He asked hesitantly, "I heard that the man you got your marriage certificate with in the countryside has been reinstated and is now working in Beijing."
Ning Yuan nodded: "Mm."
Ning Zhuliu frowned: "Little sister, you study here and he's in the capital. When are you planning to have a child? Shouldn't you hold a wedding ceremony?"
Ning Yuan paused for a moment: "We have no plans to have children, and there will be no wedding."
Ning Zhuliu froze, and like any father whose daughter has been betrayed, she clenched her fists: "He's gone back to the capital, so he doesn't acknowledge you, his rural husband?"
Ning Yuan lowered her eyes and carefully considered her words: "I should... consider it that I don't acknowledge him."
She was telling the truth, and what her adoptive father thought was beyond her control.
Ning Zhuliu was a little angry: "That kind of heartless man shouldn't have been acknowledged. Little sister, you deserve better!"
Ning Yuan remained silent this time.
Ning Zhuliu thought she was sad, so he patted her head like he did when they were little: "Little sister, I know that too many things have made you sad lately. You need to focus on your studies."
Ning Yuan lowered her head and said, "Okay, I'm going to evening self-study."
Ning Zhuliu sighed and took out a stack of loose change from her pocket: "Your studies are not easy. This is my secret stash of money, a total of thirty-two yuan and sixty cents. Your mother doesn't know. She's a confused person. Don't blame her."
Looking at the stack of loose tickets, Ning Yuan recalled how Ning Zhuliu would secretly give her candy when she was little.
She was silent for a moment, then this time she took it: "Thank you, Dad."
"Go ahead and get busy. Your studies are important. What Dad wants most is for you to be happy," Ning Zhuliu sighed wearily.
Ning Yuan nodded, turned around and slowly walked away.
She knew Ning Zhu was watching her from behind, like any father who worries about his daughter.
Ning Yuan walked to a corner and saw a cold figure standing under the streetlights near the guesthouse.
Perhaps to avoid drawing attention, he wasn't wearing a military uniform, but a white shirt and dark blue work pants. He looked clean and tidy, like an exceptionally clear and beautiful tree.
Seeing Ning Yuan approach, he looked up and gazed at her quietly.
Ning Yuan walked up to him and smiled, "I'm fine, it's just a normal meal."
Rong Zhaonan said calmly, "If you have something to do, they won't be able to leave the guesthouse."
Ning Yuan lowered her thick, long eyelashes and sighed: "I'm even wary of the person who raised me. Am I being cruel and ungrateful?"
Before eating, she took the opportunity of going to the restroom to find someone to pass on a message to Rong Zhaonan, asking him to wait for her at the guesthouse.
As soon as they arrived at the back door of the guesthouse, they saw Rong Zhaonan already standing there.
She guessed that it was probably Yan Yangyang who went to find him.
Rong Zhaonan said leisurely, "It's not surprising. It's quite normal for my father and son to turn against each other and scheme against one another."
Ning Yuan was speechless yet also wanted to laugh: "..."
What's so normal about this?
But... she actually felt a strange sense of kinship with Rong Zhaonan, as if they were in the same boat.
"Let's go, I'll take you home." Rong Zhaonan pushed a 28-inch bicycle out from the side and looked at her.
Ning Yuan nodded: "Okay."
Both of them seemed to have forgotten the "unpleasant self-defense practice" that afternoon, and neither of them mentioned it.
She nimbly jumped onto the bicycle seat and hugged his waist without any coquettishness.
“Tonight, a friend of my adoptive father’s came over. His surname is Tang. He is said to be a section chief in the Shanghai Education Bureau. He will cover all of my adoptive father and mother’s expenses in Shanghai.”
A dark glint flashed in Rong Zhaonan's cold eyes: "The Shanghai education system, surnamed Tang?"
Ning Yuan looked at him with some curiosity: "Hmm, his name is Tang Jun. What, do you know him?"
How come he always seems to be recognized by people wherever he goes?
Rong Zhaonan thought for a moment, and said while riding his bicycle, "I don't know them, but the Tang family in Shanghai has some connections and achievements in the education system and foreign affairs office over the years."
Ning Yuan chuckled lightly: "My adoptive parents never left Ningnan or the factory in their entire lives. That Mr. Tang said that his father used to be an engineer in Ningnan, and my adoptive father saved him."
This is the information she found out after insisting on having this meal today.
Rong Zhaonan calmly replied, "You don't trust your adoptive father?"
Ning Yuan remained silent for a while, without answering directly: "If it were the old me, I would probably believe it without hesitation, but now I don't have the confidence."
Rong Zhaonan said decisively, "Okay, I'll have someone check the truth of this matter in the next few days. Don't leave the Fudan University campus with anyone until your adoptive parents return."
Ning Yuan readily agreed: "I won't go anywhere, I'll stay in the dorm or go with you."
These words brought a smile to Rong Zhaonan's lips: "You're getting more and more wary. Back in the village, you weren't nearly as clever as you are now."
Ning Yuan looked at the moonlight overhead, which was as bright and cold as the moonlight they had seen in the village.
She said slowly, "Are you trying to say that I'm becoming more and more suspicious?"
Rong Zhaonan chuckled lightly: "Trust is only given to those who deserve it, and trust needs to be tested."
He was probably more suspicious than anyone else. If Curly Rabbit knew that he was testing her to see if she was a little spy before he even wanted to take his relationship with her any further, she would be a prime suspect.
She will probably never speak to him again.
Ning Yuan raised her hand to brush away the stray strands of hair that had been blown away, her eyes crinkling into a smile: "You know how to comfort people, Captain Rong!"
The bicycle traveled through the tree-lined path at night, with the girl behind him holding his waist, her arms soft and slender yet strong.
Rong Zhaonan said calmly, "You're welcome, Ning."
In this era, there weren't many tall buildings, so the breeze was still cool on summer nights.
Ning Yuan suddenly felt as if they were still on the path back to the village.
The wind carried the fresh scent of green leaves and the clean, refreshing smell of mint soap on Rong Zhaonan's body—it was a soap she had made for him.
He and she were still the same "partners" they were back in the village, helping each other out, secretly causing trouble, and trying their best to make a good living.
She suddenly asked out of the blue, "Are you still angry about what happened this afternoon?"
"Squeak." The bicycle stopped, and Rong Gongzi, with his long legs on the ground, turned his back to her and said, "We're at the dormitory, get off."
Ning Yuan couldn't see his face, but the arm around his waist could feel his body stiffen slightly, and...
Hmm, even under the dim streetlights, you can see that the back of his neck looks a bit red; that's the downside of having too fair skin.
Ning Yuan jumped out of the car and sighed slowly, "You really don't know how to use it..."
"Ning Yuan, shut up!" Young Master Rong finally couldn't hold back and turned around to interrupt her with a stern face.
Ning Yuan looked into his eyes, which were filled with anger and embarrassment. The upturned corners of his eyes were long and delicate, like they were meticulously drawn with a fine brush.
Unfortunately, his fair face, flushed with embarrassment, lost its usual cool demeanor and instead revealed a youthful unease and annoyance.
Ning Yuan's heart stirred, and she smiled. Suddenly, she reached out and touched Rong Meiren's extremely beautiful face: "Tsk, then I'll go back."
Like coaxing a puppy.
She could feel him stiffen slightly when she touched him. Ning Yuan wanted to laugh, and she wanted to let go.
Rong Zhaonan suddenly grabbed her wrist and asked in a muffled voice, "Why do you use... use... that?"
Has she used it... with whom? There are almost no things he wouldn't dare to do in his life, but now he doesn't dare to ask.
Ning Yuan asked knowingly, "Which one?"
Even the great Rong has his moments of stuttering.
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