Those rich kids in their aristocratic school uniforms mocked him as a lowly burden who only had the opportunity to study because his mother sold her body.
They often pinned him against the trash can, punching and kicking him, and verbally abusing him.
This is not the first time these humiliations and pains have occurred.
From Form 1 to Form 3, from age 12 to 15, he was like a rat in a sewer, often blocked by them, stuffed into the trash can, and punched and kicked.
Resistance will only invite more brutal retaliation.
He could only grit his teeth and numbly endure it, burying all his hatred and resentment deep in his heart so as not to make his mother's situation even more difficult.
Just when he thought this would end like every other time, with him covered in wounds and endless humiliation,
A flamboyant figure rushed in!
Ning Manfei wore the school's aristocratic uniform, had her hair tied in a high ponytail, and was chewing gum, looking like a proud white swan.
She slammed her schoolbag hard at the boy who was grabbing her hair!
A seventeen-year-old girl, hands on hips, reprimanded in a shrill voice—
"How dare you? How dare you lay a hand on the Ning family?! Do you want to die?!"
How could those rich kids dare to offend Ning's spoiled and willful second young lady?
He lay sprawled on the ground, his body aching all over, his face bruised and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
She walked up to him, looked down at him, and impatiently pulled him up—
"Are you kidding me? You're surnamed Ning, yet you're being beaten up under my brother's name? Doesn't the Ning family have any dignity? From now on, if anyone dares to touch you again, just say my name!"
That was the first time someone had stood up for him when he was being bullied.
It wasn't sympathy or pity, but a kind of arrogant and unreasonable protection.
From that day on, he unknowingly became her follower.
He silently followed behind her, carrying her schoolbag and running errands to buy her snacks.
He was no longer the burden that everyone could bully, because everyone knew that he was under the protection of Miss Ning.
If you follow her, you won't be stuffed into the trash can and beaten up anymore.
He silently followed behind her, watching her live a flamboyant life and being the center of attention.
Like a faint ray of light, it sheltered him from his dark and gloomy childhood.
When he was sixteen, his mother, who was seriously ill, introduced him to his fourth uncle.
His fourth uncle saw the ambition and resentment that were growing wildly like weeds deep in his eyes, and began to teach him Taoist boxing and Wing Chun.
He no longer needed to hide behind Ning Manfei for protection; he now had the power to protect himself.
He learned Taoist boxing and Wing Chun from the master by his fourth uncle's side, and then he was no longer afraid of being beaten.
but……
Physical strength also breeds inner desires.
He began to feel dissatisfied with simply being her follower.
On Christmas of Ning Manfei's freshman year, that noisy, extravagant, and glamorous night...
He crossed that line and climbed into the bed of the noble second young lady of the Ning family.
She didn't reject him...
She simply opened her beautiful eyes, which usually carried a hint of arrogance and nonchalance, and wrapped them around her 'younger brother's' neck.
She was nineteen, and he was seventeen.
They were each other's first time.
The air was filled with a dizzying, stimulating mix of youthful hormones and taboo transgressions.
He thought that by possessing her body, he could have her forever.
He thought they could continue like this forever, and that he could stay by her side forever.
Under the very noses of their families, they secretly tasted the forbidden fruit time and time again, doing all the sweet things like lovers.
However, the truth will eventually come out.
Their secret relationship was eventually discovered by Ning Zhengkun.
He still remembers Ning Zhengkun's seemingly gentle but actually sharp as a hawk's eyes, filled with scrutiny and undisguised cold disappointment.
His mother's dying pleas became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and also the best reason for Ning Zhengkun to send him away.
His travel arrangements to the United States were quickly made.
Ning Manfei will also be arranged by her family to marry and move to England after graduation.
She came to break up with him, her tone calm, as if there was nothing between them.
He then realized that the Ning family's daughter was not someone he could obtain simply by sleeping with her.
He will always be the Ning family's adopted son, someone who can't be brought into the open, a parasite who survives only because of his mother's "affection" and "sexual favors".
My mother died too.
In the vast Ning family estate, he no longer had anything he could call "reliance" or "concern".
He finally understood what his fourth uncle meant: without power and ability, you will never get everything you want.
They'll be manipulated by others!
Everything he wanted was taken away because he lacked the power to do so.
Then go earn it yourself!
Since the path of light is blocked, he will take the path of darkness!
He completely abandoned meekness and forbearance.
With the help of his fourth uncle in the United States, he plunged headlong into the most dangerous and fastest way to accumulate wealth and power—arms trafficking.
The Ning family's extensive trade activities made it a convenient shield.
He wanted to use his own hands to take back what he had longed for but could not have.
They used every means possible, just to stand in a higher place.
He wanted to prove to Ning Manfei, and to everyone else, that no matter how lowly he was, he could be stronger than them!
...
And that day a few months ago, at Uncle Si's shop.
Ning Manfei stood before him, having shed all her pride and pretense.
He looked at the woman he had loved, hated, and desperately longed for in his youth.
With tears in her eyes, she told him...
She married abroad to protect him; otherwise, Ning Zhengkun would have kicked her out of the Ning family.
She looked at him pleadingly, her eyes filled with apology and grievance.
Sheng Bing listened quietly, his face expressionless, but his mind was as clear as a mirror.
With his mother's dying words in mind, Ning Zhengkun would not drive him away.
This was merely Ning Zhengkun's excuse to separate Ning Manfei from him, and Ning Manfei believed it.
Or perhaps she also knew that he was not good enough for her, and that their marriage would not bring any benefit to the Ning family.
But so what?
Everything happened, and it's all over now...
Those once surging loves, those resentments of abandonment and betrayal, those heart-wrenching regrets that haunted my midnight dreams...
With time and experience, they settle, cool, and eventually turn into a rusty scab.
He could easily guess who arranged for Ning Manfei to be standing here today.
It's Ning Yuan.
She was his frighteningly perceptive "little sister," his "wife."
She must have noticed his unusually sharp attitude towards Ning Manfei from subtle clues, and then quietly investigated their long-buried past.
This time, Ning Yuan hoped that Ning Manfei and her fourth uncle would persuade her to cooperate.
Looking at Ning Manfei, who was in tears, he felt a pang of indescribable bitterness in his heart.
It's like an old wound that's been accidentally touched, and it still aches faintly.
But it was only sour and bitter.
Times change, things remain the same, and people are no longer the same.
Over the years, he's been living a life of constant danger and intrigue, and he's had his share of women.
Between men and women, it's nothing more than those same things.
His heart, from some unknown time, had become old and hardened.
He now even fully understands why Ning Zhengkun wouldn't allow Ning Manfei to marry him; if it were him, he wouldn't agree either.
Ning Manfei was spoiled, so even after all these years, she is still the "love-obsessed" person Ning Yuan talks about.
But looking at Ning Manfei's still beautiful face, he even felt a little tired.
He was no longer the seventeen-year-old Ning Bing'an whose heart would flutter at her words or glance.
But it is precisely because he is no longer a seventeen-year-old boy that he understands better how to weigh the pros and cons.
Fourth Uncle's attitude is already very clear—
Personal grudges and personal feuds are as insignificant as a feather in the face of family interests and a grander strategic situation.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to let Ning Yuan bring "Zhou Yan," this evil spirit.
They would certainly not agree to let Ning Manfei appear here.
The overall situation is of paramount importance.
Therefore, he would naturally agree.
Cooperate with Ning Yuan and Rong Zhaonan's plan, redeem yourself through meritorious service, and exchange it for a chance to get out unscathed and start anew.
only……
Now, Ning Yuan looked at him with those clear eyes and sincerely said—
"Wishing you and Sister Manfei a smooth start to your new life in America."
He could only let out a sigh that no one could understand, a sigh filled with weariness and mockery.
"Little sister, why don't you congratulate us? After all, we are the legally married couple."
Ning Yuan stood there, her brows furrowing slightly: "Sheng Bing'an..."
Sheng Bing'an watched her expression change instantly, chuckled softly, and said half-jokingly, "Heh, just kidding."
Ning Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the sudden discomfort in her heart had not yet dissipated.
Sheng Bing'an raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "However, to be honest, from the perspective of a wife and partner, I now... prefer someone like you, who is clear-headed, shrewd, yet has principles and methods."
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