At the Lu Residence.
After she had coaxed Little Treasure to sleep and applied a face mask, Ning Xi was preparing to have a good night’s sleep when her phone screen suddenly lit up. There was an incoming phone call.
The caller ID displayed the name: Ning Yaohua…
Ning Xi narrowed her eyes slightly and walked out to the balcony to take the call.
“Hello…”“What kind of greeting is ‘hello’?! Don’t you know how to address your father with respect? Where are your manners?!”
“Are you sure you want to fight with me over this again?”
“Actually, I wish that you weren’t part of the Ning family, but our family’s blood runs through your veins. That’s a fact that I can’t erase! Whatever filthy things you’ve done outside will ultimately bring shame to our Ning family.”
“Heh, the filthy things that I’ve done… Was that something Ning Xueluo said again?”
“Xueluo didn’t even need to bring up something like that. Everyone on the internet is saying that! They’re saying that you’re poisonous and unrepentant and that… that you’re a kept woman who glorifies her shamelessness and flaunts her filthy deeds in front of everyone!
“Don’t tell me that I’m accusing you wrongly! I sent someone to wait outside your apartment for quite a few days, but you never returned. Why don’t you tell me where you’ve been staying these past few days? And where did you get that money?”
“I’m warning you, Ning Xi. I’m giving you one last chance. Come back right now and apologise to Xueluo! Furthermore, I’ve already arranged a decent job for you at a branch company in Singapore. Your plane tickets have already been booked. Pack your things and leave the day after tomorrow!”Ah, he had exiled her once five years ago. Five years later, he actually wanted to exile her again…
Ning Xi emphasised each word as she spoke, “Chairman Ning, while I do have the Ning family’s blood running through my veins, aside from contributing a single sperm cell, you’ve never raised me for even a single day. Even if my reputation drops to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, you don’t have the right to criticise me and you have even less of a right to get involved in my life!”
“Ning Xi! How impudent! You had better think hard on the consequences of provoking me! You…”
Ning Xi immediately hung up, cutting off the roaring coming from the other end of the phone.
This time, her heart was strangely tranquil. She wasn’t angry. She wasn’t disappointed. She definitely wasn’t sad.
“Ning Xi…” A gentle voice suddenly called out to her from nearby.
Ning Xi turned her head only to see Lu Tingxiao anxiously looking at her from the neighbouring balcony.
Ning Xi spoke with some surprise, “Eh, Lu Tingxiao… You haven’t slept yet?”
Lu Tingxiao walked up to the edge of his balcony, on the side closest to hers, “I heard some noises coming from the balcony so I came out to take a look. Are you okay?”
Ning Xi casually shrugged her shoulders, “I’m fine. Ning Yaohua gives me the same lines every time he calls. I can probably recite it from memory by now.”
Lu Tingxiao wasn’t very good at comforting others. He reached across the gap between the balconies and rubbed her head, “Don’t feel sad.”
Ning Xi laughed. Beneath the starlight, her expression was calm and serene. “I’m not sad. In this world, the only ones who can hurt us are the ones that we care about. The more we care about them, the more it hurts. But now, I’m not going to get hurt anymore.”
Because she didn’t care anymore.
That time in the hospital was going to be the last time she would feel sad about those people. Never again.
“Alright! I’m going to bed now! I still have to get up early tomorrow! Good night!” Ning Xi waved at him.
“Getting up early? There’s nothing planned for tomorrow. You can sleep in a bit.”
“I’m getting up early to buy groceries.”
“Why are you buying groceries?” Lu Tingxiao didn’t understand.
“To prepare a meal of course! I promised that I would cook for you and Little Treasure last time, but I’ve been postponing it for so long that I still haven’t made one yet.”
“You’ve just recovered. There’s no hurry.”
“It’s just buying some groceries and cooking a meal. That’s not tiring at all. Also, I just happen to have some free time tomorrow. Alright, that’s settled! Oh yes, remember to eat less for breakfast tomorrow so you can save some stomach space. I’ll definitely have you two wishing that you had an extra stomach!”
Lu Tingxiao chuckled when he saw her confident expression, “Alright.”
