Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Kangning Grand Hotel is now a household name, the undisputed leader in the hotel industry. Its five percent stake is immensely valuable—an incredible deal. The Ning family wants Ning Zeshu to inherit these shares but is reluctant to see him end up in a bad marriage.

Among this generation of the He family, He Dingbang has many children, all still single, so there's no shortage of candidates. However, setting aside other conditions, the fact that they are all illegitimate, with their mothers' identities unknown, is enough for the Ning family to resist.

Only He Shixia is legitimate, born to married parents. His mother is the current head of the He family, and he himself has an excellent reputation, making him the obvious best choice for the marriage alliance.

Although hearing He Shixia explain the backstory of this marriage alliance now seems quite crucial, the original novel's plot didn't mention it. Anyway, it was already wrecked by the "fake young master climbing into bed" incident.

"What's in it for the He family to go through with this marriage alliance? Your parents seem pretty gung-ho about it too," Ning Yichu asked curiously.

He Shixia shook his head. "That's what has me stumped too. This marriage alliance doesn't really bring advantages to the He family. I asked my mother, but she dodged the question."

Ning Yichu thought about the original novel's plot, wondering if the Ning family had some dirt on He Weian and Tang Qingshan, or some other leverage over the He family, strong-arming them into "sacrificing" He Shixia for this marriage alliance.

As they spoke, He Shixia suddenly had an idea. "A Ning, on paper you're still a Ning family member too. Now that we're married, it counts as fulfilling the marriage alliance, right? How about we go claim that five percent stake in Kangning? We'd have a pretty solid claim."

Hearing this, Ning Yichu cracked up. "You think the Ning family is that dumb? They watch me like a hawk. The minute I turned eighteen, they made me sign an agreement stating that unless they voluntarily give it to me, I cannot obtain any Ning family property. It's always bugged me—since they're so wary of me, why insist on keeping me in the Ning family? Do I really hurt their reputation that much just by being around?"

He Shixia's brow furrowed.

"But I'll make them give it to me voluntarily," Ning Yichu continued with a smile.

He Shixia asked softly, "Should we head to the Ning family now?"

Ning Yichu glanced at the time. "Not today; it's getting kind of late. Let's get the dog and return to the He family. We'll go to the Ning family tomorrow. That gives me a whole day to pack up my stuff at my leisure."

So, He Shixia instructed the people he had sent to keep digging at the hotel, then drove off with Ning Yichu.

The hotel was a good distance from the veterinary hospital. By the time they returned, it was already dark.

Gentleman was already on the operating table, freshly anesthetized. A nurse had taken a photo and was about to send it to He Shixia to give him an update on the progress when they arrived.

Neutering a male dog is a simple procedure, taking less than twenty minutes. The nurse even brought over what had just been removed from between Gentleman's hind legs, asking He Shixia and Ning Yichu if they wanted to take them home.

He Shixia raised an eyebrow.

Ning Yichu's face was a picture.

The nurse, used to this sort of thing, said, "Because some owners want to take them home as a memento. Of course, more owners feel they are difficult to preserve and unnecessary, so they don't take them. In any case, we have to ask to figure out what to do with them and avoid disputes later."

Ning Yichu told He Shixia to take out his phone. "Take a photo and send it to He Ruzhu, telling him Gentleman can only be a *Liu Xiahui* from now on. Then we won't take these things home."

Since Ning Yichu said so, He Shixia had to take the photo. After sending it to He Ruzhu, he quickly deleted it, not really wanting such a photo in his phone gallery—it felt like digital pollution...

Just after the surgery, Gentleman hadn't woken from the anesthesia yet, looking pitiful and helpless.

After listening to the veterinarian's post-op care instructions, they left with Gentleman and the anti-inflammatory spray prescribed by the hospital.

As soon as they returned to the He family, He Ruzhu came running over, howling, "Gentleman! My poor little Gentleman, your balls are gone just like that. Forced to lose worldly desires at such a young age..."

He Ruzhu glared angrily at Ning Yichu. "This was your doing, wasn't it! Who told you to touch my dog!"

Ning Yichu said coldly, "Keep talking, and I'll have you neutered too."

He Ruzhu, true to his dog's nature, was all bark and no bite. He was immediately intimidated, even sniffling, his bluster vanishing.

He Shixia handed the dog and medicine to He Ruzhu. "Perfect timing. Take him back and take good care of him."

Gentleman's anesthesia had worn off, and he was awake now, his head resting limply on the Elizabethan collar, utterly docile.

He Ruzhu, holding the dog, also became dejected. "Sixth Brother... is Grandmother really cutting us off from the main house?"

He Shixia replied, "The way you just treated A Ning doesn't seem like you still consider me your sixth brother."

He Ruzhu was at a loss for words, looking at Ning Yichu.

Ning Yichu met his gaze, perfectly relaxed.

He Ruzhu pouted and muttered reluctantly, "Well, sorry then."

Ning Yichu reached out to pat Gentleman's head, then walked away.

He Shixia followed him.

He Ruzhu called out, "Sixth Brother!"

He Shixia didn't look back. "Learn some manners first."

He Shixia and Ning Yichu headed back to the main residence. Remembering what Grandmother He had said, He Ruzhu didn't dare chase after them. Looking utterly crestfallen, he carried the dog back to the side residence, muttering, "I don't think Ning Yichu is all that polite either."

During dinner, only Ning Yichu and He Shixia were eating in the dining room.

He Shixia's parents hadn't returned from the company yet. He Ruxue's gallery had an event today, and she coaxed the displeased Grandmother He to go out with her. The grandmother and granddaughter went to the art exhibition and had dinner outside.

...

The next morning, He Shixia drove Ning Yichu to the Ning family.

It was Saturday. According to the "old-fashioned" requirements of Elder Ning, unless absolutely necessary, all Ning family members must stay at the Ning family old residence for family harmony.

Hearing that Ning Yichu had returned, and that He Shixia had come with him, the Ning family members all looked at Ning Yichu's adoptive parents—the current head of the Ning family, Ning Shaoren, and his wife, Han Wenhua—with strange expressions.

Counting Grandfather He and He Dingbang's group, who hadn't been completely driven out yet, and excluding Ning Yichu, the He family has twelve members.

The Ning family has no fewer, if not more.

However, the He family's large number is thanks to He Dingbang's abundance of illegitimate children. The Ning family, on the other hand, owes its size to Elder Ning's remarkable vigor in his old age—

Elder Ning is exactly eighty years old this year and has been married four times in his life.

He married his first wife at twenty, having his eldest son and second daughter. This marriage lasted twenty-five years, ending with the first wife's death from illness.

One year after his first wife's death, the forty-six-year-old Elder Ning remarried. His second wife was Liu Shuang, sixteen years his junior. This marriage lasted ten years, during which Elder Ning had his third son and fifth daughter.

The missing fourth child was a son born from Elder Ning's affair during his second marriage.

Liu Shuang divorced due to dissatisfaction with Elder Ning's infidelity. With the end of the second marriage came Elder Ning's third marriage, this time to his previous affair partner, Yu Lianlian, who was thirty-one years younger than him.

The third marriage began when Elder Ning was fifty-six, and his third wife, Yu Lianlian, was only twenty-five.

This marriage also lasted twenty years, during which Elder Ning had his sixth and seventh daughters.

Until four years ago, the third wife, Yu Lianlian, forced by circumstances, had to divorce and step aside, watching the seventy-six-year-old Elder Ning marry his then twenty-four-year-old fourth wife, Lu Xi.

Lu Xi was already nine months pregnant when she married Elder Ning. As soon as she entered the Ning family, she gave birth to Elder Ning's youngest son.

Elder Ning has eight children in total. The eldest is already sixty years old, and the youngest is only four. Among them, only the eldest son and second daughter are married.

The eldest son, Ning Shaoren, and his wife, Han Wenhua, have two sons: the thirty-five-year-old Ning Zeqi and the twenty-two-year-old Ning Zeshu.

The second daughter, Ning Anchun, has a husband named Wang Mian, who married into the family. They have been married for over thirty years but have no children.

The third child, Ning Shaoyi, is now thirty-two. All the younger siblings after him remain unmarried and have not brought any illegitimate children home—otherwise, the family would be even livelier.

Even so, the Ning family is already bustling enough. Elder Ning's second wife, Liu Shuang, and his third wife, Yu Lianlian, continue to live in the Ning home despite their divorces.

Liu Shuang had divorced him years ago, furious over his cheating. After traveling the world, she found that, marriage aside, living with the Nings was still the most comfortable. Since she had given the family two children, Elder Ning tacitly allowed her to return.

Yu Lianlian, forced to step aside, never left the Ning home after the divorce. Elder Ning, again for the sake of their children, did not drive her out. Though the fourth wife, Lu Xi, is unhappy about this, there is little she can do.

—With the family being like this, Ning Yichu truly couldn't understand why they had insisted on forcing him to stay all these years, just so outsiders would think the Nings were benevolent and improve the family's reputation. It probably didn't help much.

Thanks to the Ning family's official story, Ning Yichu had indeed faced plenty of scorn and ridicule over the years. But as far as he knew, this did little to counteract the reputation Elder Ning's personal conduct had established—it merely added another joke for others to share.

In summary, excluding Ning Yichu, the Ning family totals sixteen members.

However, only fifteen were present at the moment, as the family's golden boy, Ning Zeshu, was away on business.

"Xiao Chu is back. What a coincidence—you chose a time when Xiao Shu isn't home," Lu Xi said with a smile.

If you just looked at her face and ignored what she said, there was no trace of sarcasm or unwelcome.

Elder Ning's face darkened. "What are you doing back? Shixia is here too—what happened to your neck? Are you injured?"

Seeing the bandage on He Shixia's neck, Elder Ning showed some concern. After receiving Shixia's reply, "Just a minor injury, it's fine now," he didn't press further. Instead, his tone turned reproachful. "Have you also become as rude as this little brat? You didn't even think to call ahead before showing up unannounced?"

Ning Yichu chuckled. "We're all family. Giving advance notice for a welcome would be too formal—no need."

Elder Ning's expression darkened further.

Ning Yichu's adoptive older brother, Ning Zeqi, sneered. "So you've brought your backer to show off? You're in the wrong place for that."

"Having a child with the He surname in your belly really makes a difference. Our Xiao Chu speaks with such confidence now, much more outgoing than before," Liu Shuang, Elder Ning's second wife, remarked with a laugh.

"If you came to show off to Xiao Shu, that's a shame—he really isn't here today. You should come back another time," Ning Shaoyi, Elder Ning's third son—who had once pushed Ning Yichu down the stairs as a child—suddenly interjected.

"He's not here? Maybe we should call him back," Ning Yichu said with keen interest. "After all, Uncle is about to become a brother. It would be such a pity for him to miss the family reunion."

Author's Note:

----------------------