“My formal name is Qiao Qiao, and Qinglian is my nickname. My mother’s surname is Bai, so, I’m also named Bai Qinglian.”
Now that they had talked about this openly, Qiao Qiao no longer avoided the matter and said straightforward.
Ding Ning’s expression was a little complicated. He said, “Should I call you Bai Qinglian, or Qiao Qiao, or an old classmate?”
“Whatever you like.”
Qiao Qiaoyun said causally.
Her indifferent attitude caused a burst of anger in Ding Ning’s heart. Ding Ning said emotionlessly, “Then, I will leave first.”
“You…”
Ding Ning turned to leave without hesitation after he said that. Looking at his back, Qiao Qiao was very confused, and her face was full of bitterness.
It had been more than a year since they were separated, and they finally met again. She had thought that Ding Ning would spend some time to talk to her, but she had not expected him to leave without hesitation.
She wanted to stop him immediately and told him that she had her own distress. For more than a year, she had been thinking about him all the time, and secretly paying attention to him, but as a missish girl, she could not tell him that in the end.
Xu Minglu looked at Qiao Qiao hesitantly, but, after a short moment in hesitation, he chased Ding Ning quickly. Mayor Du was immersed in the excitement of his wife’s waking up. As the mayor’s secretary, Xu Minglu must take good care of the mayor’s benefactor.
“Sister, you love him, don’t you?”
Qiao Zhenya suddenly looked at Qiao Qiao and asked, and the pain in his eyes flashed away quickly.
It was true that he was ill and had difficulty concentrating on the things he was not interested in. From the outsiders’ perspective, he behaved a little strangely, but this did not mean that he was stupid and could not understand anything.
Though his sister talked with Ding Ning in a low voice, he heard their words clearly, but he pretended not to hear them.
He and his sister had a good relationship. He had long spotted that the relationship between his sister and Ding Ning was not simple, but he knew that there were many things in this world that were out of people’s control, such as love, such as life and death.
Until this moment, when he saw his sister so sad, he, who was heartless, felt heartbroken suddenly and blurted out the question.
“Zhenya, he and I… are just classmates, that’s all. You think too much.”
Looking at his brother’s unprecedentedly clear eyes, Qiao Qiao smiled and rubbed his head in a pampering manner. However, between her eyebrows was lingering sorrow.
“Sister, human’s lifespan is limited, so don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Pursue whatever you love or you will regret it when you are old.”
Qiao Zhenya’s serious tone amused Qiao Qiao. She poked him in the forehead and said, “Little boy, you know nothing, so, stop making blind and disorderly conjectures.”
“I’m an adult. I do know something. Sister, don’t miss out on your happiness. Although this guy is a little neurotic, I can still accept him as my brother-in-law. If you’re too shy to tell him, I’ll tell him.”
Qiao Zhenya said, unconvinced.
“Don’t do stupid things. I know you have grown up and become a big man. Alright, let’s go inside to see aunt.”
A gloom flashed within Qiao Qiao’s eyes as she changed the topic timely. She took Qiao Zhenya’s hands and walked toward the room without noticing the firmness that flashed in his eyes.
“Brother Ding, it’s not easy to take a taxi here. Where are you going? I’ll give you a ride.”
At the gate of the sanatorium, Xu Minglu gave Ding Ning a ride in person. He knew that from the moment Ding Ning rescued the mayor’s wife, Ding Ning was no longer a little doctor without any background.
Mayor Du would become Ding Ning’s strongest backing, and there was absolutely no harm for Xu Minglu to build a good relationship with Ding Ning now.
“Send me to the antique street.”
Ding Ning sat in the back seat and was a little tired. He closed his eyes to rest.
Waking up Mayor’s Du’s wife, who had been a vegetative patient, consumed his energy far more than he had expected, leaving his spirit and soul that had not been fully recovered to become weaker.
Besides, Qiao Qiao’s appearance disturbed him very much. As a result, he now looked in low spirits as if he had lost all his energy.
“Don’t worry about your car. I’ve called the Accident Handling Brigade and had everything arranged. The insurance company will claim the settlement directly. When your car is repaired, it will be sent directly to you.”
At Xu Minglu’s words, Ding Ning cheered up a little and smiled gratefully, saying, “Thank you, Brother Xu!”
“Well, we’re good brothers, so, there is no need to say thanks. Moreover, I haven’t thanked you for what happened the last thing, so it should be me who say thank you.”
Upon hearing Xu Minglu say those words trying to get in good with him, Ding Ning smiled implicitly and replied, “You’re right, Brother Xu. There is no need to be courteous since we’re good brothers.”
For Ding Ning, no matter whether Xu Minglu was using him or trying to make good friends with him, there was no harm for him to make friends with him.
Although Mayor Du owed him a big favor, the more the mayor helped him, the less the mayor owed him, and there would be one day that Mayor Du owed him nothing. Thus, it was impossible for Ding Ning to ask Mayor Du for help when he met some small problems.
With Xu Minglu, who was not in a high position but had a powerful say, as his friend, Ding Ning could get much help from him in the future. Thus, he was very happy to make friends with Xu Minglu.
In Yanjing, Aunt Xiang subconsciously touched the red coral bracelet in a double-fish shape that warmed her heart, and walked quickly into the courtyard with a bright smile.
This time, her trip to Ninghai was very satisfactory. Not only did she see her son, who she had missed very much, but also she finally opened her heart and talked to her mother, who she had not connected for almost forty years.
Compared to that she received an ornament of the god of longevity carved by his son, she felt happier that she received a red coral bracelet in a double-fish shape from his son. It was a coincidence that both Ding Ning and his mother was Pisces, and there were only three days between their birthdays. However, Ding Ning did not know this.
“Miss, you are here!”
Jiang Rui, the secretary who was responsible for their daily lives, greeted her politely, but he looked a little embarrassed.
“What’s the matter? Grandpa is meeting his guests? I can wait outside for him.”
Aunt Xiang was a smart woman that when she spotted Jiang Rui embarrassed, she knew her grandpa was meeting his guests.
“Miss, why don’t you… come again on another day?”
Jiang Rui said hesitantly as helplessness flashed within his eyes. He did not know how his miss had lived these years as there was a group of people in the Su Family who only dared to go tough with their families.
Aunt Xiang looked indifferent because she knew that the visitors possibly came at herself. She then replied, “It doesn’t matter. I can wait here.”
“Is Lass Xiang back? She came at the right time. Come on in.”
Though Aunt Xiang’s grandpa was old, he had sharp ears. He heard her voice through the courtyard.
“Then… Miss, please come in and be careful yourself.”
Jiang Rui said in an embarrassed tone. It was his good intention to stop Aunt Xiang from entering the house. He didn’t want her to face the difficulties those domineering people made for her. He had not expected that the old master would notice her. At the moment, he was rendered in an awkward situation and could only remind her in secret.
“Thank you, Secretary Jiang!”
Aunt Xiang nodded gratefully at Jiang Rui, which made him feel much better. He returned her a gentle smile and turned to lead the way for her.
“Su Ningxiang, you came back.”
As soon as Aunt Xiang entered the third yard, she saw a group of people she didn’t want to see—her eldest uncle, third uncle, and fourth uncle and his family. She sneered secretly and thought that she was to face a trial from these families.
As soon as they met, several cousins of hers, especially Su Wanyu, greeted her in a cynical way. Su Wanyu, who was her eldest’s uncle’s daughter, looked at her with arms crossed before her chest and a sarcastic cold smile.
“Grandpa, I’m back. Eldest uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle, eldest cousin brother, second cousin brother, third cousin brother, fourth cousin brother … eldest cousin sister, second cousin sister, third cousin sister… so, you all came to see Grandpa.”
Aunt Xiang had long been accustomed to such occasions. She greeted them one by one calmly in accordance with the family rules. She had always held the belief that no matter how angry she was, she had to remain calm and polite and could not let others get a handle on her.
“Yes.”
The old master had long trained himself not to show his feelings on his face. Therefore, others could not tell his thoughts from his expressions. He nodded at Aunt Xiang and signaled her to sit beside him.
“Ningxiang, I heard that you went to Ninghai? Is that right?”
Aunt Xiang’s third uncle, Su Zhengxi, had a bad temper and was the most impatient one. He immediately began to question Aunt Xiang in a threatening manner.
“Yes, it’s right.”
Su Ningxiang answered lightly.
“Hum, how bold were you! Who allowed you to leave Yanjing in violation of your promise?”
Aunt Xiang’s eldest uncle, Su Zhengdong, suddenly opened his eyes wide and questioned harshly.
“Ningxiang, don’t forget your promise that you will never leave Yanjing, otherwise, that father and son would have been killed by the Zhao Family long ago. How could you not keep your promise and leave Yanjing? If the Zhao family knows it, it will bring a lot of troubles to our family.”
Aunt Xiang’s fourth uncle, Su Zhengbei, said with a sad face as if Su Ningxiang had committed a crime hated by both man and God.
“My younger sister, how could you be so wayward? How could you think for our family at all?”
Aunt Xiang’s third cousin brother, Su Zhenxiong, complained righteously.
“Yes, younger sister, the Zhao Family is becoming powerful now. You breaking your promise and leaving Yanjing at this time destroyed our cooperation with the Zhao family.”
Aunt Xiang’s fourth cousin brother, Su Zhenfeng, kept shaking his head and sighing as he spoke, but he could not conceal the gloating expression in his eyes.
“Hump, you always only think about yourself and never think for our family.”
Aunt Xiang’s second cousin sister, Su Xiuyun, sneered as she said that.
“If it had not been that you were so shameless to seduce a wild man and gave birth to a wild child and cheated on Zhao Tianya, my grandpa would not have lost the support from the Zhao family and his career would not have stopped at the point where he was only a provincial official. Yet, you still dared to violate your promise and left Yanjing privately. As I think, you must have gone to meet your wild man, right?”
Aunt Xiang’s eldest cousin sister, Su Wanyu, said sharply and harshly, and her eyes were full of the pleasure of revenge.
Back then, she had fallen in love with Zhao Tianya, but unfortunately, Zhao Tianya only loved Su Ningxiang. The two families thus decided to build a connection through the marriage, and this made Su Wanyu jealous of Su Ningxiang and hate her very much. She thought that Su Ningxiang seized Zhao Tianya from her.
Later, Sun Ningxiang became pregnant while she was unmarried and blatantly broke her engagement with the Zhao Family, which made the Zhao family very angry and ruined the chance of Zhao Zhendong to be promoted to the deputy national official. This made Su Wanyu even more jealous of Su Ningxiang. Whenever she met her, she would ridicule her.
Su Ningxiang had long been accustomed to this kind of harsh words. She remained indifferent and said flatly, “The centenary birthday of the old master of the Bai Family is coming soon. Grandpa let me prepare the birthday gift, so I went to Ninghai to find Master of the Divine Burin to prepare a gift for Master Bai. Even if the Zhao Family knows it, they can’t say anything about it, can they? What’s more, what I promised was not to see my man and children, and I didn’t promise that I would never leave Yanjing. Is this also a breach of my promise?”
“Master of the Divine Burin? Haha, Su Ningxiang, you should find a better excuse when you lied. Any piece of work of Master of the Divine Burin costs tens of millions. It’s not easy to see him. Besides, no one knows who Master of the Divine Burin really is. You must be lying saying that you went to find him to prepare the gift.”
Su Wanyu hated Su Ningxiang’s indifferent look the most and said in a sharp voice and mocking tone.
“Hump, Su Ningxiang, don’t use these ridiculous excuses to defend yourself since you left Yanjing without permission. You’d better think about how to explain to the Zhao Family.”
Su Xiuyun and said with a lip and her arms around her chest.
“Don’t get our family pay for what you have done. I have been talking with the Zhao Family about a cooperation for more than half a year, and I’m going to succeed very soon. Aren’t you making my efforts turn in vain by your actions?”
Su Zhenfeng looked distressed.
“I’m counting on the Zhao Family to make an additional investment for me. However, you ruined everything. What should I do now? I don’t care what you did, but you must give the Zhao Family an explanation. Don’t delay my cooperation plan with them.”
Aunt Xiang’s second cousin brother, Su Zhenwu, was a standard playboy. He established an entertainment company so as to screw around with women all day. He had a close relationship with several playboys in the Zhao Family.
…
Looking at the ugly faces of these blood relatives of hers in the Su family, Su Ningxiang was deeply sad.
