"Tap, tap, tap."
Having just finished learning about the background and plot of this world, Tang Ning immediately heard rhythmic knocking on the door of her private dressing room from the outside, followed by a man's obsequious voice asking questions.
"Miss Tang Ning, Mr. Xu's car is already waiting outside, you see..."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning raised her hand and removed the other pearl earring from her ear. Then, she slowly poured camellia oil, which emitted a faint fragrance, onto the cotton handkerchief in her hand. While carefully removing makeup from the other half of her face, she casually said, "Let the car go back. I'm staying at Fengxiang Street tonight..."
"this……"
Tang Ning had barely finished speaking when the person outside the door became hesitant and even tried to persuade her again.
But Tang Ning didn't give him a chance to speak at all, and said impatiently, "Stop with all this and that, just go out and tell the driver it was my idea!"
"……Why!"
The man received the order, and his footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Tang Ning remained in the room, removing her makeup.
After completely removing her makeup, Tang Ning lifted the curtain, took off her cheongsam, and immersed herself in the hot water that had been prepared.
This is a special treatment for her, a pillar of the show. I heard that Jin Pingping didn't receive this kind of treatment before, except for Tang Ning.
In Lidu, she even has her own little room, because she is used to washing herself clean every day after singing. Hot water and a change of clothes are always prepared in the room.
In order to keep Tang Ning and prevent a repeat of what happened with Jin Pingping, and because Xu Sinian is backing Tang Ning, the people of Lidu really treat Tang Ning like a princess.
Moreover, this auntie has a really good singing voice, so they are happy to support her.
Soaking in the hot water, feeling her body instantly relax, Tang Ning finally had time to realize the point in time she had entered the storyline.
Five years have passed since Lu Chen left Haicheng. In other words, he is about to become a young marshal and return to take revenge on her, his dark moonlight.
For the past five years, the original owner of this body and Xu Sinian had maintained a lukewarm relationship. Due to Lu Chen's influence, she had been unilaterally giving Xu Sinian the cold shoulder. Ironically, Xu Sinian, who was constantly addressed as "Master Xu" by outsiders, didn't seem bothered and indulged her little tantrums. To outsiders, it appeared that Xu Sinian's feelings for her were truly deep. He was willing to let Tang Ning, as his woman, perform on stage at Lihui and appear in public. He would go to great lengths to find anything Tang Ning liked and make her happy.
Outsiders may not know, but doesn't the original owner himself know?
Xu Sinian's affection for her wasn't particularly deep. His fondness was more like that of a pet he had raised for five years. He was willing to continue to pamper and play with her as long as he liked her, but if he ever stopped liking her, he would discard her without hesitation.
He may want Tang Ning's heart, but he never opens his own heart even a little bit, and he doesn't care much about Tang Ning's resentment.
Looking at the original plot, it's clear that the original owner was actually a very soft-hearted person. If Xu Sinian had truly loved her and waited for her for five years, she wouldn't still be so indifferent.
The root cause was that she had never felt a single bit of love from Xu Sinian. Even in the most passionate moments in bed, he remained frighteningly calm, as if nothing in the world could cause him to have any intense emotional fluctuations.
Such a person cannot be too cold or too hot; they must find the perfect balance.
This is why Tang Ning didn't choose to take the car Xu Sinian sent back tonight.
The main reason is that today is a truly special day. Five years ago, Lu Shen left Haicheng around this very time. Furthermore, it's Xu Sinian's birthday. From his perspective, the reason he chose to coerce and entice the original owner to be with him on his birthday was, in a way, a birthday gift to himself…
Unfortunately, after the original owner learned of his scheme, she never spent a birthday with him. In the past few years, she would go to a small building she had bought in secret and get drunk to her heart's content on this day.
Having just arrived in the new world, Tang Ning wasn't planning to change the original owner's character right away, but she also didn't intend to indulge herself recklessly.
On one hand, she was simply too uncomfortable with a hangover to put on herself; on the other hand, there was a little drama unfolding tonight.
If she remembered correctly, Tang's mother would suddenly fall ill soon tonight. Unfortunately, Tang Ning was hiding in the small building drinking. In the end, Tang Yin had no choice but to ask Xu Sinian for help. Upon hearing the news, he took Tang's mother to the hospital that very night.
By the time the original owner woke up and rushed to the hospital, Tang's mother was already out of danger, and Xu Sinian had already left.
It can be said that as soon as Tang Yin saw Tang Ning arrive at the hospital reeking of alcohol, she immediately began to scold her.
Because Tang Yin was unaware of Xu Sinian's scheme five years ago, and Tang Ning had never told her family about it, Tang Yin thought that Xu was such a good person, and they had all seen how good he had been to her sister over the past five years. She really didn't understand what her sister was still doing. Later, she even advised Tang Ning not to be so temperamental anymore, and to live a good life with Xu and cherish her good fortune.
"Would you like this good fortune?"
The original owner, already suffering from a splitting headache due to a hangover, felt a surge of anger when she heard her second sister, whom she had raised, constantly mentioning "Brother Xu." Without thinking, she retorted sharply.
But she regretted it as soon as she made the retort.
But Tang's mother, lying in the hospital bed, frowned and said directly, "Tang Ning, how dare you talk to your sister like that?"
Upon hearing this, the original owner remained silent for a moment, then immediately apologized, saying that she was in a bad mood and was really sorry. In addition, since Tang's mother was not seriously injured, she made an excuse to go out to buy porridge and left the ward, but she felt more and more depressed and lonely.
Even she herself didn't know what she was suppressing in loneliness. She had everything she wanted, and everyone envied her, didn't they?
As that night passed, her relationship with Xu Sinian grew increasingly cold, and they had less and less to say to each other. Apart from singing on stage, which gave her a little relief, she was constantly on edge.
It could be said that it was precisely her fragile psychological environment, where she could not meet her emotional needs, that gave Lu Chen an opportunity to take advantage of her five years later.
Now that Tang Ning has arrived, she, who has no interest in drinking, has decided to join in on the plot that night, wanting to verify a little guess.
After thinking this through, she slowly immersed herself completely in the hot water...
About half an hour later, Tang Ning, who had changed into a dark green cheongsam, left the Lidu City gate amidst the compliments and greetings from everyone there. She hailed a rickshaw and headed straight for Fengxiang Street, where the Ning family lived.
The night in Haicheng is brightly lit and bustling. Well-dressed men and women chat and laugh in brightly lit Western restaurants. But on the other hand, there are large numbers of poorly clothed little beggars on the roadside, constantly pleading with passing gentlemen and ladies to be kind. The people selling matches, newspapers, and flowers are mostly children from a few years old to their teens.
This picture of extreme contradiction and division slowly unfolded before Tang Ning.
Finally, Tang Ning got off the rickshaw at the entrance of the Ning family's courtyard, carrying a basket of roses. Before she even opened the door, she heard suppressed sobs coming from inside.
Hearing the sound, Tang Ning quickly walked to the courtyard gate, pushed open the door, and saw that in the main hall, Tang's mother was unconscious and slumped in a chair, with the twins each holding one of her hands, crying with snot and tears streaming down their faces. Upon hearing the noise at the door, they turned their heads in fear.
Seeing this, Tang Ning immediately put down the roses in the basket and quickly walked in.
The two younger children quickly wiped away their tears with their sleeves, as if they had found their pillar of support, and cried out in unison, "Big sister!"
"What happened? What happened to Mom? Why is she lying here?"
"Mom said her stomach hurt after dinner tonight, and she suddenly collapsed right after washing the dishes..."
Tang Ruo, the older of the twins, was still somewhat rational and immediately explained this to Tang Ning.
"Big sister, is Mom... is Mom going to die?"
Tang Jun, the younger brother, tugged at Tang Ning's sleeve and asked this question with a look of fear on his face.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Mom'll be fine, right, big sister..."
With red eyes, Tang Ruo hurriedly looked at Tang Ning.
Meanwhile, his younger brother Tang Jun quickly spat out the insult.
Seeing this, Tang Ning could no longer care about the two children. She stepped forward to check her mother's breathing, which was already quite weak.
“No, Mom can’t take it anymore if she keeps going like this. You wait here, I’ll go upstairs to get the money, and then I’ll immediately go to the intersection and call a rickshaw to take Mom to the hospital…”
As she spoke, Tang Ning hurriedly tried to run upstairs.
She came downstairs in no time, asking as she went, "What's wrong with you? Mom fainted from the pain, why didn't you take her to the hospital? Where's Tang Yin? Where did she go? It's so late, why are only the two of you at home? What if something happens to you?"
"Second sister... second sister... she went to find you..."
Tang Ruo answered hesitantly.
"Looking for me? Where did she look for me? I've been in Lidu the whole time, when did she leave?"
"Forty minutes ago..."
"Forty minutes is only fifteen minutes by tram from home to Lidu. I was at Lidu just twenty minutes ago. Where did she go looking for me? All the money is in the cabinet. If she can't find me, shouldn't she, a college student, take Mom to the hospital first? Never mind... Xiaojun, you wait at home for your second sister to come back. Ruoruo and I will take Mom to the hospital first. Do you know Beiping Hospital? When your second sister comes back, just ask her to take you there..."
After saying that, Tang Ning carried her mother on her back without hesitation and ran outside.
Who would have thought that as soon as they ran out of the gate, a black sedan slowly stopped in front of the Tang family's house. The car door opened, and a pure-looking girl wearing a beige trench coat and with her long, slightly wavy hair tied in a high ponytail with a red ribbon jumped out of the car.
"Mom, eldest sister!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning immediately understood who this person was.
Before she could say anything, the rear window of the car was slowly rolled down by the person sitting inside, revealing an exquisitely beautiful profile.
The man's hair was neatly combed, his brow bone was high, his eyebrows were thick and black, his eyes were long and narrow, and his eyes, which he turned to look at, were dark and deep. He had a high nose bridge and thin lips.
He wore a brown plaid suit vest over a white shirt, all buttoned up tightly. To an untrained eye, this man would never be Xu Sinian, one of the most powerful figures in Haicheng. He would simply be mistaken for a dissolute young nobleman living a life of extravagance.
Xu Sinian.
System score: 98.
Current favorability rating: 60.
Tsk.
Almost as soon as their eyes met, the man spoke, "Asheng, Ali, go down and help Miss Tang Ning settle her mother into the car in the back."
"yes."
Upon hearing this, two men immediately got out of the car, helped Tang's mother off Tang Ning's back, and walked towards the car that had followed behind.
Seeing this, Tang Ning was about to follow when the man in the car spoke again.
"Sit next to me."
Just one sentence made Tang Ning stop in her tracks, but she didn't obediently get into Xu Sinian's car.
Seeing that things weren't going well, Tang Yin quickly smoothed things over, "Sister, get in Brother Xu's car. I'll take care of Mom, everything will be fine, don't worry!"
With that, Tang Yin got into the back seat of the car behind.
Seeing this, Tang Ning finally walked around to the other end of the car, opened the door, and got in.
However, even after she got into the car, she only looked at the scenery outside the window and did not turn her head to look at Xu Sinian next to her.
She had already made her indifference so obvious, but the next second she still felt her hand, which was resting to her side, being enveloped by a warm, large hand, and at the same time, a man's concerned voice rang out.
"Why are your hands so cold? Are you worried about your aunt's health? Don't worry, she'll be fine..."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning twitched her fingers slightly and gave a soft "hmm".
"Also, the weather has started to get cooler these past few days. Why are you going out in such thin clothes? How about I have Rong Changxiang's people come over tomorrow to make you two more sets of clothes?"
The man's voice was gentle, and Tang Ning's brows furrowed slightly. "No need, I still have clothes."
"Are you still making cheongsams? Or would you like to try a Western-style dress?"
Xu Sinian continued to ask this question.
"You make the decision, I have no objection."
Tang Ning frowned even more deeply, and at the same time, she struggled slightly, trying to pull her hand out of the other person's hand. She tried hard, but couldn't budge it at all, so she had no choice but to let the other person continue to hold her hand.
This is where the original owner couldn't feel any love. Whenever the other person wanted to do something, they would just inform her, never taking her opinions seriously. They always treated her like a tantrum kitten.
They arrived at the hospital quickly, and because he was worried that Tang Ning was cold, Xu Sinian even put his own suit jacket on her.
It wasn't until they arrived at the hospital and heard the doctor's diagnosis that Tang's mother had acute gastroenteritis and needed immediate intravenous anti-inflammatory treatment, and that it wasn't anything serious, that Tang Ning felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. But after relaxing, she suddenly felt an indescribable dizziness rush to her head, and she staggered. Even though she grabbed the wall on one side, she couldn't catch her breath. Finally, amidst everyone's gasps, Tang Ning fell heavily to the ground.
Before plunging into darkness, the last image that remained in her mind was Xu Sinian pushing her wheelchair to her side immediately, reaching out to catch her, his brows furrowed.
"mom!"
Tang Ning let out a soft cry and immediately woke up from her sleep.
It was only then that she realized the sky outside the window had already brightened without her noticing. What was she doing...?
"woke up?"
Upon hearing the familiar voice asking the question, Tang Ning immediately turned around and met Xu Sinian's gaze. Xu Sinian had placed the book he was holding on the bedside table and was looking directly at her.
"The doctor said that your long-term insomnia, coupled with excessive worry, caused you to faint during a period of extreme joy or sorrow. How are you feeling now? Do you need me to call the doctor for you?"
"Need not!"
Tang Ning immediately refused, "I feel much better after a good night's sleep. How is my mother?"
"Auntie is still on an IV drip, but she has regained consciousness and should be having breakfast now..."
After hearing Xu Sinian's words, Tang Ning's expression relaxed slightly, and then her attention was drawn to Xu Sinian's slightly bluish eyes.
"you……"
"Um?"
"You... stayed up all night for me?"
Tang Ning's eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
"Your second sister has to take care of your mother, and your two younger siblings are too young, so naturally it's up to me to take care of you. Is there a problem?"
"No……"
Tang Ning lowered her eyes slightly, her fingers gently gripping the bed sheet beneath her.
"If not, would you like some porridge? Aunt Su cooked it and brought it over this morning."
As he spoke, Xu Sinian picked up the thermos box he had placed at his feet, unscrewed it, picked up a porcelain bowl, poured out most of the contents, held the bowl, scooped up a spoonful of porridge, and looked as if he was going to feed her the porridge himself.
"I can do it myself..."
Tang Ning's brows furrowed suddenly, and she was about to reach out and take the porcelain bowl.
Xu Sinian chuckled softly, "I only broke my leg, but not my arm. I can still feed you some porridge."
Tang Ning was at a loss for words, so she could only open her mouth and accept the spoonful of porridge.
The man fed her spoonful by spoonful, and Tang Ning ate spoonful by spoonful. When she had eaten most of it, she really couldn't eat anymore, so she turned her head away.
Seeing this, the man stopped what he was doing, and without any disgust, he used Tang Ning's bowl to drink all the remaining porridge.
As soon as the rare, heartwarming moment of the two sharing porridge ended, someone knocked on the ward door. After Xu Sinian said "Come in," the person outside immediately ran in and whispered something in Xu Sinian's ear.
After hearing the news from the visitor, Xu Sinian looked directly at Tang Ning. As soon as their eyes met, Tang Ning said understandingly, "If you have something to do, go and take care of it first. I don't have anything urgent here."
"Okay, I'll leave Ah Sheng here. You can let him do anything you need."
"Um."
Tang Ning nodded.
The man let them push his wheelchair toward the door, but just as they were about to leave, he suddenly asked, "Why are you having trouble sleeping?"
Tang Ning remained silent.
The man didn't necessarily need an answer; he chuckled softly and left.
The man who had spoken to Xu Sinian earlier stood in front of her hospital room after seeing her off.
"Ah Sheng!"
Just then, Tang Ning in the ward suddenly called out to him.
"Miss Tang Ning..."
The man asked respectfully.
Tang Ning held up a fountain pen, frowned, and said, "Mr. Xu left his fountain pen behind..."
Upon hearing this, Ah Sheng, the man in the suit, immediately looked up and said, "I'll send it to Master Xu right away!"
"No need, I'm going to check on my mom anyway, I can just deliver it to her while I'm at it."
As she spoke, Tang Ning threw off the covers and got out of bed.
But to her surprise, just as she stepped out of the ward into the corridor, she looked up and saw Tang Yin calling out to Xu Sinian's car from under the holly tree not far away. She then took a white scarf from her handbag and handed it to him through the car window, saying something with a bright smile.
Tang Ning, who has some knowledge of lip reading, understood what she meant by that sentence.
Happy birthday, Brother Xu!
She said.
Once she understood the meaning of that sentence, Tang Ning played with the pen in her hand, and a playful smile appeared on her lips.
She said that even though the original owner had such a bad falling out with Xu Sinian, he was still willing to protect the Tang family in the story.
I see!
Yes, she would like such an understanding and reasonable sweetheart too!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com