Bai Yang asked gently, “Do you want to take a break?”
Song Ning shook her head. She took a deep breath before she continued to say, “In the end, my father agreed to let me leave with my mom. However, his condition was that my mother had to give up the common property and her unique embroidery art. In his words, those things were the soul of the Ning family’s clothing business.”
“How shameless! Really too shameless!” Jiang Jin said angrily.
At this moment, tears had already soaked through the silk handkerchief that Song Ning placed on her eyes. Nevertheless, she did not stop speaking. “At that time, while my parents were arguing, I looked at Su Tong who was sitting at the side with a pitiful expression on her face. However, contrary to her expression, her eyes were clearly gleaming with delight. I couldn’t contain my anger when I saw this and rushed to slap her; I even called her a sl*t. Everyone, including Su Tong, was shocked by my actions. I remember that child rushed up to me and tried to kick me, but I pushed him away. When my father regained his senses, he slapped me so hard that I fell. I remember the ringing noises in my ears after he slapped me; I couldn’t hear anything for a moment. When my mother saw this, she, naturally, rushed over to protect me. However, that child knocked into her stomach, causing her to fall next to me. I remember thinking wondering how or why my mother and I had fallen into such a state…”
After Song Ning finished speaking, Jiang Jin clutched Mu Chen’s hand for comfort. Both of them did not dare to speak at this moment.
After a long time, Bai Yan finally called out softly, “Song Ning…”
Mu Chen reached out to hold Song Ning’s hand to comfort her and found that her hand was cold to the touch. Nevertheless, her rapid breathing seemed to gradually slow down with his help.
After calming down, Song Ning said, “My eardrum was perforated, and for a long time, my hearing was impaired. I had a concussion; every movement made the world spin and I felt nauseous. During my time in the hospital, apart from the doctors and nurses, no one came to visit, not even my mother. I remember attempting to commit suicide time and time again, but I was saved again and again. One day, Ms. Yun Yao came to see me; it was our first meeting. She said she was a friend of my mother and brought me to see my mother. As it turned out, my mother didn’t come to visit me was because she had suffered a miscarriage. She was four months pregnant with a baby boy when Su Tong’s son bumped into her stomach. Just like that, my younger brother was gone before his life even started.”
“After that, my parents got divorced. She demanded custody of me and prohibited Su Tong from using the title ‘Madam Ning’ publicly for ten years. Apart from these two things, she didn’t ask for anything else. If my father didn’t acquiesce to her requests, she threatened to sue Su Tong for instigating her son to hurt her. It was then that she also applied for the trademark and patents for Zhuang Ji. I remember going back to the place my father slapped me on the day we moved out of the Ning family home. I was so nauseous and began to throw up. After that, I remember telling my father that I won’t ever return to the Ning family. I heard, after we left, he was so angered by my words that he was hospitalized.”
“Unfortunately, before my mother and I could settle into our new life, we received news of my grandfather’s illness. At that time, both of us returned to the countryside to stay by his side. We only returned when I had to take my college entrance exams. With my mother’s consent, I changed my name and started my life as Song Ning.”
Song Ning paused briefly before she said, “My mother experienced a miscarriage, a divorce, and the deaths of her parents all at once. It was not surprising that she was depressed for a long time. It gradually took a toll on her health, but she managed to hold on for a couple of years for my sake before she could no longer hold on. After her passing, Ms. Yun Yao began to manage Zhuang Ji. At the same time, my father came to look for me as well after he received news of my mother’s passing. He said that he hoped I’d return to the Ning family. I remember scolding and cursing him at that time for wronging my mother and my stillborn brother. His expression was cold when he said my mother was selfish and did not consider his feelings. When Ms. Yun Yao asked him to leave, he accused her of trying to get close to me for selfish reasons. I was so angry that I actually grabbed a knife to chase him out. After he left, I vomited non-stop and was sick for three days… From then on, the Ning family became taboo to me. I’d feel sick whenever I think of them or see them. However, after such a long time, I thought I was cured since I didn’t see them often. Who knew I still can’t control my reaction when I meet them…”
Finally, Song Ning removed the silk handkerchief from her eyes.
Jiang Jin could no longer hold back and moved to hug Song Ning. She said, clearly distressed, “Song Ning, let’s not see those people ever again…”
Song Ning returned the hug as she said resolutely, “Grandma, I can’t hide from them forever. I must overcome and face this problem.” Then, she looked at Bai Yang and said, “I know I must face this problem on my own. Only I can solve it. No matter what it takes, I’m willing to cooperate and listen to you in order to rid myself of this problem.”
Mu Chen looked at Song Ning, deeply shaken. As it turned out, Song Ning had hidden such a deep pain in her heart. Song Ning was like him in the past.
Bai Yang said, delighted, “There’s nothing more important than you being willing to overcome this problem. Song Ning, although your physical symptoms are severe, it’s not difficult to solve this problem. Let’s work hard together to cure you!”
Bai Yang’s words were a great encouragement to Song Ning, Mu Chen, and Jiang Jin.
For Mu Chen and Jiang Jin, nothing mattered as long as Song Ning lived well.
