rarely watch entertainment shows.”

Cen Zhen seemed to understand, “So that’s why Second Young Master didn’t attend the gathering arranged for you tonight?”

Qiao Tingting said many people from the circle were invited to make the scene, but Meng Fanchuan was probably uninterested in the entertainment circle, so he didn’t go.

Meng Fanchuan only gave a faint smile at her guess. “Miss Cen, not everyone who looks for me I meet.”

He had every right to say this. Not to mention Asia Bay Group’s extensive global businesses, just the status of a few elders in the Meng family in North City made many young new money scramble to get close to him.

Not to mention this Meng family's Second Young Master, untamed and unyielding.

It wasn’t so easy to meet him.

Yet he had easily met Cen Zhen.

Cen Zhen was smart enough to hear the hidden meaning in his words but didn’t want to ask why and bring trouble on herself. In this circle, playing dumb was a kind of wisdom; keeping unnecessary curiosity away could avoid many problems.

She raised her tea in a toast, “I’ll drink to thank Second Young Master for his help.”

The tips of her fingers trembled slightly. Meng Fanchuan took the teacup before him and said politely, “You’re welcome.”

After a few words, the atmosphere fell into a brief silence again. Cen Zhen could only pick up her phone to ask Qiao Tingting where she was. Luckily, Qiao Tingting said she was already parked downstairs. Cen Zhen relaxed and casually put her phone on the table.

Unbeknownst to her, Meng Fanchuan glanced at it and said lightly, “Nice photo.”

At first, Cen Zhen didn’t understand what photo he meant. Following his gaze, she realized it was the selfie she had set as her screensaver earlier.

That selfie — the one where Meng Fanchuan had been photoshopped out.

Cen Zhen smiled awkwardly, quickly pretending to be calm as she grabbed the phone back, “...Thanks.”

“Sorry, sorry! Traffic made me late.” The private room door opened, and Qiao Tingting finally entered at an awkward moment.With one more person, the atmosphere immediately became lively. Cen Zhen even felt her breathing lighten and said to Qiao Tingting, "It’s okay, I’m waiting for you to order, come over quickly."

Qiao Tingting took off her hat and sunglasses that had been hiding her face. Seeing a strange man sitting beside Cen Zhen, she looked him over curiously and asked, "Since when did you meet this handsome guy? Why not introduce him?"

Just as Cen Zhen was about to speak, Qiao Tingting suddenly seemed to notice something, pointing at Meng Fanchuan, "Wait, I’ve seen you before..."

Cen Zhen quickly stopped herself. Qiao Tingting often flew all over the country and attended many elite banquets, so it was normal for her to have seen Meng Fanchuan.

But the next second, Cen Zhen heard her best friend giggling and saying surprisingly, "Wow, aren’t you the one Zhenzhen asked me to Photoshop—"

Cen Zhen’s mind went blank, and she quickly kicked her under the table. Qiao Tingting twisted her mouth in a full 180 degrees, saying, "...the handsome guy who rushed over through wind and rain to eat late-night snacks together?"

Cen Zhen: …

Although the excuse was clumsy, Cen Zhen didn’t know if Meng Fanchuan caught the hint or not. For now, she could only pretend not to notice and changed the topic, handing the menu to Meng Fanchuan: "Second Young Master, take a look and see what you want."

Meng Fanchuan’s gaze paused between the two girls. "You order, I’m easy."

Qiao Tingting, carefree and outspoken, hadn’t held back just now. She took the menu from Cen Zhen and said, "Then I’ll order. You don’t know how hungry I am. It’s all that Meng guy’s fault for not coming. My friend packed up the prepared Italian white truffle and took it back — so stingy."

After rattling on, Qiao Tingting suddenly realized something, looking at Meng Fanchuan, then back at Cen Zhen, "You... just called him what?"

Cen Zhen wanted to pull back the runaway horse but couldn’t. Feeling helpless, she closed her eyes briefly, "Second Young Master."

"Ah?" Qiao Tingting slowly went dumbfounded, paused, then still holding onto a thread of hope asked, "...Which Second Young Master?"

"Meng Fanchuan." The man’s voice joined in proactively, introducing himself, "Sorry Miss Qiao, you didn’t get to try the truffle tonight."

Qiao Tingting: …

At this moment, Qiao Tingting didn’t care about the truffle anymore. Memories flooded her mind of what her friends said about Meng Fanchuan tonight, and cold sweat started breaking out—

"The second-generation heirs in North City dare not mess with him the most."

"Meng Fanchuan afraid of anyone? Even the king himself he can kick away."

"Last year at the F1 race in Abu Dhabi, his convoy had a conflict with some British guys. The leader was a somewhat famous British driver. Because he called someone a 'Chinese porky man,' Meng Fanchuan found out, guess what happened?"

"Nothing happened quietly that day. The next day, that guy mysteriously withdrew from the race due to injury. The British team’s investor personally apologized to Meng Fanchuan."

"You want to tell me it was a coincidence? No way."

"Those two guys are not easy to mess with. The older brother at least keeps some dignity for the wealthy family. The younger one is sharp and unruly, doing whatever he wants."

...

Such an arrogant young master — just a few minutes ago, Qiao Tingting provocatively called him—

That Meng guy.

And now the real person was right in front of her. Qiao Tingting swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling a bleak sense that finishing this late-night meal might be the end of her career.

Faced with such a serious professional crisis, Qiao Tingting thought she needed to quickly explain the situation to her agent. So she laughed it off, "No, no, how could it be. Actually, I’m dieting and don’t like to eat those things, just saying it to satisfy my craving."

At the same time, she quietly pressed her phone to make it ring, pretending to answer a call: "Now? Okay, I’ll be right there."

She regretfully told Cen Zhen and Meng Fanchuan, "Sorry, my agent suddenly found me with an urgent matter. This meal’s on me. Let’s meet next time."

Cen Zhen didn’t expect Qiao Tingting to pull this stunt. Before she could react, Qiao Tingting slipped out of the private room like a clever rabbit with her bag.

Only Cen Zhen was left.

Her relaxed mood immediately tensed up again. She instinctively looked at Meng Fanchuan and just happened to meet his gaze—

His lazy eyes glanced over carelessly, yet somehow carried a dangerous feeling.

Cen Zhen quickly looked away, pursed her lips, and cleared her throat, breaking a pair of chopsticks and handing them to Meng Fanchuan, "Then let’s eat."

The late-night snack ended up being just the two of them. Their half-familiar relationship sitting together created a subtle awkwardness. Cen Zhen lowered her head to eat quietly, occasionally glancing at Meng Fanchuan, who seemed uninterested and only tried a few vegetarian dishes.

She asked, "What’s wrong? Not to your taste?"

Meng Fanchuan: "I don’t eat seafood."

But Qiao Tingting had basically ordered all seafood. Sheng Ji stall was also famous for its delicious seafood dishes.

Cen Zhen quickly grabbed the menu for Meng Fanchuan, "Then order something else."

"No need," Meng Fanchuan’s voice was indifferent, "I’m not hungry."Cen Zhen froze, staring blankly at him—

If she remembered correctly, the young master in the car earlier clearly said he was a bit hungry.

So why now…

Cen Zhen suddenly understood—his real intention was never to eat late-night snacks.

Since the last time he invited her to dinner, Cen Zhen had keenly sensed his intentions. She avoided it then, but this time she didn’t.

His subtle yet obvious various “exceptions”—if he weren’t harboring some motive, how could a high-and-mighty young master repeatedly spend time on an ordinary person like her?

Cen Zhen’s impression of Meng Fanchuan wasn’t bad; perhaps it was because his way of approaching was respectful and measured, or maybe—

He had an attractive face.

Good looks always add points. Cen Zhen admitted that Meng Fanchuan’s appearance indeed had the power to deceive people’s hearts.

But Cen Zhen was no naive teenager anymore. Since graduating, she had seen many kinds of men and was very clear-eyed about all this.

All the countless material temptations, the hollow and grandiose false promises, toying with beautiful women—these were the favorite pastimes of such playboys.

“Second Young Master—” Cen Zhen lowered her eyes, about to ask Meng Fanchuan directly to clarify things, when his phone rang.

Meng Fanchuan didn’t avoid her, pressing to answer right away. He said something she couldn’t hear, then replied, “I’m outside.”

After a moment, he suddenly smiled, “What a coincidence.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Meng Fanchuan stood up and said, “Let’s go greet someone next door.”

Cen Zhen paused, then stood and asked, “Who are we greeting?”

The two walked to the door. Just as they opened the private room door, a man and a woman passed by. Cen Zhen quickly recognized the man in a jacket and cap as Xie Qingzong.

Before she could react, Meng Fanchuan was already shaking hands with Xie Qingzong, “Director Xie.”

Xie Qingzong didn’t notice Cen Zhen at first, but Meng Fanchuan introduced her proactively, “Miss Cen, you’ve met before.”

Xie Qingzong was briefly stunned, then laughed heartily, “Looks like Young Master Meng is even quicker than me.”

He then looked at Cen Zhen, “I originally wanted to find Miss Cen tomorrow, but since we met today, let’s eat together.”

… Looking for her?

Sure he heard correctly, Cen Zhen’s heart raced wildly.

She knew very well what it meant to be sought out by Xie Qingzong. Despite her disbelief and shock, she kept calm and nodded, “Alright.”

The four of them moved to a bigger private room. On the way, Meng Fanchuan introduced the other woman, “This is my assistant, Ms. Wen Hui.”

Wen Hui had already noticed Cen Zhen during their earlier conversation. Now she smiled and greeted her, then quietly asked Meng Fanchuan in Cantonese, “When did you meet this girl?”

Meng Fanchuan’s mother was from Hong Kong. After the 1997 handover, for various reasons, the Meng family patriarch arranged for Meng Fanchuan’s father to marry into a famous literary family in Hong Kong, a sensational event across both sides of the strait. The Meng family’s business quickly gained fame on Hong Kong Island.

Although they mainly lived in Beicheng after marriage, the three Meng siblings grew up in a multilingual environment. During holidays when visiting their maternal grandfather’s family in Hong Kong, they all spoke fluent Cantonese.

Meng Fanchuan walked slowly, ignoring Wen Hui.

But Wen Hui glanced at Cen Zhen, who was walking ahead with Xie Qingzong, her gossiping heart alive, “Coming out so late to eat late-night snacks with someone, what’s this? You like her?”

Meng Fanchuan smiled at the question, his gaze unconsciously falling on Cen Zhen’s back for a few seconds, as if pondering how to answer Wen Hui.

What he didn’t know—

Qiao Tingting was from Guangdong. Cen Zhen had shared a dorm with her in university. For four years, she heard Qiao Tingting chatting on the phone with her family every day. Over time, Cen Zhen could almost understand and read daily Cantonese conversation fluently.

At this moment, Cen Zhen quietly walked ahead. Though not intentionally eavesdropping, she wanted to know what answer this young master would give.