Chapter 1 Reunion
"An Ning, Mom has cancer and may not live long. Your brother Yucan is the only one left at home. Come back so you and your sister can have some company."
Li Chunfang made a phone call from Jinghai to the distant border city of Jining.
An Ning had disappeared for four years without any news and thought that she would never return to Jinghai in her life, but because of this phone call, she set foot on Jinghai, a familiar yet unfamiliar land, again.
The summer in Jinghai is as hot and dry as ever.
Even on a cloudy day, the air is thick and heavy.
The first thing she did when she returned to Jinghai was to go to the hospital.
"Your mother has breast cancer, and it's already in the middle to late stages," the doctor told her. "The best treatment right now is surgery."
Since Li Chunfang learned about her illness, she has been using ordinary medicine to relieve pain and has no plans to undergo surgery, so she made that call to An Ning as her last words.
In the doctor's office, An Ning looked down at Li Chunfang's medical record. Her long, thick eyelashes drooped, hiding the emotions in her eyes, and her originally cold, pale skin became even paler.
"Can it be cured?" she asked.
“Complete cure is difficult, but it can prolong survival and improve quality of life.”
The doctor's words were very tactful, but An Ning understood their meaning clearly.
An Ning's eyelashes trembled. "Then please arrange the surgery as soon as possible."
"The surgery and medical expenses will cost about 300,000 yuan." The doctor wrote her a few bills and said, "Go and pay the bills first."
An Ning walked out of the office holding the payment slip tightly, leaned against the wall at the corner and took a deep breath.
Three hundred thousand is not a small amount for her.
Even though Li Chunfang was not her biological mother, she had raised her for more than twenty years, so she could not just watch her die from illness.
She did not live a wealthy life in Jining City during the past four years. She had been sending money back to Li Chunfang. Now the total balance in her card is only about 80,000 yuan.
She went downstairs to pay the bill and also handled the hospitalization procedures for Li Chunfang.
As she walked into the lobby on the first floor, a clear voice sounded behind her.
"peaceful?"
Lu Manni's voice was loud and clear in the noisy hall.
Hearing the sound, An Ning's breath stopped and she stopped.
I couldn't pretend I didn't hear it, so I slowly turned around.
"It's really you!"
Lu Manni walked quickly up to her, her eyes full of surprise, "You really are An Ning! Why are you here!"
Lu Manni could hardly believe her eyes. She thought she had seen it wrong, but An Ning's face, which was as beautiful as a lotus in clear water, was too conspicuous. She could see her at a glance even in the crowded crowd in the hospital.
When he saw Lu Manni, many familiar faces and events from four years ago flashed through An Ning's mind like a movie.
She thought she would forget.
I also luckily thought that when I returned to Jinghai, I would never have any contact with them again.
Unexpectedly, I met an "acquaintance" on the first day back in Jinghai.
An Ning forced a smile and greeted her, "Manny——"
"Hey, isn't this our peace?"
The unfinished words were interrupted by a sharp and sarcastic voice.
It was Tan Xiaomin, a rich girl and one of An Ning's former "acquaintances".
She crossed her arms and looked An Ning up and down.
She had no makeup on and was wearing clothes that were as simple as they could be, but they didn't look cheap on her. Among the crowd hurrying through the hospital lobby, they seemed to attract more attention than her carefully dressed clothes, which made Tan Xiaomin even more angry.
"Back then, our little slum princess An Ning took all that money from Brother Xiyan and ran off, thinking she could transform into a phoenix. Now, she's not doing much better, is she? She's still this poor!"
Western Banquet......
Lu Xiyan......
The name that had been buried in my heart for four years was brought up again without any warning.
It felt like someone was strangling my throat and I couldn't breathe.
An Ning tightened her grip, leaving a wrinkle on the corner of the bill.
The color on her face faded a little, and the blood in her body suddenly coagulated, and her whole body became stiff as a stone.
She quickly suppressed the surging emotions, and after a few seconds her fair face returned to calm.
Tan Xiaomin's voice was so loud that many people around looked over.
An Ning knew that Tan Xiaomin was deliberately making fun of her.
Because Tan Xiaomin likes Lu Xiyan.
When An Ning was brought into their circle by Lu Xiyan, Tan Xiaomin didn't like her.
Then what happened...
Naturally, she disliked her even more.
An Ning didn't want to argue with her any more, as she still had to go through the hospitalization procedures and raise money for the surgery.
She didn't have time to "catch up" with her.
She and Lu Manni used to have a good relationship. She looked at her with a faint smile and said, "Manni, I have something else to do. I'll leave first."
Before she could turn around, someone suddenly grabbed her arm tightly and slapped her hard in the face.
The slap came unexpectedly, causing An Ning's left cheek to feel a burning pain, and soon fingerprints appeared on it.
She didn't want to get involved any more, but she wasn't a pushover either.
Just as she was about to slap Tan Xiaomin back, she heard the other person's angry voice exploding in her ears.
"I gave this slap on behalf of Brother Xiyan! I feel it's not worth it for what he has done for you!"
As soon as Lu Xiyan's name came out, An Ning couldn't return the slap.
She tilted her head and listened to Tan Xiaomin continue to shout at her,
"An Ning! You've already left for four years, why are you coming back?!"
"You think you can keep him hooked again now that Brother Xiyan has inherited the family business and become the CEO of Oteng Group?! Wasn't he hurt enough by you during those two years together?! What gives you the right to come back and pester him?"
She tugged at An Ning's arm tightly, anger flashing in her eyes.
"Xiaomin, don't do this." Lu Manni stepped forward to stop her. "This is a hospital. Don't make things too awkward."
"Manny, you know how cunning our Miss An is," Tan Xiaomin sneered. "A poor girl from the slums, selling blood and pretending to be innocent, has managed to trick Brother Xiyan into a frenzy. Her motive is money. Poor people are always obsessed with money!"
She smiled sarcastically and looked at An Ning, who remained silent. "You've been missing for four years. What's the reason for coming back this time?"
Just as she asked this question, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a tall and straight figure coming in from the hall door. He was wearing a noble and crisp casual suit, and his temperament was low-key and noble.
He put his hands in his pockets and walked forward a few steps. His eyes fell on this side and he stopped there.
Standing a few steps behind An Ning.
The handsome face was cold, and he stared at the woman's slender back with his head tilted down, his eyes calm.
From this angle, An Ning couldn't see the person behind her.
She pulled her arm out of Tan Xiaomin's hand, raised her face and said indifferently, "Whether I come back or not is none of your business."
Tan Xiaomin sneered, glanced at the man, and deliberately asked loudly, "You're not still trying to make money from Brother Xiyan, are you? Or have you hooked a new sponsor?"
As soon as Tan Xiaomin finished speaking, the pair of hands in his pockets clenched into fists where no one could see, the knuckles turned white, but his handsome face remained expressionless, and his indifferent eyes were tinged with contempt.
"So what?" An Ning shrugged nonchalantly and admitted generously, "I just did it for the money."
But it’s not for Lu Xiyan’s money.
It was Li Chunfang’s life-saving money.
The sky outside the window was gloomy and a cool breeze blew in gusts.
An Ning was too tired to argue with her any longer. She straightened out the bill that was almost crumpled into a mess in her hand and was about to turn around and leave.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the payment slip was blown away from her fingertips, spinning a few times and falling to the ground.
She quickly squatted down to pick it up.
As soon as I reached out my hand, a pair of shiny leather shoes stepped on the bill without any hesitation.
A cool smell came from the tip of my nose.
A faint scent of cool perfume wafts through the air around them.
"Sorry you stepped on me—"
An Ning looked up and reminded, but her voice stopped abruptly and her face turned pale.
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