Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Dad!"

"Grandfather!"

Ning Shaoli hadn't expected his words to be the final straw that pushed Elder Ning over the edge. He couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt.

Those who hadn't spoken up earlier now gathered around Elder Ning. Lu Xi handed the four-year-old Ning Shaozhi to a servant and walked over to Elder Ning's side, asking curiously, "Is the old master all right?"

Her tone and words didn't convey much concern, but the Ning family had no time to dwell on Lu Xi's attitude at the moment.

"Everyone, step back. Call the servants to carry Dad back to his room and summon the doctor," the second daughter, Ning Anchun, instructed.

Ning Shaoren looked at Elder Ning with concern, then, caught off guard, was kicked and hit a few more times by Han Wenhua.

He snapped angrily, "Are you still not done!"

"You have the nerve to be indignant! You shameless old thing!" Han Wenhua spat, then called to a servant, "Pack my bags! I'm going back to the Han family. This wretched place is unbearable!"

Unlike Liu Shuang, Yu Lianlian, and Lu Xi, whose backgrounds were less prominent, Han Wenhua's natal family was a business partner of the Ning family. Their marriage was initially a strategic alliance between two powerful families. Over the years, the Ning family had prospered more, while the Han family had declined somewhat, but they still remained within elite circles. Although Han Wenhua held little real power within the Ning family, she wasn't left isolated if she left.

Ning Shaoren said irritably, "Why cause such a scene at your age? Do you want to become a laughingstock? Those were matters from long ago. I haven't been fooling around for years."

Han Wenhua scoffed, "Is it that you don't want to, or that you no longer have the energy to? You're just like your father! Your father is an old lecher, marrying younger women each time. And you're a shameless bastard! Have you been hoping I'd die early like your mother, so you could follow in your father's footsteps and ruin your reputation in your old age? How dare you defend her honor—what kind of loyal, honorable man are you!"

Ning Shaoren hated hearing anyone mention his long-deceased mother. He immediately wanted to strike Han Wenhua but was stopped by Ning Zeqi.

"Dad, Mom, it might be good for you to separate and cool off for a while. Dad, you should attend to Grandfather. Also, there's the matter of Aunt Yu and... Ning Shaoli that you need to handle. Mom, let me accompany you to your room to pack." Despite the huge turmoil at home, Ning Zeqi appeared quite composed and indifferent.

Before leaving the living room with Han Wenhua, Ning Zeqi turned back and gave Ning Yichu a deep look.

The others also couldn't help glancing at Ning Yichu, their gazes now carrying a newfound sense of scrutiny and wariness that hadn't been there before.

Soon, many people dispersed. The third son, Ning Shaoyi, stayed behind. He looked at the pleased Ning Yichu and asked, "Was this your purpose for coming back today?"

Yu Lianlian and Ning Shaoli, who had been explicitly ordered to leave the Ning family, both glared angrily at Ning Yichu. Yu Lianlian's daughter, the sixth child Ning Anqiu, suddenly thought of a question: "When did you find out about my brother's background? How did you know?"

Ning Yichu smiled faintly. "I also know that Third Uncle just messed up a project at a branch store. It was only covered up because the manager there didn't want to offend 'royal relatives' and handled the aftermath."

Ning Shaoyi's expression changed.

Ning Anqiu sensed trouble. Sure enough, Ning Yichu next turned his spear toward her: "By the way, Sixth Aunt, the financial statements for your charity fund haven't been easy to manage lately, have they? It's better to do less false accounting."

The seventh child, Ning Andong, who had also been about to speak, closed her mouth.

Ning Shaoli, acting like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, roared, "Who are you threatening! Do you have evidence! Where did you find out about all this! He Shixia, was it you helping him? Are you sick, helping him? Have you forgotten how he drugged you, ruined your engagement, and forced you into marriage?"

He Shixia frowned. "He didn't drug me, and he didn't force the marriage. Also, it was the He and Ning families who had the marriage arrangement. No specific individuals were designated when the arrangement was made, and I never agreed to be engaged to anyone from your Ning family. Please clarify your words and don't try to drive a wedge between A Ning and me."

Ning Shaoli felt He Shixia's entire speech was full of ridiculous points. He instinctively picked the simplest one to retort: "Oh, 'A Ning'? What kind of weird nickname is that? Even if you go by surname, it shouldn't be 'Ning.' Have you spent over a decade in the Ning family and really think you're surnamed Ning now?"

Ning Yichu smiled faintly. "On this point, I can't argue with you. After all, even if your origins are questionable, you can still use the surname Ning."

Ning Shaoli gritted his teeth. "If it weren't for you..."

"Why bother about others? Hurry up and get lost. Don't linger in the Ning family," Ning Shaoyi added, kicking him while he was down.

The two of them had never gotten along since childhood due to their mothers' statuses. Hearing this, Ning Shaoli simply pounced on Ning Shaoyi, and they began to wrestle.

Ning Yichu leisurely stood up and headed upstairs.

A servant hesitantly asked, "Young Master Xiao Chu, are you..."

"I still have some things in this house that I haven't taken. I'm here to collect them this time," Ning Yichu said. "Please find me two usable suitcases and deliver them to my old room."

Ning Shaoyi, having just punched Ning Shaoli to the ground, looked up upon hearing this and sneered, "Changing your surname to He so quickly? Not even leaving your things in the Ning family anymore. Ning Yichu, you're something else."

Ning Shaoli seized the opportunity to grab Ning Shaoyi's leg, dragging him to the floor, and they continued to fight.

Ning Yichu gave a light tsk, glanced at the "Tranquility Leads to Far-reaching Goals" plaque hanging in the living room, and suggested, "Change it to 'A House Divided.' It would be more fitting."

Packing the things he had left at the Ning house didn't take much time because he hadn't owned many things there in the first place. Moreover, he had deliberately organized them neatly in the closet before going to the He family some time ago, so there was no need to sort through them now.

Previously, he felt that taking several large suitcases of belongings to the He family would make him seem overly eager and undignified. Besides, neither the He nor Ning family was truly his home, so where he kept his trivial items didn't matter much. Therefore, Ning Yichu had only taken one suitcase to the He family earlier, containing a few things he might need soon or that were relatively important.

The items he left at the Ning house consisted mainly of books he had used during his school years from childhood, aside from a few thick clothes.

Now, packing everything into the suitcases, Ning Yichu didn't inspect them closely.

He Shixia, however, accurately picked out a few books from among them. They were Ning Yichu's ideological and political education textbooks from elementary school, which also served as his "diaries" back then.

Ning Yichu glanced at them. "My handwriting has been good since I was little."

He Shixia smiled. "The handwriting reflects the person."

Ning Yichu: "Then your handwriting must be ugly."

He Shixia paused, then said carefully, "According to public opinion, my appearance seems... passable?"

Ning Yichu said coolly, "I have niche tastes. Also, your soul is ugly."

He Shixia chuckled. "Alright, I can't refute that. You are indeed uniquely special in the world, and I am indeed a hypocrite."

Ning Yichu frowned. "Can you not be so affected and pretentious?"

He Shixia apologized. "It's a genuine expression of my feelings."

When Ning Yichu and He Shixia left, only Ning Shaoyi remained downstairs in the living room. He had finished fighting with Ning Shaoli but hadn't left.

Ning Yichu expressed regret: "It's been a long time since I've seen Zeshu. I actually miss him. I'll come find him to play next time. I'll also bring new surprises for everyone then. Today's little surprise was just an appetizer. There will be something for everyone in the future, so don't be upset if you feel overlooked."

Ning Shaoyi: "..."

On the way back to the He family, Ning Yichu asked He Shixia, "Do you upper-class circles have any groups? Share the important news about the He and Ning families purifying their bloodlines. Let everyone join in the fun."

If the two families handled it behind closed doors, it would be too dull. Of course, the more people who knew, the more amusing it would be.

He Shixia ignored the sarcastic phrase "you upper-class circles" and chuckled. "Alright, I'll handle this matter. I guarantee it will be widely announced."

Ning Yichu said composedly, "You're quite useful."

He Shixia nodded. "Mm, you can use me however you like."

Ning Yichu scoffed.

Back at the He family, Ning Yichu organized the things he brought from the Ning house, putting the clothes in the walk-in closet.

There was a cabinet for accessories in the closet, but Ning Yichu didn't have many. At the moment, among the many compartments of that cabinet, only one pendant was placed inside—one Ning Yichu had put there just a couple of days ago.

The pendant was made of jade, with two characters carved on the smooth back—"A-Ning."

Ning Yichu had been abandoned at the entrance of an orphanage while still an infant, with this jade pendant hanging around his neck. The orphanage Director who found him thought "A-Ning" might be his pet name and simply took "Ning" to be his surname when giving him a formal name.

The name "Ning Yichu" was given to him by the Director; it wasn't a change made by the Ning family after they took him in from the orphanage.

After deciding on the surname, the Director leafed through a book to choose a name for him. She opened to a page, closed her eyes, and pointed blindly to the line, "New clothes are best, and old friends are best."

Later, when he was about to leave with the Ning family, the Director told him during their farewell: "At the time, I thought 'old friends are best' might be a fitting wish for an orphanage child. Perhaps it wasn’t your parents who abandoned you, and they might still be looking for you, their lost child. But the implied meaning of 'new clothes are best' wasn’t so favorable, so I named you 'Yichu.'"

"A-Ning, Director Mom wishes you a life of smooth sailing and encounters as pristine as new beginnings."

That was the best person Ning Yichu had encountered in his previous life's twenty-odd years. Unfortunately, when Ning Yichu managed to contact the orphanage during his university years, he learned that the Director had passed away several years before.

Now, Ning Yichu was aware of the original novel's plot—although it was indeed not his biological parents who abandoned him, he had let go of even that last sliver of hope. He no longer wanted to wear this jade pendant, which represented his origins, against his skin as he used to.

But the name "Ning Yichu" and the nickname "A-Ning" were his own, given to him by Director Mom, and he still liked them.

However, after leaving the orphanage, no one had called him by this nickname for many years. He Shixia was actually the first—and only—person to call him that again.

This was a rare moment of tenderness in their marriage in his previous life.

It happened a few months after their wedding. The string on the pendant Ning Yichu wore around his neck broke, and as he was looking for a new red cord to restring it, He Shixia caught sight of it.

He Shixia looked at the characters "A-Ning" on the pendant and asked, "Is this your nickname?"

Ning Yichu nodded.

He Shixia didn’t press further then but naturally began calling him by it afterward, using "A-Ning."

When he first heard this long-unused nickname, the Ning Yichu of that past life was taken aback for a moment.

"A-Ning, it’s dinner time. Are you coming downstairs to eat?" In this life, He Shixia happened to knock on the bedroom door from outside.

Ning Yichu withdrew his gaze from the jade pendant and walked out.

...

That day, Ning Yichu was pretty tired and went to bed early.

Then he dreamed of He Shixia.

To be precise, the troubling part was that he dreamed of the night of the accident with He Shixia at the hotel.

The effects of the drug made his memory hazy. He only remembered feeling unwell that night as someone pushed him into a room, where he bumped into He Shixia, who had also realized something was wrong and had staggered over to investigate when he heard the door open.

Both of them lost their balance and fell to the floor. He Shixia seemed to have called out his name at the time.

How they ended up in bed together afterward was unclear in Ning Yichu’s memory and wasn’t shown in the dream either, which only created an atmosphere thick with ambiguity and intimacy.

At three in the morning, Ning Yichu woke from the dream, looked at the ceiling, and felt irritated.

After a while, he got up, put on his coat, left the bedroom, and gave the study door a kick.

He Shixia was staying in the study. The guest sofa inside wasn’t long enough, so his legs either dangled off the edge or had to be curled up. In any case, the sleeping position wasn’t comfortable, and He Shixia wasn’t sleeping deeply. He woke up when he heard the knocking.

He hurriedly got up and opened the door to find Ning Yichu standing outside.

Having just gotten out of bed in the middle of the night, Ning Yichu’s hair was slightly disheveled. At this moment, his brow furrowed with impatience, and his tone was laced with annoyance.

Before He Shixia could ask, as soon as the door opened, Ning Yichu said directly, "Go buy something for me now."

He Shixia instinctively replied, "Okay."

Then he asked, "What do you need?"

Ning Yichu blinked. "Well... it’s a model toy of a detailed part of the human body? The kind used in bed—I need it."

He Shixia paused, thinking it over for a beat, and said, "If I’m not mistaken, you mean..."

Seeing He Shixia’s complicated expression, Ning Yichu’s tone turned breezy instead. "Yes, one with a larger girth, the kind that’s relatively long and slender."

He Shixia gazed at Ning Yichu’s handsome face, was silent for a beat, and then suggested gently, "Since it's a human body part anyway, can’t you just use mine?"

Ning Yichu raised an eyebrow. "You wish. Hurry up and buy it for me. I want it now."

Author’s Note:

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The next chapter will be entering the VIP section. There will be no update tomorrow (Thursday) at this time. The update will be on Friday at five past midnight. On the first day of VIP release, there will be four chapters back-to-back, totaling 42,000 words. I invite all lovely readers to join in and enjoy the drama to the fullest [heart].