Volume 1, Chapter 37: Do You Hate Me?

"Shu Wan, I thought you would understand one thing."

As he spoke, Meng Huaijin had already returned to his desk. Seeming to anticipate what he was about to say, the girl turned her back to him: "I don't understand."

But he said it anyway: "If I were forced to confess at gunpoint, would you believe it?"

*No*, Shu Wan replied in her heart, *and it’s not necessary.*

Before drifting off to sleep, she asked the person behind her calmly: "So, where are you sleeping tonight? The sofa?"

Hearing no response, she answered for him: "No! Since you promised me, you have to play the part of a boyfriend for three days."

"There are only two days left. No matter how reluctant you are, please endure it. Don't make it seem like... we're just friends with benefits who have no affection for each other."

She heard no clear reply, so she assumed he would either sleep on the sofa or book another room. I don't know how much time passed, but in her hazy state, she felt the mattress sink. It was him; he had lifted the covers and lain down.

He was in bed, but there was a distance between them—not wide, yet it felt like an ocean stood between them, impossible to cross. Staring blankly at the curtains for a while, Shu Wan naturally rolled over, draping her limbs over him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Ten seconds passed. Seeing that he didn't protest, she pushed her luck, holding him tighter and reciting her internal script: "Where shall we go to play tomorrow?"

After a long silence, the man's deep voice resonated above her head: "Do you still have the energy?"

"..."

Shu Wan smiled, nuzzling into his chest like a cat, and praised him: "Great delivery on that line."

She then added with a touch of arrogance: "And don't even think about it. Since you're on my turf, I'll be the one making the plans."

Meng Huaijin rested his head on the arm not pinned beneath her, gazing at her cheerful, smiling face in the dim light. Even in the darkness, he could see that her eyes remained bright. That clarity, which would never be tarnished by anything, belonged only to her.

Finally, the man pulled his arm out, covered her blinking eyes, and commanded in a low voice: "Shu Wan, go to sleep."

Perhaps because she had been exhausted during the day, or perhaps because he was by her side, Shu Wan fell into a very deep sleep.

***

The only downside was that she had a dream.

She dreamt that Meng Xian was standing by the bed, seeing her and Meng Huaijin sleeping in each other’s arms—a posture of indescribable intimacy. Meng Xian slapped her across the face immediately, looking both furious and deeply disappointed.

She asked, "Do you know what you are doing? Do you know what the consequences of this will be?"

The sting of her mother's slap jolted Shu Wan awake!

She snapped her eyes open, staring blankly for a long moment before turning to look at the side of the bed. Meng Huaijin was already up, sitting on the sofa in his pajamas, smoking a cigarette and staring straight out the window, lost in thought.

Hearing her move, he didn't look at her, only asking: "Hungry?"

The girl didn't answer. She lay on the bed, stretching her legs out from under the quilt and dangling them back and forth.

"Still won't let me put on clothes?"

Meng Huaijin glanced at her playful antics and said firmly: "Not allowed."

"..." Fine, he was clearly set on not letting her dress, determined to punish her!

Without clothes, Shu Wan couldn't go anywhere and had to lie there listlessly. In short, it was another full day spent entirely in bed—eating, applying ointment, all done without leaving the sheets. Because Meng Huaijin was there the whole time, she didn't feel like she was wasting their "couple time"; instead, she found it quite peaceful.

During the day, the man took several work calls. She didn't interrupt, but whenever she saw it was a personal call—especially from Liang Jie—she hung them up for him. Meng Huaijin watched her silently, his expression unreadable, but he didn't stop her, sticking to the rules of the game.

"Mr. Meng, I'm so bored," she finally couldn't help but whine in the afternoon. "Will you let me wear clothes tomorrow, please?"

The man shot her a glance and threw out two words, neither light nor heavy: "Endure it."

"I can't take it anymore!" she protested. "You're always so silent. You don't talk to me, you don't interact with me—I'm about to become a mute! You should act like a boyfriend. Which boyfriend is like you..."

As she was speaking, Meng Huaijin walked over with a jar of ointment, lifted the quilt, and told her to open up. The golden sunlight flooded the 23rd-floor room, yet it wasn't as red as the girl’s cheeks at that moment. The process of applying the ointment was agonizing, yet she had to endure it.

In every sense of the word, she had to endure it.

Shu Wan stared at him, at his focused, indifferent expression, at his humorless demeanor.

"Uncle, do you hate me?" she asked softly.

Meng Huaijin put the ointment away and looked at her coolly: "You turned out this way because of my responsibility. Instead of hating you, I should blame myself for not raising you better."

***

On the third and final day of their time as a couple, Shu Wan woke up at noon.

Meng Huaijin was still in the room, taking a call. He didn't avoid her, and judging by the conversation, it was about work arrangements. Their eyes met, and the man pointed to the table. Only then did she notice a bag containing clothes.

Shu Wan gave him a sweet smile and used all her strength to climb out of bed. Fortunately, they hadn't gone out yesterday, or her sore, weak body would have likely fallen apart the moment she stepped out of the elevator.

Shu Wan opened the bag and saw a full set of clothes—a pink and white dress, matching lingerie, all in her favorite colors and from the brands she usually wore. The point was, the size was finally right—a bit loose.

Looking at it this way, Mr. Meng had been a competent boyfriend for these three days.

While Meng Huaijin was still on the phone, Shu Wan ran over and gave him a hard kiss on the lips, mouthing: "This is your reward."

The man froze for a moment. On the other end of the line, his subordinate called out "Director Meng" several times, asking, "Are you still listening?"

Only then did he composedly look away and say quietly: "Continue."

The girl stuck her tongue out at him, hugged her clothes, and ran into the bathroom.

*Forget the pain once the wound heals; she never learns her lesson.* Meng Huaijin thought this idly, only to hear the voice on the phone say: "Your mother is investigating you."

The man frowned, his voice turning colder: "Investigating what?"

"Investigating whether you have a woman on the side."