The conversation stopped there, the sound falling to the ground, and the air fell briefly silent again.

The two people who had been intimately close last night now faced each other, both somewhat at a loss, awkward.

For a moment, Meng Yanxi even thought—if he had simply played dumb all the way through last night, would things be a bit better now? But he quickly dismissed that despicable thought and apologized to her: “I’m sorry.”

Jin Zhao really couldn’t bring herself to say that she had also been willing. She turned her gaze away, her face red, and said softly, “It’s okay.”

“Then… can we still meet tomorrow?” Meng Yanxi lowered his eyes to look at her.

He had long eyelashes and deep-colored eyes. When he lowered his gaze, the gesture looked especially tender when done by him.

Jin Zhao met his eyes, and the tip of her heart uncontrollably jolted.

He quickly compromised again, taking the initiative to retreat: “The day after tomorrow is fine too.”

In truth, he wanted to see her tonight, wanted to see her every day. But he also knew very well what kind of outrageous thing he had done last night, and no matter what, he had to give the girl some time to buffer. Otherwise, what would he be in her eyes? Truly like a ravenous wolf.

Jin Zhao understood it all in her heart. She also really wanted to agree, but she truly couldn’t.

She said apologetically, “Tomorrow won’t work. Tomorrow I have to go to Beicheng to attend an academic conference.”

Meng Yanxi: “……”

The coincidence was a bit too perfect, making Meng Yanxi suspect that she didn’t want to see him because of what happened last night, that she was deliberately avoiding him.

Jin Zhao could tell and hurriedly explained, “This was applied for a month ago. The academic affairs office also adjusted the classes in advance.”

She was afraid Meng Yanxi would misunderstand, so she took out her phone. “I can show you my OA process.”

At universities, participating in this kind of academic conference usually starts with a notice from the Research Office, then the instructor submits an application through OA. Only after it’s approved can the Academic Affairs Office adjust the classes. This entire set of procedures takes at least half a month.

Jin Zhao wanted to prove that she wasn’t avoiding him.

Meng Yanxi suddenly laughed.

He pressed down her hand. “Why are you even pulling out the OA process? I’m your boyfriend, not your superior. Don’t be so official with me.”

Jin Zhao lightly bit her lip. “You’re the one who said it yourself…”

“I know.” Meng Yanxi curved his lips. “No need to go through all that trouble. Just hug me once, and I’ll believe you.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

She had said it long ago—Meng Yanxi was the kind of person least likely to take a loss.

He had bullied her thoroughly last night, apologized first thing in the morning, and now wanted her to be the one to hug him.

Why didn’t he ask her to kiss him instead?

But after despising this man’s thick skin for three seconds, Jin Zhao still took the initiative and hugged him.

She stepped forward, wrapped both arms around his waist, and gently rested her face against his chest.

His waist was slim, his chest warm, his shoulders and back broad and straight. He wore a soft, fine-textured cashmere sweater and casual trousers, and within the weave of the fabric was all the pleasant scent of him.

Behind them was bright daylight.

He hugged her too, unable to help himself as he bent down and kissed her hair.

The two stood quietly in each other’s arms. He murmured by her ear, “Lingling, don’t be afraid of me. I’ll slow down and be with you at the pace you like. If I go crazy again, just slap me.”

Jin Zhao gently closed her eyes, tightened her arms, and hugged him even harder.

She responded very softly, “Okay.”

Only she herself knew how much she liked this man.

Before, it was simply because he was Meng Yanxi. Now there was one more reason.

Now, he was Meng Yanxi who would restrain his desire for her sake.

Even if the process was a little awkward, and a little clumsy.

She seemed to like him even more.

-♥︎ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞♥︎ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞♥︎ ྀི

Early the next morning, Meng Yanxi took Jin Zhao to the airport.

Zhuang Yu was driving the Rolls-Royce. When Jin Zhao got in, she couldn’t help but glance at the car body again, inexplicably feeling that the car looked a bit familiar. But thinking it over, she felt she was being self-indulgent. Where would she get the confidence to think a Rolls-Royce looked familiar?

Meng Yanxi didn’t say anything.

He originally had a meeting that morning, but to see her off, he pushed it back by two hours, simply wanting to spend a little more time with his girlfriend. Yet this show of sincerity didn’t earn him even a bit of sweetness—his girlfriend was still revising her PPT on the way.

This conference was divided into a main forum and sub-forums. With Jin Zhao’s current credentials, she wasn’t yet able to speak at the main forum, but she would participate in a sub-forum group discussion. She was currently at a bottleneck, and for her, this opportunity to attend the conference was rare and precious. She also hoped to spark more ideas through exchanges with peers at the meeting.

She kept looking over the PPT and revising it, again and again, having already revised it countless times. Once Jin Zhao started working, she was completely focused. Meng Yanxi tried several times to draw her attention. She looked at him, her eyes full of confusion and a kind of cool ascetic indifference.

Meng Yanxi himself felt a bit awkward. He forced himself to save face and tried to discuss academic issues with her, only to have Jin Zhao send more than a dozen academic papers directly to his email on the spot.

Meng Yanxi didn’t know what he was doing.

By the time Jin Zhao finally put away her laptop, they had also arrived at the airport. Meng Yanxi accompanied her inside and stayed with her as she handled the check-in procedures.

Before security, President Meng consciously stopped.

It was as if his girlfriend finally remembered that she would miss him, and she took the initiative to hug him.

The airport was full of people coming and going. Jin Zhao was thin-skinned, so she only hugged him lightly—perhaps not even a full second—then immediately let go. But in just that one second, Meng Yanxi forgave her in his heart for all her coldness today.

Meng Yanxi said, “Send me your return flight on your phone. I’ll come pick you up.”

Jin Zhao said, “Okay.”

Meng Yanxi nodded.

The two of them had nothing more to say. All that remained in their ears were the various announcements echoing through the airport.

Yet neither of them was willing to be the first to let go.

Meng Yanxi lowered his gaze to look at her and asked, “Is there anything else you want to say to me?”

Jin Zhao thought for a moment, then suddenly blushed and quickly glanced at him.

Meng Yanxi’s heart immediately started racing from that shy, hesitant look from his girlfriend. But the next second, he heard her say, “Don’t dream every day. It’s bad for your health.”

Meng Yanxi: “……”

Meng Yanxi suddenly didn’t know what he had come here for today. To humiliate himself?

But Jin Zhao’s face was red like strawberry ice cream, looking even more embarrassed than he was. He couldn’t even manage to get angry, and in the end could only glance at her with both amusement and exasperation. “Who told you I dream every day?”

Why still not admit it? Jin Zhao looked at him innocently. “You said it yourself…”

Meng Yanxi looked at her. At first, he didn’t recall it. Then suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck, and he remembered what he had said to her in bed.

At that time, she had thought he had mistaken her for someone else and asked him who she was. His malicious side acting up, he had deliberately whispered a crude remark into her ear.

Now, in broad daylight, thinking back on it again—even someone as thick-skinned as Meng Yanxi felt a bit embarrassed.

He cleared his throat lightly and explained with feigned propriety, “I thought I was dreaming at the time. You know, people tend to let themselves go more in dreams, and sometimes they say things that go too far. But that was only in a dream. I’m not like that normally.”

Jin Zhao looked at him, as if wanting to speak but stopping herself.

She didn’t say anything, but that not-quite-trusting look in her eyes seemed to have already said eight hundred words.

Meng Yanxi felt very guilty, yet there was no way he could make any guarantees. After all, with this kind of thing… the more you guarantee, the harder it hurts when you get slapped in the face later.

All he could do was apologize verbally. “Sorry.”

Jin Zhao didn’t say anything. Suddenly, she took the initiative to tiptoe up and kiss the corner of his mouth—a light, dragonfly-like touch—and softly left behind one sentence: “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

With a boom, Meng Yanxi felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to one place.

The plane soon pierced through the clouds. After that, how Meng Yanxi got back, he himself didn’t have much impression.

He usually had the habit of handling some work in the car, but today he probably spent the entire ride just grinning.

Even after returning to the company and entering the meeting room for a meeting, President Meng’s mind was still full of that one sentence from his girlfriend: “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

The corners of his mouth never came down. Everything he looked at seemed true, good, and beautiful.

The group of senior executives below: President Meng is really easy to talk to today.

-♥︎ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞♥︎ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞♥︎ ྀི

The academic conference in Beicheng lasted three days. This was also Jin Zhao’s first time attending such a large conference since returning to the country, and she listened to quite a lot of research by leading figures in the field.

During her student years, she had always studied Shakespeare. After returning to China, she moved into comparative literature, researching Shakespeare and Daoist cosmology. This research direction leaned toward interdisciplinary studies, fit the times, and had a novel angle. Jin Zhao spoke at the group forum and published a conference paper.

Also attending the academic conference on this trip was Wang Shi’an, the dean of Sui University’s School of Foreign Languages. The old gentleman was over sixty and, within the country, a figure of near-grandmaster status in academic circles. He had been invited to preside over the conference. By chance, he heard Jin Zhao’s presentation, took great interest in her research, and took the initiative to invite her to give an academic report at Sui University’s School of Foreign Languages.

Jin Zhao was both flattered and surprised, and added Dean Wang on WeChat.

The return ticket had been booked in advance. The day the conference ended was a Saturday, and Jin Zhao booked a flight for that evening—her private intentions were obvious.

Her Monday classes had already ended the previous week, so this way she could spend both Sunday and Monday together with Meng Yanxi.

But the day before returning, she learned from her cousin’s Moments that Jin Wenyi was in the hospital.

Jin Zhao immediately called. At that time, Jin Wenyi was undergoing examinations. Zhao Xu answered the phone, saying the results weren’t out yet, but it wasn’t a big problem and told her not to worry. The next day, Jin Zhao called again and learned that the doctor had scheduled Jin Wenyi’s surgery for the following Monday. Although Jin Wenyi repeatedly said it was just a minimally invasive procedure, Jin Zhao still temporarily changed her ticket. She didn’t return to Suiyi on Saturday, but instead flew directly to Lin City early Sunday morning, planning to accompany Jin Wenyi for the surgery on Monday.

Meng Yanxi had waited bitterly for his girlfriend for a whole week, only to be stood up at the last moment. He was so disappointed he wanted to pound the pillow.

But this man was used to being sharp-tongued. When Jin Zhao apologized to him over video, he still put on an arrogant face and said, “It’s fine. I don’t miss you that much anyway. If you come back two days later, I might even forget what my girlfriend looks like.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Knowing she was in the wrong, Jin Zhao rarely took the initiative to tell him some things from the past.

Jin Wenyi was not only her family, but also her benefactor. Back then, when she was about to be transferred to Ninth High, it was Jin Wenyi who helped her transfer to Lin City No. 1 High School. Later, when she went abroad for her master’s degree, the cost of studying in the UK was very high. The money her mother left was only enough for tuition, and life was actually very tight. She worked part-time, but it was still barely enough to get by. It was Jin Wenyi who transferred her money every holiday, saying it was a red envelope, but in truth it was assistance. Afraid she would feel pressured, she didn’t even say it was a loan.

But Jin Wenyi herself wasn’t wealthy either and still had to raise a son. How could Jin Zhao have the nerve not to repay the money?

Jin Zhao softly coaxed her boyfriend: “It’s not just money. It’s also the kindness of help in times of need.”

Meng Yanxi quietly stared at the screen.

He had actually more or less guessed this part already.

He was mature beyond his years, never some second-generation heir who asked why people didn’t eat meat. After noticing that his girlfriend was strapped for cash, he had already thought of the general situation.

Meng Yanxi asked, “Which hospital?”

Jin Zhao was surprised. “Are you coming over?”

Meng Yanxi raised his brows with a laugh. “In what capacity would I come? Teacher Jin, you should at least give me a title first.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Her boyfriend’s mouth really showed no mercy.

She couldn’t argue with him and protested softly, “It’s too late now.”

“I know,” Meng Yanxi chuckled softly and said helplessly, “I won’t come over. I’ll help you make arrangements with the hospital.”