Ning Meng tried her best to maintain her balance so that she wouldn't fall even more awkwardly.
Pei Nian glanced at her, frowned, and walked into the guesthouse without making a sound. Huo Jingnan was about to follow when Ning Meng suddenly stepped forward and grabbed him.
"Brother Jingnan, can you listen to me for a moment?"
Huo Jingnan dodged her hand, keeping a certain distance from her, his gaze indifferent. "What is it?"
"Why...why are you doing this to me?" Tears welled up in Ning Meng's eyes. "Weren't we a good couple when we were little? But now you're so cold to me! You..."
“Xiao Meng,” Huo Jingnan said seriously, “the things from when we were little are in the past. I’m only not being any worse to you now because of our childhood friendship.”
"Brother Jingnan!"
“I have a girlfriend, and she will be my wife and the mother of my children.” Huo Jingnan’s voice was deep and firm. “So I need to keep my distance from other women. This is to be loyal to her and to be responsible to you.”
Ning Meng stood there, stunned, unable to believe her ears.
In her memory, Huo Jingnan had always been a blockhead, never showing any interest in any woman. And she was the person closest to Huo Jingnan; she assumed the position of the Huo family's young mistress would definitely be hers.
But now, there's an extra Pei Nian!
Ning Meng took a deep breath, her face pale, and lowered her head to continue pleadingly, "Brother Jingnan, I know you're good to your wife, but you can't just throw away our years of friendship, can you?"
"Yes, I know what I'm doing."
"If I get sick, will you take care of me?"
Huo Jingnan's eyes darkened. "What's wrong with you?"
"I...I've been feeling really unwell these past few days!" Ning Meng rubbed her temples, looking at him with a pained expression. "It's probably due to the change in environment; I always feel dizzy. I've never stayed in such a bad hotel before; I can't sleep well in this kind of room!"
Just then, the shop owner happened to come by with hot water and overheard what they were saying.
The uncle's face darkened instantly. He strode over and slammed the kettle onto the table without any ceremony!
Hot water splashed out of the kettle spout, almost hitting Ning Meng.
"Ah!" Ning Meng screamed, jumping several steps back, her eyes wide with terror as she looked at the man. "You, you..."
"You're just complaining about not being used to the local environment, and you still dare to talk like that?!" The middle-aged man looked at her coldly. "I don't think you're just complaining about not being used to the local environment; you're just deliberately trying to cause trouble, aren't you?"
"What's wrong?" Ning Meng's voice rose even louder, "I... I just stated the facts! I..."
"People who come here and suffer from acclimatization issues all lack oxygen. Ha, you don't sound like someone who's lacking oxygen."
After saying that, the uncle turned and left.
Huo Jingnan glanced at Ning Meng, who quickly retorted, "Brother Jingnan, I really don't feel well!"
"If you're not feeling well, go home early," Huo Jingnan said calmly. "The bodyguards are here too, so have them take you to the nearest airport."
"You mean, I can rest on your private jet first?"
"Of course not." Huo Jingnan said with a half-smile, "Your sister-in-law has never ridden on my private jet before. No one can get on before her."
"What?"
"Besides, I didn't plan to use my private plane to take you this time," Huo Jingnan said directly. "Niannian and I are here to pick up the children. They each have a seat, and there are just enough seats on the plane; there aren't any extras."
Ning Meng panicked, "What should I do!"
"Didn't I tell you to have bodyguards take you to the airport? They'll buy you a first-class ticket and make sure you get home safely."
"But……"
Before Ning Meng could finish speaking, Huo Jingnan had already strode back into the guesthouse.
Ning Meng stomped her feet twice, unable to vent her anger.
She couldn't gain any advantage here, so she went to the school in the afternoon to find a child to replace her.
After school, the school was almost empty, with only a few students on duty cleaning the classrooms. The simple rooms and outdated teaching equipment were treasures to these girls, and they cleaned every corner spotless.
They were also excitedly discussing their upcoming itinerary.
Even knowing they were going to fly to a big city, they remained obedient. The girls put their hands together and vowed to study hard, study diligently, and go out into a wider world to change their lives when they grew up.
Ning Meng rolled her eyes at them impatiently.
These girls seem to be among the top on the list, and are the most outstanding in this lousy school. If they were replaced, Huo Jingnan and Pei Nian would notice.
Who should I contact?
Ning Meng walked around the small playground—which was really just a concrete surface, uneven and with small stones to hurt her feet—and became increasingly irritable.
She looked around and suddenly noticed a boy who didn't seem to fit in, and the boy looked somewhat familiar...
Ning Meng suddenly remembered that she seemed to have taken a picture of him when she was taking photos at school before.
She flipped through her camera and found photos of the boy, but he always had a cold expression and lacked the innocence a child his age should have.
They must come from an extremely poor family, so poor that they don't even want to talk to people.
Ning Meng thought for a moment and figured that children from such low-income families usually had low self-esteem and had never seen much money, so they should be easy to please.
She smiled gently and slowly walked over. The boy was sitting under the only patch of shade on the playground, poking at the ants on the ground with a small stick.
Ning Meng sat on the rock next to him, smiled and greeted him, "Hello."
The boy glanced at her, his expression indifferent.
Ning Meng was not discouraged and showed him the photo: "Little friend, I took your picture! What's your name? Are you eight or nine years old?"
As she spoke, she tried to touch the little boy's head, but he slapped her away.
The sudden flash of ruthlessness in the boy's eyes sent a shiver down her spine.
"Oh, little kid..." After a while, Ning Meng said softly, "I noticed you kept staring at your teacher Pei in the photo. Why? Because she's pretty?"
The boy raised his eyebrows but remained silent. He poked at an ant nest in the mound of dirt, stirred it a couple of times with a stick, and instantly it became a mess.
Ning Meng got goosebumps all over her body from watching.
However, she still has no intention of giving up.
"Little friend, how about I treat you to a flight? We're going to the central city too."
"From what I've observed, you seem to be having some trouble getting along with your classmates. That's perfect, then you don't need to fly with them. I'll buy you a separate ticket, a first-class seat! There will be many flight attendants to serve you personally, and you can even use the VIP lane..."
"Have you said enough?" the boy finally asked coldly.
Ning Meng was startled.
Although his voice was childish, it didn't sound like that of an eight or nine-year-old child at all, and there was always something in his eyes that she couldn't understand.
"Ha, you think I'm stupid?" the boy scoffed. "That's a private jet! Even if I've never left the mountains, I know how valuable a private jet is! It should be better than your so-called first-class VIP cabin, right?"
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