Yu Ning lowered her eyes quietly, her damp and cold fingertips curling up little by little. It seemed that every bone in her body was permeated with coldness, just like when she was eight years old and stood at the half-closed door.
Before the young man could even see the child, Chaochao, he was blocked from view by a group of VIPs who had gathered around. Hearing the name being called out by them, he muttered something strange; the pronunciation was similar to the recently popular "Chaochao" online…
Although he couldn't hear the specific movements of the important figures over there, the pretty boy breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he was no longer the focus of everyone's attention. He reached out and wiped the water running down his temples, only to find that his hand was covered in rubbed foundation.
Is this exactly how he just spoke to these potential sugar daddies?
Mo Mingxing, his face alternating between pale and flushed in a dramatic display, gritted his teeth and glared at Yu Ning, who stood motionless like a statue to his left. He threatened grimly, "I advise you to just admit defeat. I might be merciful and not drag you into this mess. But you should know that this designer outfit of mine isn't something you can afford to pay for. If this continues, whether I let you go or not won't be up to me. This industry—"
"Shut up."
A clear, aloof voice, unique to the young girl, came through, each word distinct and deliberate.
Yu Ning closed her eyes, her fingers gripping the backpack so tightly they turned blue and white. Her mood was extremely gloomy as she listened to the incessant noise, her temples throbbing with pain. After enduring it for no longer, she finally snapped at the source of the noise.
The pretty boy, completely bewildered after being harshly scolded, couldn't comprehend how someone in such a disadvantaged position could be so arrogant. Enraged, he glared at her face, pointing his eyes wide, "You...you...you..."
"If you don't shut up, believe me, I'll slap you."
Yu Ning raised her dark eyes, the intense depth of which inexplicably reminded the male star of the sticky, cold color of the skin of a black-spined snake in a swamp.
The male celebrity surnamed Mo subconsciously swallowed. Realizing that the woman in front of him was just a defenseless young girl, a surge of humiliation and anger, coupled with the shame of having chickened out, overwhelmed him. He laughed angrily and offered his smudged face: "Fine, come on then—"
His response was Yu Ning, who calmly rolled up her sleeves, and her unwavering voice: "Do you think a rich person would want a man who gets slapped in public?"
The pretty boy who had been begging for her attention instantly backed away. Thinking about what Yu Ning had just said, the words of rebuttal stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single syllable.
Rich people don't lack money; they value their reputation even more.
Accusing someone of seducing him is one thing; at most, it becomes gossip within the circle, and might even help build a persona. But if he were actually slapped in the face, he would truly lose face, suffer a real loss of value, and be someone who can be played with and discarded.
The thoughts in his mind went through several twists and turns, and the young man's gaze towards Yu Ning was unpredictable.
What a close call! I almost got into trouble because of this woman!
Yu Ning looked at him expressionlessly, inwardly mocking him.
You've really lost your mind. Don't you have any idea why that rich woman wouldn't be interested in you, given your weak and frail appearance?
The supervisor, who was not far away, waved his hand repeatedly and mouthed to Yu Ning to leave immediately and not to stay and cause trouble.
Yu Ning, seemingly oblivious, picked up the backpack she had just dropped, not even bothering to brush off the dust, and silently glanced in Chaochao's direction.
The little girl was bathed in the bright lights of the hall, surrounded by a crowd of people offering their warm greetings. But she stood by the secluded courtyard, the water flowing from her feet spreading a dark, meandering pattern on the paving stones. Though the distance was neither long nor short, it felt like an insurmountable chasm, separating two completely different worlds.
One bright, one dark; one moving, one still.
Yu Ning felt like a stinky stone that had rolled back into the sewer, hiding in a dark corner, secretly peeking at a sliver of sunlight leaking in through the cracks.
Like that cake we could never finish that night.
She hasn't changed.
It was still that stray dog wandering by the roadside.
"Sister, sister!"
Amidst the throng of people, the little dumpling's bewildered and hurried voice drifted out intermittently, making it difficult to hear clearly, yet each word penetrated the girl's ears with unparalleled clarity.
Yu Ning's dazed expression suddenly froze.
The fingers gripping the schoolbag tightened slightly.
"You should know better than anyone that you're nothing more than a pastime for them."
Yu Ning recalled a sentence, this time not spoken by 050, but by the former Yu Ning to the present Yu Ning.
The young man with the creamy complexion felt the child's anxious calls sounded familiar, as if he'd heard them somewhere before... He looked suspiciously at Yu Ning, whose head was down and whose expression was obscured, "Is she calling you?"
Like a sudden awakening, Yu Ning, regaining her senses, glanced blankly at the pretty boy. Upon seeing her wrist move slightly, he immediately took two steps back in fear, terrified that this madwoman would actually slap him in public.
Unexpectedly, the girl left directly.
Ignoring the noise around her and the little ball of fur behind her calling out to her, she walked so fast it was as if a jackal was chasing her.
050, who had urged Yu Ning to stay away from Chaochao long ago, now scoffed, "Pathetic! She just ran away like that, so pathetic. If you're going to break up, you should at least hold your head high and say something tough in her face! She's really disgracing my system. Don't tell anyone she was a host I managed. Oh, wait, you didn't even have the chance—"
Unmoved by its brisk pace, Yu Ning calmly retorted, "Is that so? Well, it's quite pathetic that you were beaten to the point of being unable to get up by your peers. Don't go around saying you even guided me after I die, or you'll lose face. But we're a perfect match, a pathetic host and a pathetic system."
"…………" System 050 was so angry that it didn't want to speak. It almost sympathized with the pretty boy. No wonder that guy stammered and stumbled for a long time in front of the host. He was so angry that he was dizzy!
Regardless of how Yu Ning found out she'd been beaten up, humans are indeed cunning; one slip and they're tricked into revealing everything. In comparison, that mindless, chuunibyou-ish system from the Time and Space Administration is far more naive! Ugh, I don't want this wretched host for even a second longer!
At that moment, Xiaoqi, who was mentioned, sneezed.
Who's thinking about it? They're not letting anyone get a proper rest!
Could it be that wild old man?
Xiaoqi has every reason to be suspicious.
"Sister... Sister, wait for me..."
Realizing she was there to find Yu Ning, Chaochao finally managed to push aside the outstretched hands of her uncles and aunts, and slipped through a gap to the open space outside.
"Sister, I'm here—?"
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