Chapter 23 She suspected that Brother Ning was trying to find a way...

Ning Yao took out all the toys from her drawer; there were just too many odds and ends.

As she looked through the items and organized them, she realized that she no longer liked even the handmade items she used to love.

Ning Yao opened another drawer. Inside was a box. Inside the box was a thick stack of photos.

Some photos were of Ning Ge, some were of herself, but most of all, she took photos of flowers and plants.

Ning Yao looked at them one by one.

He recalled the stories behind these photos as if they were his own treasures.

She suddenly had a burst of inspiration.

But I don't have a pen or paper at hand. Besides, the call for submissions seems to be in the study.

After looking around the room, Ning Yao made a bold decision.

She got up, carrying the box containing the photos. On one leg, she hopped and skipped into the study.

After rummaging through her desk for a while, she finally found the newspaper's call for submissions that Deputy Editor-in-Chief Shen had given her before.

One of them happens to be a story about the four seasons.

Ning Yao selected four photos she had taken last year, each representing one of the four seasons.

I plan to write about the four seasons of last year, using this as the theme.

Once she got engrossed in her work, Ning Yao lost track of time.

She didn't realize it until Ning Yiwen returned from school and bought groceries on the way back.

Ning Yiwen put down the dishes and went straight to Ning Yao's room. However, when he lifted the curtain, his face darkened.

The desk in the room was a mess, covered with all sorts of random things she had collected before.

And the person who should be sitting in bed or at their desk is not there.

"Ning Yao!"

Ning Yiwen raised his voice and went to the study without thinking.

Ning Yao, who was still engrossed in writing in her study, suddenly looked up when she heard this stern voice tinged with anger: "!!!"

We're doomed.

She forgot that Brother Ning would be back before noon.

Looking left and right, she glanced under the table. Was it too late to crawl under the table now?

Of course it's too late.

Ning Yiwen, his face dark, strode into the study.

"Ning Yao!"

Ning Yao lowered her head, looking obedient, and said through her throat, "Brother Ning, you're back."

Sweet and sticky.

Ning Yiwen was not so easily fooled. He frowned and stared intently at Ning Yao.

Ning Yao's heart skipped a beat.

"Didn't I tell you to rest in your room? Staying in your room is one thing, but you even dared to leave the room. You've really grown up now, haven't you? You think you're all grown up now?"

Ning Yiwen's voice was very stern, and his previous gaze gave Ning Yao a great sense of pressure.

Her mind raced.

Excuse……

Suddenly, she picked up the article she had just started writing and said innocently, "Brother Ning, let me explain, I have a reason. Look, this is the inspiration I just had."

Ning Yiwen glanced at the paper, then slowly moved his gaze away from her face before finally taking it from Ning Yao's hand.

The paper was small, but it was densely covered with writing. The ink was fresh, and some of it was not completely dry.

Perhaps the writer was in a hurry, as many of the strokes were messy and illegible.

However, the more Ning Yiwen looked, the more surprised he became.

The book's depiction of the four seasons and its reflections on the past, present, and future are profound and thought-provoking.

It is an article that progresses from simple to complex and can resonate with many people.

It's a good article.

She has indeed made a lot of progress.

He carefully examined the paper again, then folded it and put it in his sleeve.

"The article is alright," he said, his tone softening. Just when Ning Yao thought she had dodged the bullet again, he said this.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, curled the corners of his mouth, and said, "Come on, now give me a demonstration of how you got from your room to the study."

Ning Yao: "..."

Brother Ning, please let me go.

She clasped her hands together, making a devout gesture.

"Hey Ning, I'm hungry. What should we eat for lunch?"

Ning Yiwen sneered, ignoring her attempt to change the subject, "If you jump out, you'll get food."

"What if we can't jump out?" Ning Yao asked tentatively.

"Go hungry," Ning Yiwen said irritably.

"..." Ning Yao got angry.

How could you not let her eat!

She took a deep breath and pursed her lips into a straight line.

"I'll jump!"

As he spoke, he hopped out from behind the desk on one foot.

Perhaps because her desire to prove that she could come and go independently was too strong, Ning Yao jumped with particular force in these few steps.

As a result, she couldn't even jump three steps, and before she could even get completely away from the desk, she slipped and fell to one side.

His hands flailing wildly in the air, grabbing at nothing to support him.

Just when she was feeling disheartened and thought she was about to fall flat on her face.

Ning Yiwen grabbed her wrist.

With a forceful pull, he steered Ning Yao toward him.

Ning Yao was standing on one foot, and she couldn't exert any strength on her foot. She could only fall towards him with his force.

Ning Yao only managed to steady herself after bumping into Ning Yiwen's chest.

Oh no! This is incredibly embarrassing.

Ning Yao wailed inwardly.

She buried her face in Ning Yiwen's chest, not daring to look up at his expression, even though it was so close to hers.

She assumed that expression must be full of mockery.

Therefore, she completely missed the unnatural look on Ning Yiwen's face at that moment.

But it can't be said that I completely missed out.

With her head buried in Ning Yiwen's chest, she could clearly hear his heartbeat, which was as rapid and rhythmic as a drum.

"Brother Ning, your heart is beating so fast..."

“You jump faster than me.” Ning Yiwen raised his hand to help her straighten up, his tone devoid of any emotion, simply stating a fact.

"See, he almost fell again."

Yes, that's right.

Ning Yao immediately examined herself, lowered her head, and remained silent.

With the facts laid bare, what else could she say?

He could only fawn over him, saying, "Brother Ning, then please take me back to my room."

Ning Yiwen helped her take two steps back and placed her on a chair behind the desk.

"Now that you're in the study, you should study hard."

He then placed two books on Western literature that he had previously selected in front of her, saying, "Take a look. Write me a few reading notes later."

Ning Yao remained silent for a while, then said, "Oh."

What else could she do but follow orders?

Ning Yiwen only left after seeing that she had started reading obediently.

He had to cook, and he also had to arrange for Dr. Wang from the street corner to come over and examine Ning Yao's feet. He had a lot of other things to do, so he was very busy.

However busy he is, he is happy to do so.

Especially seeing Ning Yao's obedient appearance, compared to when she was making a fuss about being independent and trying every means to get away from him a while ago, she seemed much more comfortable.

*

The sun is setting.

Ning Yao finally escaped her day trip to the study and sat leisurely in the courtyard to cool off. There was a cup of tea and some snacks on the table next to her.

It is the time of year when spring transitions into summer. The midday sun is gradually becoming scorching, but by evening, the temperature gradually becomes cool and pleasant.

A short while later, there was a knock on the gate of the courtyard.

"Brother Ning." Ning Yao called out to someone to open the door.

Hearing the noise, Ning Yiwen came out of the kitchen, opened the door, and saw several female classmates standing in front of it.

The girls dressed in blue school uniforms were all Ning Yao's classmates. He happened to know them too.

"Hello, Brother Ning Yao," Bu Shuli greeted him politely.

Lou Yu and Wan Hongye greeted him from behind.

"Hello." Ning Yiwen said, stepping aside to make way and calling out to Ning Yao in the courtyard, "Ning Yao, your classmate has come to see you."

Ning Yao, who had been lying limply on the stone table, sat up straight when she heard the sound outside the door.

When Ning Yiwen told him who the visitor was, his face showed both surprise and delight.

"Why are you here?" she said, craning her neck as she spoke. If it weren't for her leg problems, she would have stood up to greet you.

As soon as Bu Shuli and the others entered the gate, they saw Ning Yao's happy expression.

"Looks like you're in good spirits," Wan Hongye joked. Seeing Ning Yao's cheerful and lively appearance, the heavy weight in her heart immediately dissipated.

Ning Yao replied, "I injured my foot, not my head."

Bu Shuli stepped forward, examined her bandaged foot closely, and asked with concern, "How is your foot injury?"

Ning Yao waved her hand dismissively, "It's nothing, just a little swelling. Brother Ning saw that I had trouble walking, so he insisted that I stay home and rest. I was so bored. Luckily you guys came."

Wan Hongye looked at her feet, which were wrapped up like pig's trotters, and scoffed, "You call this a little bit of swelling?"

When he spoke, he deliberately dragged out the words "a little bit".

Ning Yao couldn't move, so she could only beckon to her, "Come here, I'll show you something."

Wan Hongye wasn't fooled. "What are you looking at? Your fists?"

Neither of them would back down, and they started arguing.

Ning Yiwen stood at a distance at the kitchen door, watching the scene unfold before him, and couldn't help but smile.

Bu Chunli, however, could not bear the disturbance and spoke up to stop the two from arguing.

"Alright, alright. We didn't come here today just to bicker. We have important business to attend to."

Ning Yao was taken aback. "Didn't you come to see me?"

Wan Hongye smiled mischievously, "What do you think?"

Ning Yao: "..."

Fearing Ning Yao might misunderstand, Bu Shuli explained, "Of course we came to see you. We also wanted to talk to you about the debate competition."

Ning Yao smiled and said, "I know."

She didn't really care, but she noticed that doing this made Wan Hongye smile especially brightly.

Bu Shuli nodded and continued, "Then let's talk about this debate competition?"

Ning Yao raised her hand, "Wait a minute..."

As she spoke, she turned to Ning Yiwen and called out, "Brother Ning, could you please take out the materials you gave me and my reading notes from that study?"

Ning Yiwen acted quickly, taking a few strides into the study and bringing out the debate materials he had prepared for her overnight, the reference book list, and the reading notes Ning Yao had done that day.

After handing it to Ning Yao, he nodded to her classmates and went back to his room.

It was clear they wanted to give them space.

Bu Shuli was extremely envious, "Your brother treats you so well."

Ning Yao: "..."

She secretly thought to herself that Ning was trying to spoil her.

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Author's Note: Ning Yao's intuition is quite sharp. Ten more small red envelopes will be randomly given away in this chapter, with a 24-hour deadline. Hehe~~ [rainbow fart]