Chapter 242

Zhong Ning glanced at her with disdain. “Aren’t you bored? What’s so interesting about having a girlfriend?”

“What’s not interesting about it?” Fu Nanshuang beckoned a waiter over and changed her drink. “Watching someone go against her nature to please you, molding her into the shape you like, seeing her shift from vigilance to dependence on you, and then throwing her away in the end.”

“Whether it’s dragging someone lofty down into the dust, or lifting someone as insignificant as an insect up to the heavens, isn’t it all very interesting?”

“Observing humans, studying human nature—how fascinating.”

Zhong Ning snorted. “I’ve acquired so many companies. Doesn’t every single one of them fall into the dust?”

That unwillingness, that resentment, the ugly sight of snot and tears streaming down their faces—what was there to look at?

Every time she acquired a company, Zhong Ning would hold a celebration banquet, but such things were only interesting the first time. After too many, they became tiresome.

With the host distracted, the banquet ended hastily as well.

She held the dog’s leash absentmindedly, then once inside the villa district, loosened it and let Pine Mushroom go play on its own.

The evening breeze dispersed the lingering scent of alcohol on her. Zhong Ning slipped her hands into her pockets and wandered aimlessly, pondering what kind of amusement she had yet to try.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of someone falling with a thud.

Unhurried, Zhong Ning walked over—not to help, but to see who had been so unlucky.

Then she saw Xie Shiqing, the former person in power of the Xie family, lying in the shrubbery together with a suitcase.

The silver-white suitcase had tipped onto its side, wheels facing upward, one missing. The dense bushes had been crushed into a hollow, and Xie Shiqing had fallen into it, her black hair disheveled, her cold pale face slightly turned, glasses crooked on her face, revealing half of a lifeless eye angled toward the approaching figure.

“Hello? May I ask if you could help me?”

On her cheek, a thin red scratch slanted toward the corner of her eye, stopping beneath two tiny moles.

Zhong Ning froze for a moment.

The Zhong Family Villa and the Xie family residence were adjacent, practically neighbors. Xie Shiqing was also a name she had heard since childhood.

Smart, capable, resourceful—the proud daughter of heaven.

Then, bang—a car accident. Still the proud daughter of heaven, yet no longer the same.

Zhong Ning had little interaction with her. They did not move in the same circles; when they met, it was no more than a nod. After the accident, she had hardly seen her at all. She lived reclusively at home year-round.

When Zhong Ning had just begun intervening in company affairs, Xie Shiqing had already become the youngest new-generation chairwoman.

They were nine years apart.

And Xie Shiqing had always been like a swan, arrogantly lifting her neck. Zhong Ning had never seen her in such a state as now.

Her brow twitched slightly, and for no reason, she thought of what Fu Nanshuang had said earlier.

“Miss Xie, it’s late at night. Where are you headed?”

She reached out, grasped the woman’s slender wrist, and pulled her out of the bushes.

Xie Shiqing’s face instantly turned pale. Her expression swiftly grew cold as she shook off her hand. “Head of the Zhong family, instead of attending your own celebration banquet, why have you come outside?”

“I’ve acquired too many companies. I’m tired of holding banquets.”

Zhong Ning rotated her wrist, the corner of her eye lifting slightly. “Your suitcase has lost two wheels. You can’t push it anymore.”

Xie Shiqing did not respond. She felt her way as she bent down to reach for the suitcase. Just as her fingertips touched it, a cool fragrance approached from beside her, and an arm moved ahead of her to set the suitcase upright.

“Many thanks, Head of the Zhong family.”

She gripped the handle and tried pushing it. It could move, but it did veer a little. It seemed a wheel had fallen off—but not two, only one.

Xie Shiqing lowered her eyes halfway, adjusted her glasses, and followed the direction in her memory, walking forward slowly.

Her high heels struck the stone pavement.

Da, da, da.

“Miss Xie, have you not considered reclaiming the Xie family?”

She halted. “I didn’t know the Head of the Zhong family had a hobby of humiliating others.”

Zhong Ning wore a smile as she stepped closer, one step at a time. “Not humiliation. I’m giving you a choice.”

She took a step into the reach of the streetlamp, her entire figure facing the light, radiant and gleaming. Her smile was bright, her hands clasped behind her back as she tilted her head slightly, yet her words had nothing to do with kindness or warmth.

“Be my lover. Keep me from being bored. If I’m satisfied, I’ll return the Xie family to you.”

“After all, I have too many companies under me. I can’t manage them all.” Zhong Ning shrugged. “You could even take part of the compensation upfront—the position of president of Xie Corporation’s entertainment division.”

She leaned in slowly, her gaze overtly invasive as it traced from Xie Shiqing’s curled lashes to the bridge of her nose, finally settling on that thin red scratch.

As if seeing her for the first time, Zhong Ning wondered how she had never noticed before—this person’s looks were striking to the point of being almost bewitching.

And that wound—fragile, yet enticing.

Her company, built with her own hands, had been taken. She had fallen from the clouds, her enemy standing right before her, and yet she could still maintain her composure.

If those lifeless eyes were to brim with tears, what kind of sight would that be? If those reddened lips were bitten pale, how beautiful would that look?

The smile on Zhong Ning’s face widened, dazzlingly brilliant.

“Miss Xie may think it over. Give me an answer within three days.”

“I’ve called a car. The driver is waiting at the gate. Wherever you’re going, just tell her.”

She stepped closer still, stopping behind Xie Shiqing. There was no physical contact, yet she controlled the distance precisely, lowering her lips near her ear as she recited a string of numbers. “My private number. I’ll be awaiting your reply.”

Straightening, Zhong Ning snapped her fingers a few times to call Pine Mushroom back. Without another glance at Xie Shiqing, she turned and headed home.

At present, she lived alone in the villa. Her unreliable mother and stepmother’s family had long since been neatly packed up and sent away. Only a single dog kept her company.

Returning to her room, Zhong Ning threw herself onto the large bed. After a moment’s thought, she found it unbearably dull, climbed back up, and walked into the dedicated game room. She powered on, logged in, and asked in the guild chat: 【Anyone still need to run the instance?】

The moment she spoke, messages flooded the chat one after another. The group grew lively, greeting her as Vice Guild Leader. Some asked whether those who had already cleared it could tag along to benefit as well, while others began tagging everyone, urging them to hurry over and cling to her for support.

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