Chapter22

When emotions reached a certain point, no one could control its occurrence.

Meng Fanchuan’s palm was on Cen Zhen’s head, seemingly devoid of any lust, just restrained, gently caressing her lips bit by bit, enjoying the intimate exchange of breath.

Cen Zhen kept her eyes tightly closed, her heartbeat chaotic, almost as if she couldn’t breathe, her face quickly turning red.

Meng Fanchuan helplessly let go of her, his voice unexpectedly soft, “Aren’t you going to open your mouth?”

The wind in her ears blew and blew, like the heat when he was near. Cen Zhen’s chest gently rose and fell, not knowing why she felt so nervous, her entire face uncontrollably burning.

She lowered her eyes, not daring to look into the person’s eyes in front of her.

But at that moment, she noticed a child standing in front of them.

It was one of the two tourists on the second floor of the bus.

Cen Zhen was startled and immediately pushed Meng Fanchuan away awkwardly.

Meng Fanchuan followed her gaze and turned around, only to see the little kid holding a colorful lollipop, seriously looking at him and saying, “Brother, you made sister’s face all red.”

Cen Zhen: “…”

Meng Fanchuan laughed in spite of himself, “Do you have a problem with that?”

The parents, who had been dozing off in the front row, finally returned to grab the child who had been watching the scene. The world for the two of them returned to its private space, but the heavy atmosphere of ambiguity between them had quietly faded with the wind.

It was like a brief movie that started on a whim.

Now, it was over, and they were awake.

“Let’s get off at the next stop, okay?”

“Mm.”

Dinner was French cuisine, and the restaurant faced Central, providing a 360-degree view of Victoria Harbour's night scene. The restaurant was managed by one of Hong Kong's top French chefs. It’s said that dining here requires a reservation two months in advance.

Of course, with Meng Fanchuan, nothing was a problem.

After dinner, he sent Cen Zhen back to the hotel. Meng Fanchuan checked his watch—it was 9 PM, and their day in Hong Kong had come to a fulfilling end.

“I’m staying at my grandfather’s tonight. You should sleep early, and we’ll head back to Mingzhou together tomorrow.”

Cen Zhen felt a bit rushed. “Aren’t you going to stay and spend some time with your grandfather?”

“No.” Meng Fanchuan didn’t want to see Meng Songnian. If they happened to have an unnecessary argument, it would ruin the whole family’s mood. “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”

“Mm.”

After parting with Meng Fanchuan, Cen Zhen returned to her hotel suite alone. When she closed the door, she leaned against it for a long time, not moving.

From the afternoon to the evening, although it had only been a short half-day, so many images flashed through her mind, like an endless reel of film, each frame filled with Meng Fanchuan’s shadow.

Cen Zhen lowered her head, recalling his light and fleeting kiss from the end.

Before entering this relationship, Cen Zhen had prepared herself for everything.

She knew he would kiss her sooner or later, and maybe even take the next step further.

But she never expected he would have the patience to give her emotions and memories she couldn’t refuse.

The ending of their movie, Cen Zhen couldn’t quite believe.

That moment tonight.

Just that fleeting instant.

Was it the intoxication of the neon lights, or was it the wind of Victoria Harbour that made her momentarily lost?

She had actually seemed to willingly kiss him.

The night passed, and it was time for the two of them to return to Mingzhou.

The original plan was to leave at 8 AM, and Meng Fanchuan’s driver arrived at the hotel to pick up Cen Zhen at the scheduled time.

Cen Zhen didn’t see Meng Fanchuan. She asked, “Where is Young Master Meng?”The driver, speaking in broken Mandarin, said, "Sorry, I’m not sure. I’m just responsible for taking Miss Cen to the airport."

Cen Zhen didn’t mind and thought maybe it was like the journey there, with them splitting into different cars and then meeting again at the airport.

But when she arrived at the airport and was escorted by the arranged personnel to board, she realized that she was the only one on the entire plane, apart from the crew.

As she looked around confusedly, Meng Fanchuan sent a WeChat message: "There’s something at home. You go back first, I’ll find you after I’m done."

Wen Hui also immediately called her. On the other end of the line, she sounded hurried, saying much the same thing—there was an urgent matter in Hong Kong, and she had already assigned someone to the Mingzhou film crew to follow up on Cen Zhen's subsequent filming.

The flight continued as planned back to Mingzhou, but on the way back, it was just Cen Zhen alone.

She didn’t know how to describe her feelings when she saw Meng Fanchuan’s message.

It wasn’t exactly deceit, since she had come with him to begin with. He had given her a wonderful day, and she had momentarily lost herself, thinking that even though their relationship started with a transactional nature, perhaps there was something different about it.

It turned out, everything was the same.

He waved, she went. He didn’t need her anymore, and a plane would send her away.

Suddenly, Cen Zhen felt lighthearted again, clearly seeing things for what they were, and it was better than always being uncertain of his intentions.

No one knew how Cen Zhen spent her day in Hong Kong. When she returned, she said nothing and threw herself into her training.

For the next few days, there was no news from Hong Kong. Meng Fanchuan didn’t contact her again, and Cen Zhen, stubborn as she was, didn’t ask why he had canceled their plans.

Three days later, Xie Qingzong and the team arrived in Mingzhou as scheduled. Everyone was ready to go, planning to shoot the four-minute promotional video within six days.

The Mingzhou government was pressing hard, as post-production would take time. Xie Qingzong was entrusted with the task and had to come up with an efficient plan. Luckily, Cen Zhen and Bai Yan had trained to the level he needed, and during filming, from Mingzhou's ancient city walls to the vast bamboo forests to the competition venue at the snow festival, the whole team worked seamlessly and even finished a day ahead of schedule.

The night before leaving Mingzhou, Cen Zhen was packing her bags in her room when Bai Yan knocked on the door, “Zhen Zhen, it’s me.”

Cen Zhen opened the door and ushered him in. “Senior, you’re still up this late?”

Bai Yan handed her several large bags of local products and said, “I bought some food, and I also got you a share. Take it back and share it with your colleagues.”

When they were in school, Bai Yan was the perfect man in many girls' eyes. He was handsome, sincere with his friends, respectful to his teachers, and carried himself with a maturity that surpassed other people his age.

Cen Zhen trusted him the same way. She accepted the gift and thanked him, “Thank you, Senior. How much was it? I’ll transfer the money to you.”

“No need,” Bai Yan stopped her, “Actually, I came to find you for something. Teacher Sun had surgery not long ago and is now recovering at home. I’m planning to visit him when I go back to Beicheng. Would you like to join me?”

Teacher Sun was Cen Zhen’s performance instructor at university. He had guided her for four years, treating her both as a teacher and a friend.

Cen Zhen hadn’t known about her teacher’s surgery. Upon hearing Bai Yan’s words, she immediately confirmed her schedule with the staff accompanying her.

Although the company had planned everything for Cen Zhen, since Wen Hui hadn’t returned yet, many projects still needed her approval. The temporary manager who was with Cen Zhen now decided to give her two days off.

The next day, the main team left Mingzhou. Chi Yu took part of Cen Zhen’s luggage back to Hu City, while Cen Zhen and Bai Yan went to Beicheng to visit their teacher.

When Teacher Sun found out that his two favorite students had caught the attention of a director like Xie Qingzong and worked together on the promotional video, he was very relieved. Holding Bai Yan and Cen Zhen’s hands, he said, “In the future, you must help each other in the industry, especially you, Bai Yan. You’re the senior. Zhen Zhen is new to the industry, so you should take care of her more.”

Bai Yan naturally nodded, “I will.”

The teacher then turned to Cen Zhen and said, “Zhen Zhen, I’ve always told you that your excellence will not go unnoticed. Keep going, and you’ll definitely make us proud.”

Cen Zhen smiled faintly but didn’t respond to the teacher’s words.

Would she really be his pride?

All along, what had made her a source of pride for the teacher was something she couldn’t even speak of—how she obtained her roles.

After leaving the teacher’s house, Cen Zhen walked in silence for a long time before finally asking Bai Yan, “Senior, how did you get your first role?”

Bai Yan entered the industry two years before Cen Zhen. Having seen many of the darker, colder sides of the industry, he understood clearly what Cen Zhen was confused and conflicted about right now.

He paused before not directly answering her question, but instead told her, “As long as you think it’s worth it, does it really matter how you got it?”

“I only know that if one day you are well known by the audience and liked by everyone, it will definitely be because you are Cen Zhen, because of your own professional charm, and not because of the process or reasons of how you got the role.”

“All things follow a law,” Bai Yan smiled gently, patting Cen Zhen on the back. “Believe in yourself, everything is for the best.”

Everything is for the best...

So, that’s why she met Meng Fanchuan when she couldn’t see a way out.

And it just so happened that he was also interested in her.

One sought fame, the other sought desire. Two people with different purposes shared an unspoken understanding and got what they needed.

Was this destiny’s best arrangement for her?

The most ironic thing was, now Meng Fanchuan seemed like he didn’t need her at all.

It had been almost 10 days since their parting in Hong Kong. He had broken his promise, but during this time, he did call her once. However, Cen Zhen was filming and didn’t answer. When she saw the missed call, she hesitated, pressing the phone in her hand, but still didn’t call back.

Cen Zhen didn’t know what she was being stubborn about. Maybe it was because of that moment on the bus, maybe it was because of that kiss.

Even though she knew she had no right to, she still felt angry at him for breaking his promise.Bai Yan needed to stay in Beicheng to rehearse a new play, so the next day, Cen Zhen bid him farewell and returned to Hucheng. She took a taxi to the airport, and as usual, the traffic in Beicheng was heavy. When the car got stuck on the elevated road, the driver, bored, turned on the radio. The finance channel was dull and uninteresting. Just as he was about to change the station, Cen Zhen stopped him, “Driver, don’t change it!”

Cen Zhen sat in the back seat, listening to the conversation between the male and female hosts on the radio, and slowly straightened up, feeling a chill.

“Hong Kong’s famous philanthropist Zhuang Tai is still in ICU, his condition unknown. It is suspected that the exposure of his will has caused internal disputes within the family, and Zhuang Group’s stock has been continuously affected…”

Cen Zhen couldn’t believe her ears. After the shock, she quickly took out her phone—

She had been shooting day and night recently and hadn’t checked the news or Weibo for a long time.

Sure enough, when she searched for Zhuang Tai’s name online, a series of fragmentary keywords popped up.

#Zhuang Tai critical condition#

#Zhuang Tai hospitalized at Yanghe Hospital#

#Zhuang Tai’s will#

#Zhuang family inheritance war#

From countless news articles, Cen Zhen pieced together what had been happening with Meng Fanchuan’s grandfather recently.

On the very night she parted ways with Meng Fanchuan, rumors circulated that he had collapsed at home, fell unconscious, and was rushed to the hospital overnight. At that time, few people in mainland China paid attention, but later the news spread, and many media outlets from both mainland China and Hong Kong camped out at the hospital and Zhuang family’s villa, eager to get the latest scoop.

Up until now, there had been no confirmed news of his safety.

But during those days, Xie Qingzong was following Bai Yan in Group A, while Cen Zhen was filming in the bamboo forest for Group B. She had been staying up all night and didn’t know what had been happening online.

She also finally remembered that when she later met Xie Qingzong, he had asked her randomly, “Is Young Master Meng okay?”

At the time, Cen Zhen thought he was just asking politely about his situation and nodded, saying he was fine. She never expected that it was about…

Cen Zhen felt dizzy and immediately called Meng Fanchuan, but all she got was a message saying the call couldn’t be connected.

The taxi stopped at the airport entrance, and Cen Zhen quickly passed security with her luggage. She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt the urge to return to Hucheng so quickly. For the first time, the two-hour flight felt long and difficult.

She remembered what Meng Fanchuan had said on the bus—that he had grown up following his grandfather and that his grandfather was the person who loved him the most and was the closest to him.

So even if it was just a small birthday, even though his relationship with his father was strained, he had to go back a day earlier to spend time with him.

He had been planning to celebrate his birthday happily, so how could things turn out like this?

On the morning she left Hong Kong, what was Meng Fanchuan feeling?

She had blamed him for so long, and she hadn’t even been willing to return his call.

Two hours later, the plane landed in Hucheng. Even though it was almost time to get off work, Cen Zhen took her luggage and hurried to the company.

After all, the company was Meng’s family business, so perhaps they knew a little about Meng Fanchuan’s latest news.

Cen Zhen couldn’t calm down, and just as she got into the car, she received a call from Wen Hui, asking, “Xiao Lin said you went to Beicheng to see your teacher. Have you returned?”

Cen Zhen replied, “I just arrived. Aunt Hui, what about you? Are you still in Hong Kong?”

“Such a coincidence,” Wen Hui’s voice sounded tired. “I just got back this afternoon too. You’ve worked hard these days. Starting tomorrow, I’ll continue to follow up on your work. You should rest today, and we’ll meet at the company tomorrow.”

Cen Zhen agreed, and just as Wen Hui seemed ready to hang up, Cen Zhen bit her lip and couldn’t help but ask, “What about Young Master Meng?”

“He’s back too,” Wen Hui paused. “He should be resting at the villa now.”

Cen Zhen’s heart tightened inexplicably.

He was back, so that meant his grandfather was okay, or…

“Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Cen Zhen didn’t dare to think about the worst-case scenario. She hung up the phone and immediately changed her plans, telling the driver not to go to the company but to head directly to Junting Hui.

After more than 20 days of not being home, Cen Zhen dragged her luggage, input the password, and entered the door. The house was empty, and as she was changing her shoes at the entrance, she suddenly noticed—

The pair of men’s slippers that had been left here was missing.

Cen Zhen froze for a few seconds, a guess rising in her heart. Her heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and she didn’t even bother with the suitcase at the door, heading straight into the room.

Sure enough, on the spacious sofa, Meng Fanchuan was sitting there, his eyes closed and leaning on one side as if he had fallen asleep.

He had changed into a black suit and shirt, as if he had just returned from a tiring and chaotic situation. He looked calm but also a little unfamiliar.

This wasn’t him.

This wasn’t the real him.

Cen Zhen silenced her phone, walking softly to stand in front of him, unsure of what to do.

Seeing how thin he looked, she thought of covering him with a blanket, but her slight movement woke him. Meng Fanchuan opened his eyes and stared at Cen Zhen for several seconds before softly saying, “You’re back?”Cen Zhen could tell from his hoarse voice that he had been through a difficult time recently. A feeling of guilt and sympathy spread through her heart for no reason.

Even though she didn’t want to get emotionally entangled with him, after all, a family member had encountered a crisis, and she shouldn’t be too indifferent.

“Sorry.” Cen Zhen apologized seriously, “I didn’t know about your grandfather…”

She didn’t know how to explain herself, “I only saw the news today.”

Meng Fanchuan didn’t speak.

Cen Zhen lowered her head and, for the first time, took the initiative to hold his hand. “Are you okay?”

Her hand felt soft as if it had no bones, and as it touched his, it seemed to soothe the fragments of his heart. He turned his hand and held hers tightly, completely enveloping her in his palm. With a gentle pull, he drew her into his embrace.

“Where did you go?” He didn’t answer her, but asked a question instead.

Cen Zhen didn’t want to hide anything from him, but in this situation, if she told him that she had gone out with Bai Yan, it would probably make him feel uncomfortable.

She knew he minded.

“My university teacher just had surgery, and I went to visit.” She knelt in his arms, speaking softly.

Fortunately, Meng Fanchuan didn’t ask more questions. He seemed disinterested and his body appeared severely drained. Cen Zhen had no idea what had happened in Hong Kong. The news was sensationalized, sounding like something from a TV drama. She didn’t dare guess and didn’t feel she had the right to ask.

All she could do was stay like this, quietly in his arms, doing her part.

“Cen Zhen.” Meng Fanchuan suddenly called her name.

Cen Zhen’s heart fluttered. “Hmm?”

Meng Fanchuan looked at the girl in front of him, recalling that fleeting moment when he had been struck by a sense of fate. Perhaps it was destiny. When Meng Fanchuan had reached the door, he had turned back, holding the photo and telling Zhuang Tai, “She is Zhen Zhen.”

Zhuang Tai had smiled joyfully, praising his grandson’s good taste in finding a good girl and urging him to quickly bring her home for a meal.

It was fortunate to have her.

It was fortunate to have Cen Zhen.

She was the tiny glimmer of light and hope that had kept Meng Fanchuan from sinking into complete despair, not giving up.

The house was very quiet, and they could hear each other’s breathing. Meng Fanchuan slowly caressed Cen Zhen, calmly finishing the words he had left unsaid.

“Do you know, I really like you.”

“…”

Cen Zhen’s eyelash flickered ever so slightly. It was as if she had returned to that night on the Victoria Harbour bus, her heart racing, her breath erratic, yet she struggled to remain calm.

“I know.”

Of course, she knew he liked her, or else, how could he have given her those seemingly random gifts at the start? But when people like them talked about liking someone, it was hard to tell the difference between sincerity and playacting.

Cen Zhen had always thought she could distinguish between the two, but in this moment, she felt a sudden realization. Her heart beat faster, and her palms grew damp with sweat. In this intimate space, she felt lost, unsure of what to do.

“Do you want to eat something?” She asked, her voice hoarse, “Or should I make you a cup of coffee?”

Something seemed to be pulling her down. Cen Zhen struggled to break free from this overwhelming atmosphere, but as her body made a slight move to stand up, the hand around her waist suddenly tightened, pulling her back into his embrace. At the same time, his other hand moved to the back of her neck.

This time, his kiss was not gentle.

There was no tenderness, no caress. He simply forced her lips apart and kissed her fiercely, as if using all his strength to kiss her. Cen Zhen was almost immediately engulfed by him, flustered but submissive, her body forced to arch back to the point of near breaking.

The night rolled on, and the air became thick and heavy with the entanglement.

The kiss on the sofa was intense and turbulent, but only Meng Fanchuan knew that, like a stranded fish, he was desperately seeking air to survive from Cen Zhen’s lips and tongue.