Chapter 410 Ding Ning Learned More about a Master
The more Ding Ning thought about it, the more he understood the totem. He could not help complaining to himself. “Why didn’t this battle god totem show everything more clearly? Because of this unclear totem, I wasted a few days!”
When Xiahou went back to the Shengshi Huating Complex, he could not wait to get into the wing building next to the main building that was equipped with an independent practice room. He must have prepared to practice the technique the whole night.
As Ding Ning noticed that there was a slight sound of snoring in his bedroom, he could not help feeling warm in his heart. “It must be Luoxue. She must be worried about me and fell asleep when she was waiting for me here.”
For fear that he might wake her up, Ding Ning crept into his room without turning the lights on. He applied the Clean Water Charm to himself and washed the dust off him. With infinite care, he walked to the bed and took the pretty in the bed into his arms.
The person in his arms slept sweetly like a baby. Like a spider with long eight legs, she coiled around Ding Ning and fell into a deep sleep again.
Holding the warm body of the lady in his arms, Ding Ning froze all of a sudden. He found that the bright spot which represented Luoxue in his spiritual sea was still shining in the next room. So, this person in his arms could not be her. Thinking of this, he instantly took his hands off this person’s plump breasts as if he had gotten an electric shock.
Ding Ning felt bitter as though a bowl of icy water was thrown to his head, and his desire vanished fast. He cried in his heart. “My God, she is my sister, not Luoxue. Now I have groped my sister’s breasts twice, this time included.”
He intended to get off the bed. However, since his sister was already asleep, Ding Ning didn’t dare to move a little. If he woke her up, Ding Ning probably would be much more embarrassed. Thus, he had to let her warm, fully developed body lay in his arms. Then Ding Ning began to run the Heart Sutra of Bodhi alone. Soon, he entered a deep meditative state, and his mind settled as still water.
A night past in silence. When Ding Ning opened his eyes early in the morning, he found that his sister had already left. He silently let out a sigh of relief. However, as he recalled the scene last night, his face became burning hot.
“Brother, it’s time to get up,” said Luoxue.
She carefully entered the room with the breakfast she made. In a gentle voice, she called Ding Ning, who closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
But suddenly, a large hand pulled her to the bed. To avoid the embarrassment of his sister, Ding Ning suppressed his sexual desire hard all night. Now in the early morning, when his sexual desire had reached the extreme, how could he fight his desire back? All of a sudden, the room overflowed with tenderness. The romance was very much in the air.
“Brother, I am on my period.”
Luoxue said with a little voice, flushing. To Ding Ning, this sentence sounded like a bolt from the blue. He looked a bit listless, feeling like weeping.
A little upset, Ding Ning said, “D*mned! How can I live with this?” Finally, he got this great chance to sleep with her when his sister was away. But she was on her period, which prevented Ding Ning from making love with her.
Nibbling her lips, Luoxue said softly, “Brother, maybe I can help you with that.”
“Forget it. Get up. Let’s eat breakfast.”
Ding Ning gathered his strength and refused, rubbing Luoxue’s head with pity.
“Oh, by the way, Uncle Ling called me and said that the restaurant has just finished decorating. I want to see it today. What do you say?” Luoxue asked.
With caution, she watched his expression for fear that he would be unhappy.
“Okay, wait for me to go there with you.”
Ding Ning said, smiling. Since Luoxue stayed at home all the time, he knew that she must be boring. Cooking was her biggest hobby, so Ding Ning certainly would not prevent her from going there.
“Brother, you are so nice,” Luoxue said.
Smiling happily, she kissed him gently on his lips like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water. Then she jumped and ran out like a happy butterfly, leaving a string of clear giggles behind.
Ding Ning’s eyes showed a touch of affection and tenderness, and he shouted to her. “Slow down. Don’t fall.”
Downstairs, there were twelve pretty maids. Upon hearing Ding Ning’s words, they looked at each other. Xiahe, one of the maids murmured in admiration, “Young master and Second Young Lady are so close to each other. How I wish I could have an elder brother who loved me so much.”
“But our young master also has a good relationship with First Miss.”
Unconvinced, another maid said.
“Although First Miss is also close to our young master, there always seems to be a little barrier between them. Unlike First Miss, Second Young Lady is like, like our young master’s lover.”
Xiahe argued wisely, blinking her big eyes.
“Sh! Xiahe, what nonsense are you talking about? If Steward Zhang knows that you are gossiping behind him, he will cut down your salary.”
Dongmei, a little maid who got along well with her, covered her mouth, and warned with a serious expression.
“I see!” Xiahe said.
Still in a state of shock, Xiahe spotted Steward Zhang, who strode here at a steady pace. She stuck her tongue out; her heart was still fluttering with fear.
They came here as maids to make more money. Steward Zhang knew that they cared about their salaries the most. Thus, by cutting or raising their wages, he managed to control them and let them abide by his decisions. These maids hated and feared Steward Zhang, regarding him with reverence at the same time.
These maids were surprised when they saw the strict and harsh Steward Zhang, who was always serious in speech and manner. Today, he actually wore a bright smile that was as warm as the spring breeze. It seemed that he was in a perfect mood today. He then asked with a much softer voice than before, “Has our young master got up?”
“He is still washing and will come down later with Second Young Lady.”
Xiahe answered respectfully.
Steward Zhang waved his hand. “Go to do your own business.”
“Yes!” the maids answered together.
The twelve maids looked bewildered but didn’t dare to ask more. They bowed in unison and dispersed.
“Qiuju, what is the matter with Steward Zhang today? He seemed to be in a good mood.”
As a little gossip, Xiahe could not help asking in a low voice when she went upstairs to do some cleaning.
As if deep in thought, Qiuju said, “Last night, an old foreigner sent our First Miss back. Steward Zhang and I went to open the door for them. When Steward Zhang saw the old foreigner, he loXoked very excited as if he had known him before. I don’t know if he felt happy because of that.”
“An old foreigner? What sort of old foreigner was he?” asked Xiahe.
She insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter, her eyes flickering curiously.
“I don’t know how to describe him. Anyway, I feel that the old foreigner looked a bit like Steward Zhang. Each of them was dressed in a formal style. Their conduct, behaviors, and manners were all like a gentleman’s,” Qiuju said while thinking.
In distress, she scratched her head and continued, “I’m not sure. It seems to be the thing that Steward Zhang said to us all day…”
“Noble etiquette?”
Xiahe blurted out.
“Yes, yes, noble etiquette. The old foreigner looked exactly like a nobleman. He also had a few words with Steward Zhang. Do you know what happened? At that moment, Steward Zhang was so excited that his whole face brightened up. He even showed much more respect to the old foreigner that to our First Miss.”
Qiuju nodded repeatedly and continued gossiping with an excited look. “I heard that Steward Zhang used to be a steward of a noble family abroad. Could the old foreigner be his former master?”
Xiahe grinned and guessed with ill intention. “I heard that Steward Zhang has no children. Did he have a special relationship with the foreigner?”
“Which kind of special relationship?” Qiuju asked with a dumb look.
Xiahe smirked, leaning toward Qiuju. Then she whispered something in her ear. Qiuju suddenly turned scarlet from embarrassment and spat a little. “You d*mned girl. Don’t talk nonsense. If Steward Zhang hears you, he is going to tear your dirty mouth apart.”
Xiahe stuck out her tongue. “If he is not the foreigner’s old sweetheart, how could he become so excited when he met him? Beyond that, he is in such a great mood today.”
“Hush! Morning, young master.” Qiuju greeted.
Her face changed, and she dragged Xiahe’s arm in a hurry.
Xiahe looked up and happened to see Ding Ning walking toward them with a weird smile. All at once, her heart gave a jump. Then hurriedly, she bowed and greeted, “Morning, young master!”
“Morning!”
Ding Ning greeted in response. He brushed past them and went downstairs.
As Xiahe breathed a sigh of relief, the young master’s voice suddenly sounded in her mind. “Little Xiahe, no gossip like that is allowed in the future. It is very impolite to guess wildly behind others.”
Xiahe shivered all over. Horrified, she turned to look at her young master who walked straight to the dining table without turning his head. Steward Zhang was pulling out the chair for him with great courtesy.
“Xiahe, what’s wrong with you? Let’s go!” Qiuju urged.
With a bemused expression, she pulled the dumbfounded Xiahe, not knowing why she stood there staring blankly when nothing had happened.
“Qiuju, did you hear our young master say anything just now?”
Xiahe asked, swallowing with a stupefied expression as if she had seen a ghost.
“No, he didn’t say anything. Xiahe, what happened to you today? What ails you?” Qiuju asked with concern.
She reached out to touch Xiahe’s forehead. “But it is not hot.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Maybe it was my illusion!” Xiahe then said.
Lowering her head, she said absentmindedly. But in her heart, she was astounded. She believed that she had heard nothing wrong. “He could even speak in my head. Who exactly is our handsome young master?”
While eating breakfast, Ding Ning browsed through today’s newspapers. Beside him, Steward Zhang stood straight. It seemed that he wished to say something but stopped on the second thought. Then with a casual air, Ding Ning asked him, “Uncle Zhang, what’s up?”
“Young master, First Miss said that you knew Steward Holman. Is that true?” Steward Zhang asked.
He even rubbed his hands somewhat nervously. One should know that he required himself to behave according to the excellent etiquette standard of the nobility. Thus, everyone could tell how excited and nervous he was at this moment.
“Holman?” Ding Ning asked.
He froze and stopped moving his hands. Looking at Steward Zhang’s crazy eyes, Ding Ning suddenly understood why Xiahe would speak ill of him behind his back. Steward Zhang looked like as fanatic and excited as a fan who had met his idol. Ding Ning chuckled to himself and said, “Yes, I know him. What’s the matter?”
“Well, young master. Can you please do me a favor? I want a signature from Steward Holman.”
Like a primary school student who met his teacher, Steward Zhang stuttered nervously with a sheepish grin, and his old face turned bright red.
“Why? Are you a fan of Holman?”
Ding Ning could help joking for he had never seen Uncle Zhang acted like this before.
Steward Zhang smiled a little embarrassedly and said with a fanatical look in his eyes. “Forty years ago, when I studied the noble etiquette in the Yingjili Noble Etiquette College, Steward Holman was the honorary president of our college. Luckily, I attended a lesson that he taught about the noble etiquette. Since then, he became my only idol. Now forty years have slipped by, and I never thought that I could see him again. Beyond that, he chatted amiably with me for a little while last night. After that, I was so excited that I could not sleep well all night. I didn’t expect that after so many years, he still looked as elegant as before. He hasn’t changed much during these forty years.”
“Oh, it turns out that you two have such a history. But you said that Holman hasn’t changed during these forty years. Is it possible? No matter how perfect he took care of his appearance, he should appear to be a little older, at least.”
Ding Ning teased with a smile. He thought that Steward Zhang was flattering his idol. After all, he worshiped Steward Holman only.
“No, it’s not like that. I would not make a mistake about his appearance. He had the same look more than forty years ago. His appearance hasn’t changed at all.”
Steward Zhang replied with certainty after a brief pause. Then, a shadow of suspicion appeared in his eyes, and he said, “If you didn’t mention his look, I would never think about it. It is indeed very strange. I give you my word of honor—I definitely remembered right. He had exactly the same appearance more than forty years ago. There is nothing change on his face. Otherwise, I could not instantly recognize him last night.”
Ding Ning’s face changed dramatically. “If what Steward Zhang said was right, Holman was already a man of sixty or seventy years old more than forty years ago. Forty years have passed. Is he more than a hundred years old now?”
“I remember that Steward Holman is more than ten years older than Her Majesty.” Steward Zhang’s following words greatly shocked Ding Ning. Finally, he realized that perhaps he still underestimated Holman’s real strength.
Ding Ning had noticed Holman’s extraordinary skills before. Even he could not tell how high Holman’s strength was. Ding Ning presumed that he might have reached the Master’s level. But it was reasonable that the Yingjili Royal Family had a Master. Therefore, Ding Ning didn’t think more about that. But now it appeared that this senior steward supervisor could never be someone ordinary.
