Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Ning Qing boarded the cab. The driver of the cab saw that she was blind, so he had a benevolent smile on his face as he warmly asked, “Little Miss, where do you want to go?”
Ning Qing told him the address of the Ning family villa.
The driver stepped on the accelerator and said, “Sure then, Little Miss, you have a seat. Let’s head out then.”
The car started to move. Once a person lost her sight, both her nose and sense of touch would become very sensitive. She could hear the bustle of the city outside the window.
If she could still see at this moment, she would have seen the neon lights in the city, and also for the air that was heading into spring soon.
At this moment, a melodious ringtone rang in the air; her phone was ringing.
Her small, fair hand went into her small bag that she brought along everywhere, and she took out her phone.
She slid her finger across the screen and picked up the call.
“Hello…”
“Hello, Ning Qing, where are you now? How come I am unable to find you?” The man’s voice came across from the other end. His voice was hurried and anxious.
Ning Qing was behaving a little abnormally tonight.
“You don’t have to look for me anymore. I am already in a cab. I am going home.”
At that moment, Lu Shaoming had already run onto the main streets. He looked at the cars passing him, and he stopped in his tracks and took a close look at his surroundings.
Actually, he could not even see which car she was in, but it was in his instincts to want to search for her.
“Lu Shaoming, actually, I went to look for you tonight because I had something I wanted to tell you. But, I think forgot about doing so.”
“Ning Qing…”
“Shaoming,” the girl called out to him gently. The neon lights streaming through the window of the car shone on her exquisite face, and it accentuated her features. She looked mesmerizing. The corners of her lips were curled up in a warm, light arc, and she gently said, “Shaoming, actually, when the girl crashed into your embrace at the banquet hall just now, I did not misunderstand you. I believe you, but misunderstanding and taking it to heart are two different things. I am a woman. I get jealous. I take it to heart that you were able to duck away but you chose not to do so. I also take it to heart that a younger girl touched my own husband.
“I don’t know what happened two months ago. Sometimes, I feel that this period of time is like a living nightmare. It was extremely ridiculous that I had to withstand the hate and wickedness from everyone else.
“Everyone around me told me to leave you temporarily. They all said it would be for the good of you, like if I did not listen to them, I was doing something evil. If I stood by your side, I would be harming your wellbeing. How about you? You behave exactly the same as them. You avoid me like the plague!
“I don’t know what I did wrong. I did not do anything wrong! You are my husband. Little Young Master Lu is just a newborn. We were once so in love. I want the two of us to be in love unconditionally, but you’ve made that difficult. You have asked me to bear this ridiculous burden. Not only did you all fail to consider how unfair it is to me, but I am actually very innocent in all of this!”
Ning Qing felt that her face was very wet. She stretched out her hand to touch it. Oh, it turned out that she was crying yet again.
Maybe her eyes were already blurred by the tears, but she did not know. She did not choke up, and she calmly said, “Shaoming, when you were involved in the plane crash, I felt as if my entire world crashed down on me. Everyday was so painful, but my heart was very full. I knew that both of our hearts were leaning against one another, and I was so sure that you did not die.
“Reality would not have any difference. I helped you to raise Little Young Master Lu, I was filial towards both Mum and Dad. As long as I am around, I can help you hold the fort down at home. You would also forever be the first and only man in my entire life. I didn’t think it was hard on me at all.
“Why do I think that it is hard on me right now?
“I thought that we could go through thick and thin as a couple. I still thought I could be considered an intelligent person inside your heart. I thought I was still your wife after all. I could handle the role of being a mother or a daughter-in-law well, but what happened to you? You do not say a single word to me, and you’ve tossed me out of your world!
“Lu Shaoming, I asked you two times today; what other words did you want to say? You did not speak. Don’t you know how much that bothered me?
“Since you are not willing to tell me, then have the ability to allow me to carry your burden!
“Don’t you know how much you’ve asked me to bear?
“You didn’t tell me what happened to you, but every one of your actions and those of everyone else have told me that you met with some accident. You let me live in some strange purgatory, with non stop guessing and my heart breaking for you. But as for you and everyone else asking me to leave you, I feel more hopeless and helpless than I’ve ever felt before. I feel stressed, and I am on the brink of breaking down.
“You didn’t tell me what happened to you, but thinking of everyone asking me to leave you, as I left all of you and everyone else, I was thinking of waiting for you for an indefinite period of time. Where did all of you get your confidence from? If you had died on that plane, I, Ning Qing, was willing to be a widow for life and would have no grievances and regrets. But I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel, and I also did not know what kind of road you’re on where you all expect me to wait for you. How long do you want me to wait for you? 10 years, 20 years? How can you expect that I, Ning Qing, would be willing to wait for you?
“Lu Shaoming, maybe it is for my good that you didn’t tell me. You didn’t want to burden me, but the fact is, I have already taken responsibility for all of it, and I have taken responsibility for everything that was there.”
Lu Shaoming listened on in a daze, his mind was in a huge mess, and he was already unable to contemplate anymore.
Both his heart and his eyes were full of her voice and her image. There was still the warmth of her palm in his palm. Her wrist was so tiny, and it was even slimmer compared to the time when she was pregnant with Little Young Master Lu.
Her slim, frail appearance had been noticed. He had counted the days; she had just come out of her confinement period.
His Adam’s apple moved with much difficulty. His voice was hoarse as he wanted to call out her name.
Ning Qing…
Ning Qing… He wanted to say sorry a million times, and also wanted to tell her that he loved her a million times.
The girl’s voice rang out again on the other end. It was mixed with some bitterness as she said, “No matter what, Lu Shaoming, as long as you are happy, it is all fine… I will congratulate you. In the future, I will not bother you anymore… Just like that..”
Dee Dee… The busy tone repeated itself. The girl had ended the call.
…
In the big banquet hall
Jian Han looked at Zhou Dayuan who was situated a distance away, and she forgot how to react as she was in a blur.
Maybe it was because they had telepathy, or maybe it was her gaze that was unable to be covered up, but Zhou Dayuan had one of his hands in his pockets while he turned to his side. Their gazes collided across the sea of people.
She froze, and he was quiet.
Tang Fan stood beside Jian Han’s side as he looked at Zhou Dayuan. Li Beibei also channelled her gaze over, and in a moment, there was a weird atmosphere in the air.
Zhou Zhilei looked on at the situation, then had a satisfied expression on her face. What background did Jian Han have? Was she worthy to enter the main doors of the Zhou Family?
At this moment, Tang Xueli asked, “Zhilei, isn’t that my oldest brother’s girlfriend, Jian Han? How come she seems to know your older brother?”
Zhou Zhilei was taken aback as she said, “What? Jian Han is Oldest Brother’s girlfriend?”
She was unable to digest this piece of news. In her eyes, Jian Han was from an ordinary family, and she did not match up to the Zhou family. Now, she actually was able to seduce the Oldest Young Maser of the Tang family.
Since Tang Fan was focused on studying medicine, Tang Xueli took control of the Tang Corporation, but elite families were particular about age and hierarchy. Based on this logic, Jian Han was her older sister-in-law. When determining filial importance, she would actually be on a higher rank compared to Zhou Zhilei herself.
Zhou Zhilei looked at Jian Han, who was standing beside Tang Fan, and she tightly balled her fists together.
Tang Xueli realized that she was behaving abnormally and asked her, “Zhilei, what is wrong? Could it be that Jian Han actually had a past with your older brother?”
Zhou Zhilei smiled forcefully, and said, “It was all in the past, Xueli. This is the first time that I am meeting your older brother. Can you bring me over to introduce to him?”
Tang Xueli did not take note of this matter too much. “Sure.” He stretched out his hand to cup Zhou Zhilei’s shoulders.
The both of them walked in front of Tang Fan, and Tang Xueli said, “Oldest Brother, is this Older Sister-in-law? Older Sister-in-law, how are you? Let me introduce you; this is my girlfriend, Zhou Zhilei.”
Jian Han looked at both Tang Xueli and Zhou Zhilei. She plainly and politely greeted them with a smile. “Mr. Tang, Miss Zhou, how are the both of you…?” As she spoke, she looked at Tang Fan and said, “Tang Fan, Ning Qing has been gone a long time. I am worried about her. I am going to look for her, so I have to get a move on.”
“Sure, be careful on your way there,” Tang Fan said warmly.
Jian Han turned around and walked out of the banquet hall.
Tang Fan’s gaze followed Jian Han’s beautiful back profile for the entire duration, and Tang Xueli smiled while he softly said, “Older Brother, don’t look anymore. If you really do not bear to wait, then why not bring her to your apartment at night? Both of you can be loving with one another. You have been dating for such a long time already. You must have had her in your hands already, right? Do you need your younger brother to help you?”
Tang Fan withdrew his gaze and patted his younger brother’s shoulder as he said, “Second Younger Brother, you don’t have to worry about my matters. What about worrying about your own business? There are some things you should cut down on.”
Tang Fan turned around to leave.
Zhou Zhilei watched them depart from one another. One was more arrogant than the other and did not place her in his eyes. She petulantly asked, “Xueli, how come both your older brother and his girlfriend have such bad tempers?”
Tang Xueli laughed without a care. “They are doctors. It can’t be helped for them to be a little arrogant. You don’t have to worry about them.”
At this moment, someone came to socialize with Tang Xueli. Zhou Zhilei lifted her feet and walked to Zhou Dayuan’s side.
“Older Brother…you have seen it alright… Someone dumped you during your toughest time. She went to seek better opportunities/ Jian Han, this woman is a brilliant strategist when it comes to seducing men.”
Zhou Dayuan looked plainly at Zhou Zhilei. He was unhappy as he said, “Take note of what you are saying. As you insult someone else, you are also losing your own status.”
“Older Brother, how come you are still defending her? Don’t you forget; Six years ago, if it was not for Dad and Mum helping you suppress that matter to the extent of their ability, you would’ve been ruined long ago.”
Zhou Dayuan did not want to discuss this topic with her, and he started taking steps to leave.
“Ay, Older Brother.” Noting that Zhou Dayuan was leaving, Zhou Zhilei looked at Li Beibei as she smiled. “Bei Bei, don’t misunderstand, my older brother and Jian Han have officially broken up, that woman Jian Han is not a good person…”
“Miss Zhou,” Li Beibei politely interrupted her. “After breaking up, you are not supposed to bring up anything from the past. Don’t debate the cons of your ex and speak poorly of them. This is the basic manner of being a gentleman. Your older brother was tactful in refusing to engage in such behavior. Miss Zhou can learn something or two from him. I’m leaving too. Goodbye.”
Li Beibei also left.
Zhou Zhilei was furious beyond words. Everyone was so arrogant and rude in front of her.
…
Exiting the banquet hall, Jian Han made a call to Ning Qing. Ning Qing said that she was already at home. Jian Han reminded her to pack her luggage, as she could not miss the flight early tomorrow morning, and they ended the call.
She took the lift down to go to the basement carpark and retrieved her car.
