Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Wen Zhi, at a height of 1.67 meters, wasn’t considered short, but she seemed quite petite in front of Shang Hexing.

It was because he was too tall.

At this moment, Shang Hexing asked her, "By how much?"

Wen Zhi wasn’t sure and just said, "Still not high enough."

"Do it like this." He gripped her hand that was holding the tie, lifted it a bit higher, and placed it on his shoulder and neck.

This sudden lift threw off Wen Zhi’s balance, causing her to lean into his embrace.

This caused her originally natural movements to stiffen a little, but fortunately, she smoothly wrapped the tie around his neck in one fluid motion.

His deep, rich voice resonated in her ear, "Wrapped it around."

Wen Zhi looked up at him, "Which knot?"

Shang Hexing, "You decide."

Wen Zhi muttered, "If I really tied a pioneer scarf knot, would that be okay?"

Shang Hexing’s lips curved in a smile, "Do you think that would be okay?"

Of course, that wouldn’t be okay. Tan Lao’s birthday banquet was such a grand occasion. He was all dressed up in a suit and boots, looking dignified; tying a pioneer scarf knot on his tie would be absurd.

In the end, Wen Zhi tied a Windsor knot for him.

The technique for tying the knot was something she recalled from watching her mother tie a Windsor knot for her father.

Surprisingly, she got it right on the first try.

Even she was surprised.

"Done." She felt somewhat proud, even gently patting the knot she tied, obviously very satisfied with her work.

Shang Hexing hadn’t looked down to see her tie the knot at all.

He had been staring at her the entire time, etching every single expression on her face into his memory, until she said the knot was tied. Then, he finally looked down to glance at it.

"Your hands are nimble." He didn’t skimp on praise for her.

Wen Zhi beamed with a radiant smile, but as she was smiling, she suddenly noticed Shang Hexing leaning forward slightly toward her.

The faint scent of cold cypress enveloped Wen Zhi layer by layer, her limbs lost their instinctive awareness in a short span, her brain crashed, and she didn’t evade as she saw him approaching.

His gaze traced inch by inch over her features, the trembling black lashes revealing her uneasy heart. He stopped there, not moving any closer, then straightened up and said softly, "I’m leaving now, call me if you need anything."

When Wen Zhi came back to her senses, Shang Hexing had already turned and left.

Watching him walk away, Wen Zhi covered her cheeks and cursed herself, "Wen Zhi, you’re zoning out again!"

If Shang Hexing hadn’t stopped when he did, they might have actually ended up kissing.

She went back to her room to wash her face.

In the mirror, her natural appearance, living in the temple during this period without deliberately concealing her features, was very relaxed.

Her phone rang from outside.

She roughly wiped her face with a towel, then went out to answer the phone.

"Meng Fan," she called out.

"Do you want to go out for a walk today?" Meng Fan’s voice came from the other end of the line.

Wen Zhi hadn’t left the temple for several days and agreed without much hesitation, "Sure."

The voice of Meng Fan on the other end hesitated again, "Zhizhi, actually, I..."

"Are you done?"

Suddenly, another man’s voice came through, interrupting Meng Fan’s already hesitant words.

Initially puzzled about what Meng Fan was about to say, Wen Zhi quickly understood upon hearing the man’s voice, "Is it that your husband has come to Lailin City to find you?"

Meng Fan, covering the receiver, said to the man behind her, "Rong Huaishen! Shut up, will you!"

The man turned and left.

It was only then that Meng Fan let go of her hand and said to Wen Zhi on the phone, "Yeah, that ’dog’ of a man, so keen on following scents, tracked me down to the villa from another city."

Every time, Wen Zhi couldn’t help but laugh at the ’pet name’ Meng Fan had for her husband—’dog’ of a man.

"So why did you call me out for a walk? Do you have time?" That was the crucial question Wen Zhi seized upon to ask.

Meng Fan answered, "I don’t have time tonight, but I do this afternoon."

Wen Zhi: "Tonight...?"

Meng Fan was an old hand at this and quick on the uptake, "Tonight doesn’t mean sleep."

Wen Zhi snorted with laughter, and Meng Fan urged her, "Hurry up and get ready to leave the temple, I’ll be waiting for you at Artistic Conception Building."

Artistic Conception Building was a famous restaurant by West Lake.

The first day when Wen Zhi arrived at Lin City, she had passed by Artistic Conception Building with Meng Fan while visiting West Lake, and Meng Fan had mentioned that they should dine there next time.

After hanging up the phone, Wen Zhi went to change her clothes.

Before leaving the temple, she made sure to record her departure properly in the ledger.

By the time she arrived at Artistic Conception Building, it was already half past eleven.

Meng Fan came down to meet her, holding her hand, "I ordered the smoked duck, a West Lake specialty, try it later, and if it tastes good, I’ll vacuum-seal and mail two boxes back to Bai City for us to enjoy slowly."

Wen Zhi asked, "Won’t two boxes be too much?"

Meng Fan: "One box for the in-laws."

Wen Zhi didn’t tease Meng Fan, because, although her husband Rong Huaishen was lacking, his parents from the Rong Family were up to the mark.

Meng Fan had often praised the couple in front of Wen Zhi for being attentive, providing for every need without fail, definitely worthy of being thought about and bringing home specialties even when Meng Fan was out having fun.

The two of them went hand in hand up to the third floor of Artistic Conception Building.

Meng Fan had specifically reserved a good spot, where they could see West Lake just by opening the carved window, in keeping with the restaurant’s name—Artistic Conception Building.

Because Meng Fan hadn’t told Wen Zhi in advance that Rong Huaishen would also be there, she was surprised to see him in the private room when she entered.

"Why didn’t you say Mr. Rong would be here too?" Wen Zhi asked in a low voice.

Meng Fan whispered in Wen Zhi’s ear, "He insisted on coming, and I couldn’t stop him, so I just let him be. You can pretend he doesn’t exist."

Wen Zhi wanted to say, how do you pretend someone that big doesn’t exist?

Moreover, Rong Huaishen’s presence felt similar to that of Shang Hexing, aloof and not easy to approach, hard to talk to just by looking at him.

But since he was already seated there, Wen Zhi couldn’t ignore him. After Meng Fan pulled out a chair for her to sit down, she politely greeted him, "Mr. Rong."

Rong Huaishen looked at Wen Zhi and nodded, "Miss Wen, long time no see."

Wen Zhi gave a light smile, "Indeed, it’s been a while. I heard Mr. Rong has just returned to the country."

Rong Huaishen clasped his hands in front of his abdomen, his expression indifferent, "Half a month ago."

The conversation was full of pleasantries, yet Wen Zhi actually knew everything—after all, Meng Fan was with the First Intelligence Division.

Rong Huaishen looked up at Meng Fan standing beside the table, "Did you order everything?"

Meng Fan sat down and teased him with a twist of sarcasm, "I did, but nothing you’d like."

Rong Huaishen didn’t get angry, "When traveling, I’m not picky about food."

His demeanor was calm and collected, looking refreshed, which to Meng Fan seemed just like a well-dressed wolf in disguise. She desperately wanted to accuse him of his excessive demands from the night before.

Forget it, just tolerate it.

The divorce was near at hand, about to be realized.

The waiter began to serve dishes, explaining the origin of each one as they were presented. After the last dish was served, Wen Zhi thought they could start eating, but Meng Fan said to wait a bit longer, "There’s one more friend who hasn’t arrived."

Wen Zhi asked, "Your friend? Or Mr. Rong’s friend?"

Meng Fan felt a little guilty, stuttering for a long while without saying Liang Yin’s name. Rong Huaishen glanced at her, and Meng Fan glared at him, "What are you looking at me for!"