Tian Ruyi was willing to help her against the people who were trying to destroy her. “Of course, with me as your ally, obviously Jingye here will be a help to you too.”

Them? Her greatest allies?

She was right. She needed their help. She was already planning to look for her family. With their aid, it would be easier, she hoped. The question was… should she take the risk of trusting them?

“Well? Is my offer tempting enough for you?” Tian Ruyi asked, with a sickeningly sweet smile. She was like a businesswoman who was trying to convince the other party to become her partner.

“It is tempting but I don’t have anything to give you back.”

“You don’t have to repay me with anything right now. Just remember, when you get your memories back, we are your friends. We were the ones who helped you.”

This woman… could she perhaps…

“Do you know who I am?”

“No, I don’t,” replied Tian Ruyi without hesitation which only made it harder for Mengmeng to read her thoughts again.

Was she telling the truth or was she lying? Either way, she would definitely find out about it later. For now, she was willing to give her a chance. She was going to take the risk of trusting her.

“Fine.”

Her eyes sparkled in delight when she heard Mengmeng’s reply. She clapped once and grinned as she exclaimed, “you’ll accept me as your friend?”

“Yes. Let’s be friends.” She had no choice. She needed to make friends instead of having more enemies.

“Great!” She offered her hand to her for a handshake. “From now on, you can call me Yiyi and I’ll call you Mengmeng!”

Mengmeng was about to accept her handshake but when she heard the nickname the other woman gave her, she stopped upon the memory that filled her mind.

“Little miss Mengmeng, meet my son, Han Xukun.” 

A man was seen sitting in a throne-like seat that was located in the middle of the room. Beside him stood the same boy she saw earlier.

“Oh I know him. I made him cry earlier,” the little girl replied, crossing her arms proudly. She pouted upon remembering how rude the boy was earlier. She didn’t like him at all.

The room became quiet and shocked looks were seen on the faces of the people present inside.

The boy, Han Xukun’s face went red in embarrassment. He quickly denied, “cry?! Cry your face! I did not cry!”

Mengmeng frowned as she retorted, “yes you did. Do you want me to make you cry again?”

“Y-you… you!” The boy was having a hard time defending himself that he ended up turning to his father for help. “Dad, please kick her out of here! Let the dogs run after her! Feed her to them!”

Instead of getting scared, the girl’s eyes sparkled in excitement, she squealed happily, “you have dogs?! Can Mengmeng meet them?!”

“… y-young miss…. I-it’s better if you don’t meet them…” a servant whispered to her.

“Why? All dogs are adorable!”

“It looks like our children are getting along,” smiled Han Xukun’s father. He looked at the man standing beside Mengmeng and continued, “how about this? I’ll give you the gold card in return, your daughter will have to marry my son in the future.”

“Err… do you want me to call you with another name instead?” Mengmeng was brought back from remembering a scene of her past thanks to Tian Ruyi’s voice.

“Should I call you Xiao Meng?” The woman sitting before her asked, smiling a bit.

“I… just remembered something,” she said. She looked at her with a glint of hope in her eyes. The side of her lips curling up into a smile.

This was a start, right? Slowly, for sure, her memories would come back.

When she blurted out that she remembered something, Bai Jingye, who has been quiet since earlier paused from turning a page. Even with the earphones on, he seemed to become distracted as if he just heard what she said. Just like him, Tian Ruyi was surprised.

“You… remember who you are?”

“Not exactly. It was just a memory of me as a child.”

Disappointment filled Tian Ruyi’s eyes. She glanced at the man beside her who still looked like he was reading but she knew better that he wasn’t. He was listening to their conversation the whole time.

“Can you call me ‘Mengmeng’ again?” She asked. She was hoping that she would remember more if someone called her that way.

“Well… if you say so…” She hesitated. Did she trigger her memories when she called her that way? For her to remember even a part of her past meant that the nickname ‘Mengmeng’ was an important name for her.

“Mengmeng?” 

To her disappointment, she wasn’t able to remember anything anymore.

“Nothing…” she mumbled, quiet sadly.

“I guess it will only work once huh?” Tian Ruyi sighed, disappointed just like her. She took a glance at the man beside her before she returned her gaze at her.

“Maybe…” It was just a snippet of her past with that strangely handsome boy. It was a memory where it seemed like their fathers arranged their engagement.

What was his name again?

Ah… Han Xukun. His name was Han Xukun, right?