Ignoring Lu Chen's persistent gaze behind her, Tang Ning, carrying a small wooden box, quickly entered the Tang family's courtyard. Since the downstairs gate was only slightly ajar, Tang Ning gently pushed it open and looked up to meet Tang Yin, who was sitting on the sofa, looking at the things in her hands and giggling.
Almost as soon as Tang Yin saw Tang Ning, a hint of guilt flashed across her face. She hid the things in her hands behind her back and looked at Tang Ning with a slightly nervous expression.
But after she subconsciously made the act of hiding, Tang Yin came to her senses.
No, why is she feeling guilty and nervous? She hasn't done anything wrong, so what's there to be nervous about? Tang Ning is Xu Sinian's woman now, isn't she? The two of them have even reached the point of discussing marriage. As for Lu Chen, so what if they were deeply in love before? They've been separated for five whole years, haven't they? If they meet again now, it's hard to say whether they'll even recognize each other. Like her, she couldn't even recognize the drastically changed Lu Chen, could she?
Besides, she was the one who abandoned Brother Lu Chen back then, and the two of them were only in love in the past. She can't possibly control who her past lover was with.
As for her, she had even less right to interfere. On one hand, she was just her adopted sister, not her biological sister. On the other hand, she believed that their relationship was already like this, and it was close enough that they hadn't completely fallen out. There was no need for her to give up the person she was attracted to because of Tang Ning.
Having mentally prepared herself, Tang Yin slightly puffed out her chest and raised her chin, looking directly at Tang Ning.
"Why are you back today?"
"Come back and stay for two days."
Tang Ning gave this casual explanation and then started changing her shoes at the door.
Hearing this, Tang Yin noticed the small wooden box Tang Ning was carrying, and frowned slightly. "Oh..."
"Oh, that's it." Perhaps realizing his tone had been too distant and cold, he added, "I heard you fell into the river, and you've been missing for several days. Are you alright?"
"No."
Tang Ning had already changed her shoes and stepped into the house.
Their awkward conversation created an unspeakable sense of unease in the otherwise empty living room.
If it were the original owner here, she might be heartbroken and saddened by the coldness and indifference of her own younger sister whom she raised. Such an awkward situation is nothing to Tang Ning. After all, as long as she is not embarrassed in any awkward situation, then it will definitely be someone else who is embarrassed.
On the other end, Tang Yin was somewhat annoyed by Tang Ning's calm and indifferent reply. After all, in her opinion, she had taken the initiative to ask about Tang Ning's situation, which was giving Tang Ning a way out. Who would have thought that Tang Ning would act so arrogantly? You see, when the two of them were together before, it was always Tang Ning who took the initiative to ask about their well-being. Her older sister had really changed, to the point that she hardly recognized her.
Tang Yin felt a tightness in her chest and even began to regret speaking up earlier, which had put her at a disadvantage.
"Big sister!"
Just then, a surprised scream suddenly came from the stairs. Tang Ruo appeared out of nowhere and rushed down the stairs in a few steps, then rushed straight into Tang Ning's arms like a small cannonball.
Upon seeing this, Tang Ning's lips immediately curled up. Even before Tang Yin came in front of her, she had already put down the wooden box in her hand and opened her arms. Tang Ruo rushed into her arms and hugged her tightly.
"Big sister, big sister, why are you back today? Three days ago, Xiao Jun and I found out you were going to Haicheng, and we wanted to come and see you, but we heard that Brother Xu wasn't feeling well and you'd been taking care of him, so we didn't want to bother you..."
At this point, Tang Ruo seemed to remember something, and hurriedly let go of Tang Ning, pulling her close to look her over. Even though she didn't see any injuries on Tang Ning's body, her eyes were still red like a little rabbit's. "Big sister, what exactly happened to you? You were fine, how could you suddenly fall into the river? It was so cold, did you stay outside for a long time before coming back? Did you see a doctor? Is anything bothering you? No, I'm not going to school tomorrow, let's go to the hospital together, okay? Falling into the river is no joke, I'm afraid you'll have some kind of lasting health problem, and it will be too late to treat it when it flares up later..."
"Alright, alright, it's nothing. I saw a doctor as soon as I got back, and there's no problem. I'm perfectly healthy now, so don't worry. If I feel unwell anywhere, I'll definitely tell you right away, okay, my little housekeeper?"
As she spoke, Tang Ning reached out and tapped Tang Ruo's nose with her finger.
The little girl's expression relaxed a bit.
"Where are Mom and Xiaojun?"
“My uncle passed away in our hometown in town, and Mom took Xiaojun back yesterday for the funeral.”
"Then you..."
"Oh dear, eldest sister, don't you know? Back home, people don't let women touch this guy, saying it's bad luck; they don't let women enter that guy, saying it disrupts the feng shui. I've learned this the hard way before. This time, no matter what Mom says, I'm not going. Second sister has work, so she didn't go either. Only Xiaojun and Mom went; they should be back tomorrow. Okay, let's not talk about that anymore. Eldest sister, have you eaten dinner yet? If not, I'll make you a bowl of noodles now, with a poached egg on top—your favorite kind with the yolk running out, okay?"
Tang Ruo gave her advice with utmost seriousness.
"No need, really no need, I've already eaten dinner."
Seeing that Tang Ruo was still wearing pajamas, Tang Ning forgot about her own wooden box and grabbed Tang Ruo's hand to go upstairs. "Why did you come down dressed like that? It's still very cold outside, and it's raining tonight, didn't you know? Don't catch a cold. Come on, let's go upstairs first."
As they spoke, Tang Ning gave Tang Ruo no chance to refuse and went upstairs in a few steps.
Tang Yin stared blankly as the two left, then gripped her pen tightly. After a long while, she suddenly scoffed.
Meanwhile, Tang Ruo, who had been obediently pushed onto the bed by Tang Ning, was looking at her older sister's feigned anger with an innocent and well-behaved expression. Her little face amused Tang Ning, who immediately reached out to tuck her feet in. "Alright, it's late. We can talk about it tomorrow. I'll probably be staying at home for a few days and won't run away. Right now, all you need to do is go to sleep, okay? If you worry so much, you might not grow tall!"
Tang Ning deliberately threatened her, but Tang Ruo wasn't easily intimidated. As soon as Tang Ning finished speaking, she got up to leave and immediately reached out and grabbed her right hand.
"hiss."
Before she could say anything, Tang Ning had already let out a soft gasp.
It was this sound that made Tang Ruo's smile freeze instantly. Before Tang Ning could react, she had already quickly taken off the dark green gloves Tang Ning was wearing. When she saw the red marks on the back of Tang Ning's hand from the hot water, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Big sister, what happened? How did your hand get so burned? Tell me honestly, why did you come home so late today? Did you have a fight with Xu Sinian? Did he hit you?"
Tang Ruo's face turned red with anxiety. Judging from her posture, it seemed that as long as Tang Ning said yes, she would pick up a weapon and fight with Xu Sinian.
"Shh, no..."
Because Tang Ruo's voice was too loud, Tang Ning immediately made a shushing gesture, "What are you thinking? It has nothing to do with Xu Sinian, it was my fault..."
"Don't lie to me. If it was an accident, why would you wear gloves to cover it up? It's obvious you're trying to hide something."
Although Tang Ruo is young, she has always been very intelligent and sensitive.
It can be said that among the entire Tang family, including the original owner and Tang Yin, probably no one sees things as clearly as she does. In fact, she is the one who is most like Tang's father.
"Ruo Ruo..."
Tang Ning called her that with a hint of helplessness.
"You won't tell, huh? Fine, then why should I sleep? My sister's been bullied like this, I'm going to settle the score with Xu Sinian right now!"
"Ruoruo!"
Tang Ning quickly grabbed her, a fleeting hesitation crossing her eyes, but she remained resolute, "Okay, I'll tell you, but please don't tell anyone yet, okay..."
In fact, Tang Ning's plan always needed an insider. She originally planned to carefully select this person in Lidu, but she didn't expect Tang Ruo to get involved. However, she didn't expect the girl to be so perceptive.
For her, she would probably rather know the truth than be like the character in the story, who ended up not knowing why her sister ended up like that.
She prefers a conscious life to a life lived in a daze.
So Tang Ning told Tang Ruo everything about her past without embellishment, including Lu Chen's return, her relationship with Lu Chen after falling into the river, and her open conversation with Xu Sinian.
The more Tang Ruo listened, the more complicated and saddened she became.
It wasn't until Tang Ning said she was willing to give up everything in Haicheng, wait for Lu Chen to come and propose marriage, and then go to Fengcheng with him after the engagement that she finally understood.
Tang Ruo immediately took Tang Ning's arm. "Big sister, is it worth it? Although Brother Lu Chen seems to be devoted to you now, but... but..."
"It's worth it, it's definitely worth it."
Tang Ning reached out and pulled Tang Ruo into her arms, imbuing her with the original owner's most beautiful dreams and aspirations. "I also really want to live for myself, just for myself. Actually, I wanted to elope with him five years ago, but..."
"So, sister, do you like him?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning paused slightly, "I like him, and it's something I owe him. There's nothing wrong with being with him. I believe he will treat me very, very well, very well..."
After speaking, Tang Ning slightly curved the corners of her mouth.
Tang Ruo was still somewhat worried. She didn't know why, but she just felt that this matter was a bit unreliable. In fact, she couldn't even remember what Lu Chen looked like anymore, but his persistent questioning of her sister after his return seemed strange...
"Alright, little housekeeper..."
Seeing that Tang Ruo was frowning, Tang Ning reached out and pinched the little girl's chubby cheeks. "Don't worry, nothing will happen..."
“He said he would come to propose marriage and take me back to Fengcheng in seven days. I have already let him down once, and I really don’t want to let him down a second time.”
Tang Ning said this with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Tang Ruo reached out and hugged Tang Ning's waist, burying her head in her chest, her voice slightly muffled, "I just want you to be happy, sister..."
"I will, I definitely will, I will be very, very happy, okay?"
"Um!"
Tang Ruo responded in a muffled voice.
If she had to choose, she would still choose Brother Xu. He's so good to her sister. As for Lu Chen, something just doesn't feel right to her. Anyway, she absolutely mustn't let him find out that he has any other intentions, otherwise...
A cold glint flashed across Tang Ruo's eyes; she was determined to make him suffer.
Just as Tang Ruo had said, Tang's mother returned with Tang Jun the next day. Although she seemed somewhat reluctant to let Tang Ning come to stay for two days, she didn't say anything. However, Tang Yin's situation became interesting. She started coming back later and later each day, and by the fifth night, she hadn't come back at all.
Tang Ning, who came out to get water in her slippers that evening, glanced at the empty Tang Yin's room and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
Meanwhile, in the dimly lit room, Lu Chen, sitting in a chair, looked at Tang Yin sleeping on the bed. After a long while, he let out a low sneer.
He hadn't even had a chance to start the game when she, drunk, pounced on him...
Thinking this, Lu Chen went straight out of the room, took off his coat which was stained with Tang Yin's scent, and threw it into the arms of his subordinates who were waiting outside. "Our people don't need to prepare anything. Also, take the clothes and throw them away. Have someone come and clean the room tomorrow too."
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