Ning Yuan walked around the room. It was more like a suite than a room, with a size no different from a typical two-bedroom apartment in mainland China.
The Ning family's extravagance is evident even in a place like Hong Kong where land is incredibly valuable.
She looked around and discovered that in a cabinet next to the dressing room, there were still many unopened gifts piled up.
The logos on the packaging bags were all from luxury brands, some of which she didn't even recognize; they weren't the kinds of luxury brands commonly found on the market.
Ning Yuan picked it up and looked at it, but didn't touch it or open it.
At dinner time, there was a knock on the door.
Ning Yuan went to open the door.
A middle-aged woman stood in the doorway, dressed in a well-tailored black suit, her hair neatly combed.
"Seventh Miss, hello, I'm Angela." The middle-aged woman smiled appropriately when Ning Yuan opened the door, followed by a young maid in work clothes.
"Is there something you need?" Ning Yuan raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping lightly over the woman's deep-set face, where traces of mixed heritage could be vaguely discerned.
Angela spoke in a neither humble nor arrogant tone, saying in somewhat broken Mandarin, "Seventh Miss, dinner is ready. Madam and the young masters are waiting for you in the dining room."
Angela wore a polite smile, but her gaze towards Ning Yuan held a scrutinizing and appraising quality that wasn't exactly polite.
"Okay, I'll go down now. Where are the staff who came with me?" Ning Yuan nodded slightly and asked Aheng.
It's clear that Angela is probably a housekeeper-level figure, with a slightly lower status in the family than Housekeeper Tian; otherwise, she would have been the one to pick up my mother earlier.
Angela frowned slightly: "Are you talking about your bodyguard, Ah Heng? She's dining with Tony and the others; staff members aren't allowed at the table. That's common sense."
Ning Yuan gave her a cold look, said nothing, and followed Angela to the second-floor restaurant.
Before I even entered, I heard a hearty laugh coming from inside.
She unconsciously slowed her pace and looked into the restaurant.
“The villa’s second-floor dining room is divided into a long hall with extra-long European-style dining tables and a small hall with round tables. There aren’t many people today, so dinner is being held in the smaller hall with a more open view,” Angela explained.
Ning Yuan saw that the restaurant's balcony overlooked the Repulse Bay sea view, but unfortunately, as night fell, she could only see the distant, scattered lights of ships.
Besides the second wife and Ning Bingyu, there were two other men at the table who bore a resemblance to Ning Bingyu.
One of them had a refined and scholarly air, quietly flipping through a book in his hands, while the other had a honey-colored complexion, dressed casually, and was talking to Madam Ning.
This prompted her to occasionally reveal a helpless yet doting smile.
"Come here, little sister, let me introduce you." Madam Ning beckoned Ning Yuan to sit next to her.
Ning Yuan sat down as instructed.
Madam Ning pointed to the refined man in his early thirties and said, "This is your second brother, Ning Binglun. He's a professor at the Chinese University and spends all his time researching his scholarship."
Ning Yuan's gaze fell on the "unfamiliar" second brother.
This was a face somewhat similar to Ning Bingyu's, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but this second brother had a more scholarly air about him and less sharpness.
"Hello, Second Brother, I'm Ning Yuan." Ning Yuan greeted him politely.
Ning Binglun adjusted his glasses and gave Ning Yuan a detached nod: "Little sister, welcome home. Your homecoming gift is in your room."
After exchanging greetings, he went back to reading, showing little interest in this suddenly appearing younger sister.
Madam Ning didn't know what to say, she just frowned slightly and said gently, "Your second brother is most like your father, he's a bookworm, he's always been quiet like this."
Madam Ning then pointed to the smiling man and introduced him: "This is your third brother, Ning Bingchao. Like your eldest brother, he works in the family business, but he's quite idle and spends all his time eating, drinking, and having fun."
Although it was a reprimand, Ning Yuan could hear the doting tone in her mother's voice.
Ning Bingchao's honey-colored handsome face showed displeasure. He first protested to Ning Er Madam: "They are all busy. I'm the only one at home who stays by Mommy's side as a landlord. How can you call me a dutiful mother? All I know is eating, drinking and having fun?"
He was around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, with the typical thick eyebrows and big eyes of a member of the Ning family.
But perhaps because his skin was tanned to a honey color, he had a handsome, slightly wicked look when he smiled.
Unlike Ning Bingyu and Ning Binglun, who had a distant and aloof demeanor, he was very relaxed.
Ning Yuan, with her big, bright eyes, greeted him gracefully, "Hello, Third Brother."
Ning Bingchao was much more enthusiastic and said to Ning Yuan warmly, "Little sister, it's great to finally meet you! I'm your third brother. With your beautiful features, you're definitely a member of the Ning family, no need to check! You've worked hard all these years! Welcome home!"
Ning Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Third Brother!"
She figured it out: the eldest son was a CEO, the second son was a professor, the fourth son was a musician, and the fifth son was a doctor.
The third son is probably the one who is most often at home, even though he holds a nominal position in the family business.
But most of the time he helped his mother manage some of her real estate, and he spent the most time with her, being a talkative person who doted on her.
"You!" Madam Ning gave Ning Bingchao a reproachful look.
She then turned to Ning Yuan and explained, "Your third brother has always been like this since he was little, he doesn't know how to hold his tongue, don't take it to heart."
Ning Bingchao, however, didn't seem to mind. He chuckled and used one hand to support Madam Ning's shoulder, while the other arm went to Ning Yuan's shoulder.
"Mommy, I'm telling the truth. My little sister is pretty. Am I wrong?"
"Sit still, stop talking nonsense during dinner!" Ning Bingyu glared at him and reprimanded him rudely in Cantonese.
Ning Bingchao withdrew his hand from Ning Yuan's shoulder, sat down, and snorted, "Boss, you shouldn't be so fierce all the time!"
The servants began to bring out trays containing small, sterilized hot towels.
Ning Bingchao took the hot towel to wipe his hands and smiled at Ning Yuan, saying, "My gift is in my little sister's room too!"
Ning Yuan recalled the large display cabinet next to her walk-in closet in her room, which probably contained the "gifts" given to her by everyone in the family except her mother.
It's perfunctory and formulaic, but the high price is very much in line with their style.
"Xiao Ning, try this soup. I specially asked the kitchen to make it in advance. It's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which nourishes qi and replenishes blood." Madam Ning ladled a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Ning Yuan.
Ning Yuan took a bite; it was delicious, rich, and indeed very nourishing.
The table was covered with typical Cantonese dishes—steamed grouper, blanched wild prawns, typhoon shelter crab, steamed abalone with garlic, and free-range chicken in soy sauce…
A dozen or so exquisite Cantonese dishes filled the entire table, all made with the most expensive and freshest ingredients, and were perfect in color, aroma and taste. The most important thing about Cantonese cuisine is freshness.
However, even with her good appetite, Ning Yuan couldn't eat that much. Perhaps it was because she had experienced the hardships of rural life again after her rebirth, and she felt it was a waste.
But the first meal she had upon returning home was a gift from her own mother, and she appreciated it, so she ate as much as she could, hoping that Madam Ning would look on with a contented smile.
While eating, Ning Bingchao watched with great interest, and couldn't help but tease, "Mommy, you're being unfair! You only care about my little sister and don't even ask me what I want to eat?"
"You're almost thirty, and you still need me, your mother, to worry about you?" Madam Ning glared at him reproachfully.
But she still picked up the serving chopsticks, placed a crystal shrimp dumpling in Ning Bingchao's bowl, and said, "Eat."
"Mommy still loves me the most!" Ning Bingchao grinned as he picked up a shrimp dumpling and swallowed it in one bite.
The meal ended relatively peacefully amidst Madam Ning's gentle and caring treatment of Ning Yuan and Ning Bingchao's casual, albeit intermittent, conversation.
The servants began to remove the plates and replace them with delicate fruits and desserts.
Just then, a slender figure walked in from outside the door, her high heels clicking softly.
"Second Aunt, I'm back." Ning Manfei greeted Madam Ning with a smile.
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