Chapter38

Cen Zhen’s expression was like a gentle spring breeze, radiating the look of a girl deeply in love.

Meng Wenruo shifted her gaze from the screen, fell silent for a few seconds, and cautiously cast a sympathetic glance at Meng Fanchuan.

How pitiful, her brother probably has no chance now.

Meng Wenruo reached out and gently patted Meng Fanchuan on the shoulder, offering a gesture of comfort. "Don’t be too upset, brother, you should wish Sister Cen well."

Meng Fanchuan couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.

Wish her well?

Maybe in the next life.

No, don’t even think about it in the next life.

Meng Fanchuan stood up and walked outside. Zhuang Jiayi was in the front yard watering the newly planted dragon-face flowers with the family gardener. When she saw her son, she asked in confusion, "Where are you going? Aren’t you staying for dinner?"

"No," Meng Fanchuan replied as he got into his car. He slammed the door shut and stepped on the gas, but after driving just a few meters, the arrogant black SUV turned around and came back.

Zhuang Jiayi looked up and saw her son stop the car in front of the garage, get out, and walk around the seven or eight cars parked there, as though he couldn’t find the right one. Finally, he walked over to the gardener and asked, "Where’s your car? Can I borrow it for a day?"

"…?"

Five minutes later, Zhuang Jiayi and the gardener stood there, watching in confusion as Meng Fanchuan left.

After a brief pause, the gardener cautiously asked Zhuang Jiayi, “Madam, is the second young master going through something?”

—

The activities at the film festival continued.

Although the red carpet had ended, the actors were not leaving the venue so soon. After the opening ceremony, there was a banquet. Famous actors and actresses, as well as many rising stars, had gathered, along with numerous media and capital representatives. Everyone was there to use the opportunity to network and expand their connections.

But Xie Qingzong didn’t let Cen Zhen attend.

Her mission at the film festival was already completed—announcing her as the lead actress and introducing her to the audience was the only goal. She didn’t need to mingle in such a fake social scene. Xie Qingzong wanted her to maintain an air of mystery.

So after the red carpet, and after dealing with a few media interviews, Cen Zhen was preparing to leave.

It was completely dark outside now, and most of the actors attending the banquet had already entered. Chi Yu and Mo Xiang were waiting outside. Cen Zhen, wearing her coat, was walking out from the interview area. As she neared the door, a voice suddenly called her name.

“Zhen Zhen.”

It was a familiar yet somewhat distant voice.

Cen Zhen turned around and saw Song Wang emerging from some hidden corner, quietly standing behind her.

The hustle and bustle had already shifted inside the venue. At this moment, Cen Zhen stood at the edge of the outdoor area, where the only sounds were the cold winter wind and the silence of the night.

Remembering Mo Xiang's warning, Cen Zhen cautiously took a step back, increasing the distance between them. “Is there something you need?”

Song Wang hadn’t seen Cen Zhen in a long time. He was now in the midst of a career boom, traveling all over for shoots, with hardly any time to rest.

Sometimes, he comforted himself, thinking that maybe separating from Cen Zhen was for her own good.

Otherwise, with his current workload, it would be hard for him to take care of her.

What he hadn’t expected was that after just a few months apart, Cen Zhen had soared to become the leading lady in Xie Qingzong’s movie.

But in a way, this wasn’t too surprising. Back in school, Song Wang had known that Cen Zhen would be famous, and she would certainly become a sensation. The previous struggles were probably just the accumulation before her breakout.

Cen Zhen’s step backward made Song Wang feel uncomfortable. He lowered his head. “It’s nothing. I just haven’t seen you in a while, wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.”

Cen Zhen looked away. “I’m fine.”

They had once been lovers, once walked side by side for four years, but now, they had become the most familiar strangers. Song Wang looked at Cen Zhen, recalling the first time he saw her in university. It felt like a lifetime ago, and yet, the years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Things had changed. They had changed.

Song Wang could clearly sense Cen Zhen’s coldness. He knew she had a new boyfriend, but they had only been apart for a few months.

“How’s your boyfriend…” Song Wang couldn’t help himself, still unwilling to let go. “Is he good to you?”

Cen Zhen didn’t want to continue the conversation. “It’s none of your business. I have to go, excuse me.”

She turned to leave, but Song Wang, unable to control himself, blocked her path. “Zhen Zhen, is it so hard to talk to me for a few minutes?”Cen Zhen furrowed her brows, about to speak, when her phone in her bag rang. She slid to unlock it and saw a message from Meng Fanchuan.

"Come over, get in the car."

Cen Zhen froze for a moment, turned to look, and in her line of sight, there was a white car, currently double-flashing and stopped less than ten meters away from her.

But this wasn’t Meng Fanchuan’s car.

Cen Zhen guessed that it must be someone else’s car that happened to be parked here, but she didn’t have time to think much about it now. She turned around and said to Song Wang, “There’s nothing more to say. Sorry, my boyfriend is here.”

The car of her "boyfriend" was parked so conspicuously that it was almost blocking their path. Song Wang naturally couldn’t stay any longer and could only watch as Cen Zhen left.

However, when he extended his gaze, he noticed that the car coming to pick up Cen Zhen was just an ordinary Volvo, with a market price of just over 300,000 yuan.

Her new boyfriend… is nothing special.

Song Wang turned around and disappeared around the corner. Cen Zhen, still wearing her coat, walked out. When she passed by the Volvo, she slowed down, curiously glancing inside, intending to see if it might be a familiar celebrity. But just then, the window of the car unexpectedly rolled down.

To her surprise, she saw Meng Fanchuan sitting in the driver’s seat, looking at her calmly. “Where are you going?”

Their eyes met, and Cen Zhen jumped in shock.

She thought she might have seen it wrong, even looked down to confirm again, but she hadn’t made a mistake—

Meng Fanchuan was actually driving an ordinary sedan to pick her up?

Meng Fanchuan then opened the door for her from inside. “Get in.”

Cen Zhen sat in, buckled her seatbelt, and suddenly remembered something. She said, “Chi Yu and Xiang Jie are still waiting outside for me.”

Meng Fanchuan put the car in reverse and started driving away. “I told them to go ahead.”

“…”

Cen Zhen calmed down, her gaze falling on the steering wheel that Meng Fanchuan was gripping. She just couldn’t connect him with this ordinary white car.

After observing for a while, she couldn’t resist asking, “Did you change cars?”

Originally, Meng Fanchuan hadn’t intended to drive his usual black SUV. He had gone to the garage to get another car, but after some deliberation, he realized that any car in his garage would look utterly incompatible with the word “low-key.” That was why he had no choice but to borrow the gardener’s car.

Meng Fanchuan’s expression remained neutral. “Miss Cen thinks my car is too flashy. How could I come to see you without switching?”

Cen Zhen: “…”

She had just said that offhandedly…

She cleared her throat lightly. “Then how did you know I was here?”

Or rather, how did he know she was here?

Meng Fanchuan drove the car, suddenly chuckling softly, but not looking at her. “I came to ask.”

“Ask what?”

At the red light, Meng Fanchuan leisurely pressed the brake, then turned to look at her, his eyes scanning her from top to bottom. “I came to ask which boyfriend helped you pick out that dress.”

Cen Zhen: “…”

His tone was teasing. “Quite generous, huh?”

Cen Zhen’s heart skipped a beat, her eyelashes almost imperceptibly fluttering—

How did he know?

Did he watch the livestream?

As the possibility dawned on her, Cen Zhen quickly recalled the words she had said earlier on the red carpet.

At that moment, the host had suddenly asked a question that wasn’t in the script. She had indeed gotten a little nervous and hadn’t thought too much before answering that way. Later, the host had tried to ask again, but thankfully Xie Qingzong had stepped in and changed the subject, helping her avoid further trouble.

So now, what was Meng Fanchuan doing? Was he here, with that sarcastic tone, to specifically lecture her?

Cen Zhen pursed her lips, deliberately turning her face away. “None of your business.”

The four words made Meng Fanchuan choke up.

He casually stopped the car at a quiet corner, unbuckled his seatbelt, and looked at Cen Zhen. “Is this the answer you’ve come up with after two days of thinking?”

During those 48 hours, he hadn’t dared to disturb her, giving her plenty of time to think things through, hoping for an answer. But what he got instead was her publicly displaying fake affection on the red carpet, with him completely unaware. When he came to pick her up, he even saw her entangled with her ex?

This wasn’t what Meng Fanchuan wanted.

But Cen Zhen also felt innocent. She hadn’t done anything wrong. “What are you upset about? I’m just here for work.”

Every time Meng Fanchuan thought about her blissful expression during the interview, he couldn’t help but laugh in anger. “You wore that on the red carpet in front of millions of viewers and said it was me who helped you pick it out? Should I be happy about that?”

Cen Zhen felt herself being pulled into the situation, furrowing her brows as she reacted. “…Who said it was you?”Meng Fanchuan: "…"

Fine, he had no right.

Meng Fanchuan was rendered speechless, so he simply stopped talking, stepped on the gas, and continued driving.

The car fell into a long silence. Cen Zhen remained quiet for a moment, then suddenly took a deep breath and softly asked, "Aren't you happy?"

Before Meng Fanchuan could reply, she asked again, "Didn't you feel happy for me today?"

Her voice was muffled, inexplicably making it hard to feel upset. In fact, all the frustration seemed to melt away, leaving only the strong impulse to hold her tightly.

"I don’t know if your boyfriend is jealous," Meng Fanchuan said, feeling exasperated by the imaginary rival in this situation. With a dark face, he threw out four words, "But I will be."

Cen Zhen: "…"

What an off-topic response.

But in the dimly lit car, Cen Zhen’s face secretly reddened, and her heart started racing uncontrollably.

She lowered her gaze. Although Meng Fanchuan was driving and not looking at her, she was afraid that her feelings might be too obvious to hide.

But how could Meng Fanchuan not be happy for her?

The girl who had been drunk and bullied in the private room back then had finally stepped into the spotlight, confidently and gracefully, walking towards the path she had longed for.

As the one who had always been by her side behind the scenes, of course, he would be happy, even proud.

Well, it’s fine.

Meng Fanchuan temporarily set aside his dissatisfaction over their lack of official status and asked Cen Zhen, "How come you’re with him again?"

Cen Zhen paused for a moment, realizing he was asking about Song Wang. She said, "It’s nothing. I just ran into him on the way."

With this simple explanation, Meng Fanchuan didn’t ask further.

From the moment she boldly signed a ten-year contract with him, Meng Fanchuan knew that Cen Zhen was a decisive person. Once she made up her mind about something, she wouldn’t easily look back.

She wouldn’t look back on Song Wang, but would she on him?

Meng Fanchuan wasn’t sure.

Despite intentionally slowing down the car, the road would eventually come to an end. By about 9 p.m., the two of them had finally arrived at the hotel in the small town.

In the hotel parking lot, Cen Zhen thanked him, unbuckled her seatbelt, and was about to get out of the car. But before she left, a subtle thought stopped her, and she thought to herself—

Meng Fanchuan had driven for two hours to get here, and it would take another two hours for him to go back.

Four hours of driving, back and forth...

She bit her lip, hesitated, and asked him, "Are you going back?"

"Where else would I go?" Meng Fanchuan raised his eyelids and looked at her. "Are you going to take me in?"

Cen Zhen lowered her head, didn’t say anything, and pushed the car door open. "Then drive carefully."

Having dropped her off and seen her safely inside, Meng Fanchuan could consider himself momentarily comforted. He knew himself well—he was afraid that if he stayed longer, the more reluctant he would be to leave. So, he simply rolled up the window and stopped looking, cutting off all thoughts.

He started the car, intending to leave the parking lot. But as he made a turn, the car suddenly stalled.

Cen Zhen, who had taken a few steps, heard the noise and turned around.

Meng Fanchuan was used to driving powerful sports cars, and this regular sedan didn’t feel as smooth. After a few tries, he realized that the car had suddenly failed to start.

Noticing something was wrong, Cen Zhen walked back and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Meng Fanchuan wasn’t sure what the problem was, but he guessed that perhaps the cold weather had affected the engine.

He told Cen Zhen honestly, "The car broke down."

Cen Zhen: "…"

Cen Zhen paused for a moment, then suddenly asked without thinking, "Did you bring your ID?"

Although the hotel was reserved by the film crew, the main group hadn’t fully checked in yet. If the car broke down, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to get a room here for a while.

But just as she finished her thought, she heard Meng Fanchuan say, "I didn’t bring it."

He slowly turned his gaze towards her, locking eyes with a meaningful look.

Cen Zhen’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately rejected him firmly, "No way, don’t even think about it."

Meng Fanchuan was speechless. "I didn’t say anything, okay?"

Cen Zhen: "…"She tried to give the choice to Meng Fanchuan.

"Back then..." She paused, closed her eyes deeply, "I really treated you as a benefactor."

Cen Zhen wanted to be completely honest with Meng Fanchuan, not because of what Judy said, but because she truly felt that her beginning with him was far from admirable. Perhaps she didn’t even deserve his affection.

The room fell silent for a moment.

"I don’t mind."

The calm voice fell, Meng Fanchuan’s Adam's apple moved slightly, and he kissed her lips again—gently and slowly, as if comforting someone, "But whether you're with a benefactor or a boyfriend..."

He pulled her into his embrace, and the tone near her ear suddenly grew heavier—

"It can only be me."