Just as Tang Ning and Tang Yin were putting on a familiar show of "sisterly affection," at the Xu Mansion...
"Cough, cough..."
One muffled cough after another came from the study with the door tightly closed. Outside the study, Xu Sinian's most trusted right and left hands, Ali and Asheng, were both gripping each other's clothes tightly with fierce expressions, neither willing to let go first.
Perhaps worried that the noise they made would attract Xu Sinian's attention in the study, the two quickly and quietly pulled each other to the stairwell.
Even though they were some distance from the study, Ali's questioning voice remained low, "Ah Sheng, what were you trying to do? Were you trying to bring up that woman in front of Master again? I'm warning you, even if that woman was deceived, it was her own fault, she was just stupid. Have you forgotten what happened that day when we saw Master faint alone at the door? Do you want that to happen again? You and I know how healthy Master is, he absolutely cannot endure such a deadly ordeal again!"
"Have you ever thought about whether our self-righteous concealment is really good for the master? What kind of person is the master? Is this the first time you've met him? Don't you know how he feels about Miss Tang Ning? If he finds out that the two of us have teamed up to hide such important information from him, what will the consequences be... Ali, are you sure you can bear it?"
Ah Sheng's expression was extremely serious.
It was these words that caused Ali to slowly loosen his grip on the other person's collar.
"But……"
"There's no 'but' about it. No matter how you try to stop me, I'm definitely going to tell Master this news..."
"Be sure to tell me if there's any news."
As soon as Ah Sheng finished speaking, a hoarse voice rang out not far behind the two of them.
Before anyone knew it, Xu Sinian had already come out of the study, and his wheelchair was parked at the half-open doorway.
Upon hearing such a sound, the two people who were facing off immediately turned their heads to look at each other.
Although Xu Sinian's face was pale and haggard at this moment, his eyes were still dark and deep.
With just one glance, a faint sense of panic washed over Ali, and he immediately regretted his presumptuous decision. Yes, Ah Sheng was absolutely right. What kind of person was the master? Regardless of whether it was for his own good or not, he would never tolerate the slightest deception.
Thinking of this, Ali immediately knelt down on the ground without saying a word.
Xu Sinian's eyes remained completely unmoved by Ali's actions; he simply looked straight at Asheng on the other side.
"Master..."
Seeing this, Ah Sheng organized his thoughts and then slowly told Xu Sinian everything that his people had noticed about Lu Chen and Tang Yin in the past few days. After all, this was Haicheng, not Fengcheng. Although Lu Chen's people were well hidden, they still couldn't escape their eyes.
It can be said that one look at Lu Chen's behavior reveals that he is definitely plotting something, and it is inextricably linked to Tang Ning, who left earlier.
After listening to Ah Sheng's report, Xu Sinian's eyes immediately lowered, his thick, feather-like eyelashes completely blocking outsiders from seeing his thoughts.
After an unknown amount of time, so long that Ali's knees began to go numb from kneeling, the man's voice finally rang out, "Alright, I understand. Ali, go and receive your punishment. Don't do anything for me for the time being..."
"yes!"
Ali gritted his teeth and replied.
“Ah Sheng…”
"Master."
Ah Sheng quickly responded.
"What time is it now?"
"10 p.m. sharp."
Looking at his watch, Ah Sheng replied.
"Now have people prepare all sorts of betrothal gifts for me, the more the better, the more expensive the better, understand?"
Xu Sinian said this, emphasizing each word.
Upon hearing this, Ah Sheng was taken aback at first, then quickly nodded in agreement.
The study was dimly lit, with only a desk lamp on.
Xu Sinian sat at his desk, staring intently at the neatly arranged documents in front of him. He had been looking at them for about ten minutes, but hadn't absorbed a single word. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he hurriedly pulled open the bottom drawer and found a silver pocket watch at the very back. He gently wiped it, opened it, and inside was a photo of Tang Ning smiling radiantly.
With just one glance, he forced himself to forget, to ignore, and his increasingly closed and calm heart began to pound violently again.
He liked her so much that even seeing her picture couldn't stop the flutter and joy in his heart.
He was so despicable that the moment he heard that Lu Chen might have ill intentions, he felt no sadness for Tang Ning, but rather an uncontrollable surge of smugness and excitement.
He was secretly pleased that Lu Chen had chosen his own path to death, and excited about the possibility that Lu Chen might take advantage of the situation.
Thinking this, Xu Sinian raised his fingers and touched Tang Ning's smiling face in the pocket watch again and again.
But what can we do?
In the days without Tang Ning, he was so lonely and isolated, like a small boat adrift on a boundless sea, without direction or goal, living in a daze, and even the world in his eyes was dark and colorless.
He desperately needed Tang Ning's company and gaze. Even if she didn't love him, he hoped she could always stay by his side and never leave.
"I told you, I'm only giving you this one chance. As long as there's even the slightest possibility, I'll bite right away and never let go..."
Xu Sinian murmured, a flash of stubbornness passing through his eyes.
He wouldn't give Lu Chen any hints whatsoever. He would simply snatch Tang Ning to his side the moment Lu Chen acted recklessly, and he wouldn't let go of her no matter who tried.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
April 4th, the weather is overcast, and it is not auspicious for any activities.
Tang Ning's slender, pale fingers lightly traced the calendar pages. Before the corners of her mouth could even curve into a smile, her door was suddenly and frantically knocked on from the outside.
"Big sister, big sister..."
Upon hearing the sound, Tang Ning frowned, abruptly opened the door, and saw Tang Jun's bewildered face.
Half an hour later, Tang Ning, sitting by the bed, looked at Tang Ruo lying on the bed with an IV drip in her hand and her face flushed, and sighed with a bit of helplessness.
"What did I tell you before? I told you to be careful, to be careful. There are already a lot of people catching colds in the spring. Don't get too close to people who are coughing and sneezing. Now look what happened, you have a fever, right?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Ruo looked at Tang Ning pitifully.
After sighing, Tang Ning reached out and carefully brushed her bangs aside, then continued to apply a hot towel to her forehead.
While applying the compress, she subconsciously asked Tang Jun, who was standing beside her, "Where's Mom? And where's your second sister? Where did they go so early in the morning?"
"Oh, Sister Lan said that Mom took Second Sister out early this morning. I heard they were going to Lan Gui Clothing Store to buy clothes. Oh right, Mom also said she wanted to buy Second Sister a red dress!"
Upon hearing Tang Jun's words, Tang Ruo's brows immediately furrowed. She then glanced at Tang Ning's simple attire and said, "Buying a red dress? Don't you know what it means to steal the spotlight? This is my elder sister's happy occasion, not hers. Why is she wearing a red dress? No, I'm getting up..."
Just as Tang Ruo struggled to sit up, she immediately fell back down, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
Seeing her like this, Tang Ning immediately pressed down on her shoulders and then covered her with the blanket tightly. "Alright, alright, what's the point of getting up like this? Don't let the wind make you feel even worse. I know what I'm doing. You should just lie still today, understand?"
After hearing Tang Ning's words, Tang Ruo immediately showed a tearful expression, "I should have stayed away from Shen Qiqiao. I knew he kept sneezing, but I still went up to him, waaaaah..."
"Chen Qiqiao?"
Tang Ning subconsciously repeated the sentence, and then looked at the girl in front of her who hadn't noticed her murmur at all, and was still immersed in her own emotions, gritting her teeth and cursing someone in her heart. Tang Ning's lips immediately curled up.
"I was originally hoping to see Lu Chen in person and witness your happiest day, but I didn't expect my body to be so uncooperative... What are you laughing at, big sister?"
As she spoke, Tang Ruo became puzzled.
Tang Ning immediately suppressed her smile and shook her head slightly.
Tang Ruo, instantly fooled, continued, "But thankfully today is just the engagement, not the most important day. Anyway, we'll be family soon, so there will be plenty of opportunities to meet. I'll give this guy surnamed Lu a good look then. If he treats you badly, just wait and see..."
Tang Ruo immediately brandished her other hand, which was not holding the needle, in a fierce manner.
Their conversation left Tang Jun bewildered, but before he could ask any questions, a commotion erupted downstairs.
After instructing Tang Jun to take good care of Tang Ruo, Tang Ning went straight downstairs and found that Tang's mother and Tang Yin had bought a lot of things, carrying large and small bags.
I don't know how they managed to notify them, but the neighbors, plus the ladies who often played mahjong with Tang's mother out of respect for her and Xu Sinian, including some of Tang Yin's classmates from Haicheng University, and even her friends from the newspaper, all crowded into the room in a lively atmosphere.
When Tang Ning, wearing a pale yellow dress, appeared on the stairs, the crowd below, who had been discussing something enthusiastically, fell silent instantly.
Unlike Tang Yin, who was wearing a bright red cheongsam that she couldn't possibly pull off and had heavy makeup on her face, Tang Ning, with her light makeup and slightly curled long hair tied up with only a red ribbon, looked as ethereal and beautiful as a lotus emerging from the water.
One glance was enough to make the group below start whispering among themselves.
Soon, comments like "Her sister is much prettier," "That's right, I used to think Tang Yin was pretty," and "She can't compare to her sister" quickly reached Tang Yin's ears. This made her gentle smile almost falter. Watching Tang Ning slowly walk downstairs, Tang Yin immediately clenched her back teeth.
She had never resented Tang Ning as much as she did at this moment. She didn't understand why her sister was treating her like this on such an important day for her. Especially since Brother Lu Chen was coming today...
Just thinking about that situation made Tang Yin wish Tang Ning would disappear from her sight immediately.
The moment Tang Yin's face showed a slight change, her mother, who already knew her inside and out, grabbed Tang Ning's arm without thinking and led her to a corner.
Once they were out of sight of others, Tang's mother immediately flung Tang Ning's arm away, saying, "Who told you to dress like this? You know today is your sister's special day, why did you dress like this?"
Hearing this, Tang Ning frowned and rubbed her arm, which had been pinched so hard by her mother, before smiling and saying, "Mom, what are you saying? I don't quite understand..."
"Don't pretend with me. I know you've disliked Yinyin since she was little, but you shouldn't have done this to upset her at this time."
Tang's mother spoke righteously and eloquently.
"You don't like Tang Yin? What have I done since we were little that you have this misconception that I'm the one who doesn't like Tang Yin?"
Tang Ning asked directly.
"It's just..."
Because Tang Ning disliked Tang Yin's deeply ingrained belief, Tang's mother tried to give an example without thinking, but after searching through her memories, she couldn't find anything that could support her belief, and she immediately fell silent.
After the silence, a feeling of humiliation from being disobeyed suddenly rose in her heart. Just as she was about to scold her without a care, Tang's mother, who had just raised her head, was startled by the coldness that flashed in Tang Ning's eyes. However, when she looked again, she could not see anything. All she could see was the faint smile in Tang Ning's eyes.
"Alright, can't you see people are already looking this way? Like you said, Mom, today is a good day. If we make a scene, it'll look bad. I'm going over now..."
After speaking, Tang Ning walked straight to the hall and soon blended into the group of people chatting there.
Tang's mother, left holding her breath and unable to let it out, stared wide-eyed at Tang Ningling's graceful figure. "Fine," she thought, "I'll settle the score with her after today's good time is over."
at the same time--
"Young Marshal."
The man in the driver's seat hesitated for a long time before calling out to Lu Chen, who had been sitting in the back seat in a daze for a while.
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen immediately snapped back to reality.
What time is it?
"It's 9:30, we..."
Let's go.
"yes."
Before long, Lu Chen's betrothal gifts were carried into the Tang family's house, box after box.
9:58 AM.
Wearing a military green military marshal's uniform, a black cloak, and long boots, Lu Chen slowly walked in from the courtyard gate.
Only after standing at the entrance of the hall, his eyes never leaving the man in the pale yellow shirt in the crowd, did he slowly begin to speak—
"My name is Lu Chen from Fengcheng. I have come here today to request to marry your esteemed daughter, Tang...Yin."
As soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, Tang Ning's smile vanished instantly, and she looked up directly at the man in front of her.
Lu Chen met Tang Ning's gaze without flinching.
Did you feel it? Did you feel his utter wretchedness that day? Did you feel his pain and despair?
Tang... Ning...
As Lu Chen kept saying this to himself, he suddenly clenched his fist the next second after noticing the change in Tang Ning's expression.
He thought he had gotten back at her, and at least he was happy. Seeing Tang Ning as embarrassed and upset as he was, he felt a sense of satisfaction.
But it seems not...
Almost the instant he saw Tang Ning's face turn pale, Lu Chen felt a sharp pain in his heart. Soon, this pain spread rapidly, like a wildfire on the prairie. With a gust of wind, it reached a point where even he himself could not extinguish or stop it.
Are you happy? Are you happy now?
Seeing Tang Ning's expression, are you actually happy or not...?
Lu Chen kept asking himself this question.
Then the man watched helplessly as Tang Ning's face grew paler and paler. She turned her head in disbelief to look at Tang Yin, who was walking out beside her with a flushed face. Her hands clenched tightly in an instant, and she staggered slightly, only managing to avoid falling by grabbing the wooden railing of the stairs.
The tears that welled up quickly made Tang Ning's face show a look of panic. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she immediately lowered her head to cover it up, but she still couldn't stop the tears from falling.
This caused Lu Chen, whose attention had been focused solely on Tang Ning from beginning to end, to subconsciously take a step forward...
Lu Chen's current favorability rating: 95.
Tang Ning, who had just delivered an award-winning performance, heard a pleasant notification from the system in just three seconds.
Tsk.
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