Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Meng Shijiu entered Wen Hui's office alone in the morning, but when he left, someone else was standing beside him.

The photo of Jue Ning handing Meng Shijiu pomegranate juice was posted on the forum and then spread like the wind throughout District 16.

—By this time, the two parties involved had already left Yanbei.

Looking down from the aircraft, as they gradually moved away from Yanbei, the color of the land shifted from deep to light, like a watermark on parchment fading as it dries.

Jue Ning: "What do you feel like for lunch?"

Meng Shijiu was pressed against the window, draped in a light-colored coat. Hearing this, he mumbled a reply, his voice tinged with a lazy, teasing tone: "You actually asked me."

Inside the aircraft, the newly replaced lilies still carried dewdrops, and the air was filled with the same crisp, cool fragrance Meng Shijiu had smelled at NO3 last time.

—For someone like Jue Ning, who was meticulous about everything, to come see him specially, how could he not know what he liked to eat?

Jue Ning caught his drift and raised an eyebrow.

Meng Shijiu turned around, appearing with keen interest yet casually asking: "Did you prepare anything? Let me see how well you prepared."

He glanced over, like a serious professional judge waiting for the results to give his critique, his eyelashes fluttering slightly at the corners of his eyes.

Jue Ning's fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the armrest, as if virtually scratching the chin of a nonexistent cat.

He stared at Meng Shijiu: "Alright."

—

The critique naturally never happened. Meng Shijiu was even stingy with the words "delicious," at most offering a "thank you."

But Jue Ning was an utter deviant; receiving a "thank you" was already enough to satisfy him. His blatant gaze always stuck to Meng Shijiu whenever he lowered his head to eat, making the meal so unbearable that Meng Shijiu almost wanted to slap him.

When they arrived, Meng Shijiu gave Jue Ning an exasperated look, like a heartless cat that eats and sleeps without a care, then turned and got off the aircraft.

Qiyu, Chris's private coast.

Jue Ning had probably notified people to have the place cleared out long ago. Just like last time, there were still hardly any people around.

Meng Shijiu didn't go in. He stopped before the high guardrail, looking down at the coast.

Jue Ning dismissed the accompanying staff before walking over from not far away.

His gaze first landed precisely on Meng Shijiu, then suddenly shifted, stopping at the silver-haired Alpha's waist.

The silver-haired Alpha seemed too lazy to stand straight, resting his chin on his elbows. He had taken off his coat, leaving only a tank top. His waist wasn't exposed, but it revealed a slender, resilient curve.

Like a thin blade suitable for fondling and tormenting, it should be trapped in the palm of a hand, letting it struggle until it melts.

Sunlight fell on the silver-haired Alpha's face. The sun at this hour was still too harsh, burning his porcelain snow-like skin into a nearly transparent texture and turning his light green eyes into a clear lake.

Meng Shijiu gazed at the horizon when suddenly, an umbrella appeared above his head.

As the shadow fell, the light-colored lake instantly turned into a beautiful, deep cyan.

"You'll get sunburned." Jue Ning walked over, standing close beside him, pulling their distance extremely near but keeping a rational distance.

Meng Shijiu couldn't help but smile silently.

So similar, he thought.

A long, long time ago, his first meeting with Jiang Zhenshi was also exactly this scene—

A young man under the sunlight, so exquisite he seemed almost inhuman, and a man who appeared composed and considerate, holding an umbrella for him.

Jiang Zhenshi was his first love.

That "old acquaintance" Jue Ning had once heard Meng Shijiu mention.

This old acquaintance, like Jue Ning, had a cold, proud face. He loved using everything to capture Meng Shijiu's attention, adept at employing various techniques, schemes, and a mix of soft and hard tactics to achieve his goals and get what he wanted.

Only, his disguise was far more perfect than Jue Ning's. Jiang Zhenshi was more like a venomous snake lying in wait for a long time. Those lingering possessiveness and desire for control had wildly grown and expanded over years of secretly observing Meng Shijiu, and thus could be better hidden.

—Jiang Zhenshi could instantly transform from a polite gentleman into an uncompromising predator, and in the moment Meng Shijiu frowned, he would retract all his sharp edges, becoming a harmless bystander.

That was also why, when they broke up, those dark, damp desires, like a snake born for Meng Shijiu, clung to him relentlessly.

What was in Jue Ning's eyes was actually identical to Jiang Zhenshi's.

So similar it made Meng Shijiu wonder—

If he and Jue Ning walked the same path he had walked with Jiang Zhenshi again, would the outcome be different?

Would it be even worse?

Meng Shijiu thought idly.

"—What are you thinking about?"

Jue Ning's voice, naturally carrying a cold, piercing quality, sounded by his ear, somewhat out of place by the seaside under the bright sun.

Meng Shijiu didn't speak. His chin remained buried between his folded arms, hiding his rosy lips. His eyes were half-closed, like a glass doll.

Jue Ning softened his voice: "Shall we go down?"

Meng Shijiu: "You're so annoying."

Meng Shijiu: "So talkative."

Jue Ning seemed unable to hold back: "Talkative?"

Meng Shijiu: Yeah, back then, Jiang Zhenshi didn't ask a single word, just stood with him until sunset.

Meng Shijiu: "Is there anything fun nearby?"

Jue Ning paused slightly: "Didn't you want to see the sea?"

Meng Shijiu straightened up, his face fully revealed. The sea breeze lifted the stray hairs on his forehead: "Let's come back at sunset."

The waves in the distance suddenly grew quiet, as if the whole world was waiting for that "sunset" he mentioned.

—

Chris's former boss, President Tang, should have taken the payment and left long ago after Jue Ning agreed to acquire Chris, but Jue Ning had kept him. These days, he still rarely saw Jue Ning, like a forgotten ornament, only occasionally receiving orders to clear the area.

This was probably his fifth time seeing Jue Ning.

That domineering Alpha still had an icy expression, carrying an aura of composure and indifference, his dark gaze lightly sweeping over with a casual weight.

Tang instinctively tensed up, yet his eyes were drawn involuntarily toward the silver-haired Alpha seated beside Jue Ning.

The Alpha next to Jue Ning seemed more interested in the tea in his cup; he took a small sip, his eyelids half-lowered, as his fingertip unconsciously traced the bottom of the cup.

Sunlight cast dappled flecks of light on the back of his hand, the shadows pulsing faintly with his heartbeat like trapped butterflies.

Tang stole a quick glance and immediately lowered his head. "Young Master Ning."

Jue Ning: "Are there any interesting places around here?"

Before Old Tang could speak, he was interrupted by the silver-haired Alpha.

Meng Shijiu: "Ah."

"What is it?" Jue Ning looked at him.

Tang heard Jue Ning's voice soften, and then that exquisitely ethereal Alpha spoke, his voice like thin ice encasing a snapped plum branch: clear and sharp, laced with a biting chill.

The ends of his words always lifted faintly before fading away, like snowflakes skittering across a frozen lake—so crisp they could reflect a face, yet utterly devoid of warmth to grasp—

"So you brought someone here to ask that... What's there to ask? Naturally, the most interesting places are the ones whose names can't even be spoken."

Meng Shijiu stood up from his chair and looked toward Jue Ning. "Let's go."

Sunlight slid off the silver-haired Alpha's form.

"..."

Jue Ning stared straight into his eyes, noticing a faint wisp of mist rising within them, like a bare branch revealed in a snowy field.