Chapter 78

The freshly grilled squid was still steaming. The fragrance of cumin mingled with the fresh aroma of squid, forming an incredibly enticing smell.

Zhong Ning lowered her head and took a bite. It tasted delicious.

She took another bite, and all of a sudden, a tear slipped from the corner of her eye and fell to the ground with a soft plop.

An elderly grandmother with silvery white hair happened to walk by. Her round face looked affluent and kindly. She let out a little exclamation, “Look at you, how did you get your mouth all dirty? Did you forget to bring tissues?”

She didn’t mention the tears welling up in Zhong Ning’s eyes. Instead, she took out a packet of tissues, gently pulled one out, and wiped Zhong Ning’s mouth with a tender motion. Then she stuffed the remaining tissues into Zhong Ning’s pocket.

“Eat slowly,” she said, her gaze filled with kindness and understanding. She patted Zhong Ning’s head and then turned away.

Zhong Ning mumbled a soft response and watched the old woman’s figure disappear into the crowd.

This was the kind of thing she was supposed to encounter—wrapped in goodwill, surrounded by gentleness. Wasn’t it supposed to be like this? Wasn’t she supposed to be a very fortunate person?

Her life had always been filled only with sunshine, flowers, warmth, and love. That was how it was meant to be.

Why had everything changed after meeting Xie Shiqing?

“She lied to me…” These words lingered endlessly in Zhong Ning’s heart, over and over again, as if someone were whispering them beside her ear, repeating them again and again.

So this was what it felt like to be deceived.

Only today did she begin to understand.

The saddest part was that she was so bewildered and clumsy even in expressing her sorrow.

The time she was framed, Zhong Ning had felt tension, unease, fear—fierce emotions, like a heavy drum, its pounding like thunder shaking her heart into a rapid, constricted beat.

Those emotions had come swiftly and passed just as fast, like a sudden storm. The feelings were fleeting, vanishing once it was over.

But this time, what Zhong Ning felt was a continuous, dense, stabbing pain, like suffocation, like falling, like a mountain pressing against her chest so she couldn’t breathe.

Back then, a misunderstanding had still left a carrot called hope dangling before her. But now, who could still hold her hand and lead her out of the abyss?

The person who had hurt her was the one she trusted most.

Zhong Ning still silently finished eating the grilled squid. Perhaps delicious food truly did have the power to soothe a wounded heart, or perhaps the kindness she’d encountered had properly comforted her injured spirit. She felt a little better.

Ding-dong.

It was the notification for her specially marked contacts.

Xie Shiqing: [I’m home. The butler told me you went to Fu Nanshuang’s place. Don’t stay out too late, okay? Remember to rest early. Ning Ning, you still have class. If you’re too tired and fall asleep during lectures and get caught by the professor, that wouldn’t be good.]

Xie Shiqing: [The issues at the company have been resolved. Finally, I don’t have to worry anymore. It was all thanks to you being by my side, cheering me on. The premiere will be during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and all the leading actors will be attending. Shall we go together then?]

The screen, its edges lined with cracks, still displayed every word clearly. Zhong Ning quietly stared at them.

Her gaze was focused and serious, as if she were reading some precious classic text or research material. No one could pull her attention away from this small screen. The noise around her receded, the wind faded, the car horns disappeared. Only she and those two messages remained in the world.

She watched in silence like this for over ten minutes before suddenly realizing she hadn’t actually understood what any of it said or what it was meant to convey. She had only been staring blankly at each word, dazed.

Her thoughts weren’t here anymore; she didn’t even know where they had drifted off to.

She had stared so long that the words turned into unfamiliar symbols. Those strokes and lines twisted and writhed, dancing chaotically across her retina. They swelled into towering buildings and then shrank into specks of dust, transforming rapidly, noisily.

Zhong Ning immediately shut her eyes tight and covered her face with both hands, murmuring, “Breathe, deep breaths.”

When facing difficulties, when confronting problems, she had to remain calm first.

Zhong Ning steadied herself again. She pulled her mind back from that silent, suspended emptiness and began reading those two messages word by word.

From her eyes taking them in, to her brain sorting and processing them, and finally to her mouth softly reading them aloud, she at last managed to read them in full and clearly understand their meaning.

Was this reasonable?

A surge of questioning rushed violently into her heart.

Had Xie Shiqing really never realized how much harm her deceitful behavior could cause her?

And how could she still, knowing all this was wrong, get so close to her, saying such affectionate reminders and invitations?

It was absurd.

Far too absurd!

This wasn’t the kind of love I wanted, Zhong Ning thought blankly. I don’t want this.

I don’t like pain, don’t like harm, don’t like lies.

I should and deserved to live under sunlight and happiness.

This was a mistake.

She had encountered a mistake.

Zhong Ning put away her phone and turned to walk back the way she had come.

She had grown up in a good family. That had not only taught her how to be tolerant and kind but, more importantly, had taught her self-respect and self-love.

When someone made her uncomfortable, she should bring up the issue and work together to find a solution that suited them both. If that failed, she should distance herself from that person.

Distance herself from the source of her unhappiness.

Be someone who loved herself.

Zhong Ning returned to the villa and saw the butler in the living room. “Is Shiqing in the study?”

The butler looked at her and quietly replied, “Yes, Miss Zhong.”

Zhong Ning said, “Thank you.”

While she rode the elevator upstairs, she didn’t think about anything at all. She had already decided. She wouldn’t let her mind wander.

At the study door, Zhong Ning knocked twice.

“Come in.”

When she pushed open the door, Xie Shiqing was sitting behind the desk, holding an earbud in one hand.

“Let’s stop here for now,” she said into the earbud.

After that, she took it off and looked over, asking, “Ning Ning?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep