Chapter 27. Huo Li and Brother Ning. They are very...
Upon hearing this, Ning Yao immediately put down the bowl in her hand.
Unexpectedly, Ning Yiwen said, "Let's eat first."
Ning Yao: "..."
With her chopsticks flying, she ate the last few mouthfuls of rice in her bowl in one go, adding a few pieces of green vegetables in between.
With her cheeks puffed out, she gestured towards Ning Yiwen with the rim of the bowl.
It's empty.
She finished eating.
Ning Yiwen shook his head helplessly, "Fine, go ahead and ask."
Ning Yao blinked, thought it over and over, and decided to ask about the origin of the photo first.
Although Ning said this morning that it was given to him by a friend.
"Brother Ning, can you tell me how you got the photos?"
Ning Yiwen glanced at her and knew in just one look what she wanted to ask.
Thinking about the manuscript he had seen that evening, Ning Yiwen pondered for a moment and said frankly, "I have a friend in Nanjing who gave it to me. He hopes I can help him with something."
Ning Yao continued to look at him.
Ning Yiwen chuckled, “I met this friend when I was in school. He later moved to Nanjing for some reason. We’ve kept in touch by letter.”
Ning Yao frowned slightly. "But, it would take at least a week for letters to travel back and forth between Shanghai and Nanjing, wouldn't it?"
really.
Ning Yiwen paused for a moment, not expecting Ning Yao to be so perceptive as to point out the parts he was unclear about.
He praised, "Yes, that's right."
After saying that, she added with a sigh, "Ning Yao, you've really grown up."
Ning Yao was a little embarrassed and lowered her eyelashes to cover her eyes slightly. She could see the praise and satisfaction in Ning Ge's eyes.
After sighing, Ning Yiwen continued, "To be honest, I have a pen name, Yan Xu."
Ning Yao's eyes widened.
"And this manuscript of yours, after I've polished it, I'll publish it under this pen name." Only this pen name can stir up a ripple.
Yan Xu…the author she had always wanted to get to know…the author whose views she felt were somewhat similar to Ning Ge’s…
Ning Yao was dumbfounded.
“Wait, wait,” Ning Yao frowned, “Brother Ning, I think I asked you if you knew this author? Why didn’t you tell me then?”
Ning Yiwen had finished eating and was preparing to clear the dishes.
Upon hearing this, he casually replied, "I didn't need to admit it back then."
Ning Yao: "..."
A surge of emotions welled up within me.
She didn't know whether she felt more uncomfortable being kept in the dark or that Ning Ge had this other identity.
Yan Xu's identity is very sensitive.
Many people in literary circles know his name, and many people seek him out.
Although the articles under this pen name have not significantly crossed any lines, its influence among the public is already enormous.
Therefore, among those who seek him out are many current officials.
This is like walking across a cliff on a thin thread; you could lose your footing at any moment, and the thread could break at any time.
Extremely dangerous!
Ning Yao took a deep breath, suppressed her temper, snatched the bowl and chopsticks from Ning Yiwen's hands, and started tidying up the dishes with a clatter.
She needs to calm down.
Otherwise, she might have to wonder how much Ning Yiwen hadn't told her.
Ning Yiwen's hand paused in mid-air. He watched her as she used the act of clearing the dishes to compose herself, smiled faintly, and did not interrupt.
Silently lowering his hands, he followed Ning Yao, who was carrying bowls and chopsticks, into the kitchen.
Looking at her back as she sat by the sink, he teased, "So diligent today?"
Ning Yao worked quickly, washing the dishes with swift, sweeping movements.
Upon hearing this, he stopped what he was doing, turned around, and looked at Ning Yiwen:
"Brother Ning, aren't you just asking a question you already know the answer to?"
Without waiting for his reply, she turned around and continued what she was doing.
He muttered to himself, "I don't know if this is the only identity they're hiding from me, or if there are others they're keeping from me too."
Moreover, there must be a deeper reason behind this.
Thinking of this, Ning Yao became even more profound.
The sound was very soft, so soft that only she could hear it.
Ning Yiwen listened carefully, but could only hear the words "keeping it from... others..."
He silently watched Ning Yao sitting on a small stool washing dishes, her small back and slumped shoulders somehow overlapping with the image of her alone guarding the grave in his previous life.
My heart sank, and I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly.
Finally, she downplayed the issue, saying, "I didn't mean to hide this from you. If you're upset..."
“I’m not sad.” Ning Yao turned around, interrupting him.
His eyes were deep, filled with doubt and worry, but not with the discomfort of being kept in the dark.
"But... Brother Ning, I want to know why?"
She stood up and dried her hands with a hand towel.
He approached Ning Yiwen step by step. "Brother Ning, I want to know, what do you want to do?"
She may not know a lot of things, but that doesn't mean she's stupid.
She stared intently into Ning Yiwen's eyes, her expression serious, and asked, "Brother Ning, is this your only pen name? Do you only write manuscripts?"
Under her intense gaze, Ning Yiwen involuntarily took a step back.
His actions had already given her the answer.
“Listen to me, Ning Yao. Our current thinking is outdated and rotten. In the future, a new wave of ideas will inevitably sprout. What I’m doing now is making the soil for this new wave of ideas more fertile…”
Ning Yiwen spoke in a dry voice.
He couldn't bring himself to talk about his rebirth after death, so he was even less able to clearly explain his thoughts.
Ning Yao understood what he said. However, understanding it only made her more upset.
She pursed her lips, lowered her eyelids, and her whole demeanor instantly dimmed.
There were only the two of them at that moment, but he couldn't even speak clearly.
"So, Brother Ning, you're doing something very dangerous, aren't you? And you don't want to tell me about it; you want me to stay out of it."
Ning Yiwen gazed at the whorl of hair on her head, then reached out and grasped her shoulder. "Ning Yao, what I'm doing... yes, it is indeed dangerous, but it's definitely the right thing to do. I've done everything I can to plan and unite many people to push it forward..."
He spoke in a mix of deep and shallow sentences.
But Ning Yao couldn't listen to any of it. What she cared about more was, "Don't those people include me?"
She grabbed Ning Yiwen's hand and said, "Brother Ning, I want to help you too."
But Ning Yiwen closed his eyes, steeled himself and pulled his hand away, "I don't need it."
Their eyes met, and they both froze, the only sound in the kitchen being their shallow, rapid breathing.
The wick of the oil lamp, as small as a bean, burst open.
The entire space instantly became brighter.
Both of them could clearly see each other's expressions.
Ning Yao's eyes reddened, tears welling up, but she held them firmly back.
She tilted her little face up, and the tip of her nose was tinged with red.
Ning Yiwen clenched his fist into a fist, his hand hidden in his sleeve.
He forced himself not to look away, and just stared at her face, saying each word clearly, "Ning Yao, I don't need your help."
I don't want you to get involved in this mess.
All you ever need to do is be happy and do what you want to do.
But he didn't say the rest.
Water droplets streaked across my cheek, fell onto the floor, and disappeared instantly.
Ning Yao looked away and glanced at the flames that were still leaping to the side.
Inhale, exhale.
I tried to mask the throbbing pain in my heart by adjusting my breathing.
Despite the bright flames, she felt surrounded by terrifying darkness.
A few breaths later.
She took a step back, forcing herself to look back at Ning Yiwen.
His eyes were calm and still, his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, his lips were tightly closed, and his face showed no emotion.
He was in great pain, Ning Yao could tell, even though he didn't show any expression.
She lowered her eyes and looked at the slight bulge on his chest, where her manuscript, folded into a square shape, was located.
My thoughts were racing.
She was confused.
The manuscript was precisely the opportunity that led her to start helping out.
But she didn't know why Brother Ning was still so stubborn in pushing her away again and again.
Why?
“Okay,” Ning Yao said calmly, “If you need to write articles again in the future, just ask.”
His tone was cold and distant, devoid of the intimacy of the past.
Ning Yiwen felt a sudden panic.
But he quickly suppressed it.
"Hmm... Your manuscript is very well written... I don't think there are many places that need to be revised..."
He said a lot, but his eyes remained fixed on Ning Yao's unresponsive expression, and in the end he forgot where he was in his sentence.
Ning Yao listened to everything and readily agreed, saying, "Okay."
At this point, the two remained silent.
Ning Yao turned around first, picked up the bowl she had just washed, and said in a deep voice, "I'll go rinse the bowl again."
After saying that, he picked up the bowl and walked past Ning Yiwen.
Ning Yiwen clenched his fists, desperately suppressing his urge to reach out and grab her.
He stood quietly in the kitchen, without making a sound.
After leaving the kitchen, Ning Yao turned around and glanced at Ning Yiwen's back.
His head was slightly lowered, but his shoulders and back were ramrod straight.
The sleeves trembled slightly.
His tall and imposing figure stood silently like a mountain, but in her eyes, he was not necessarily as unshakeable as a mountain.
A hint of apology appeared in Ning Yao's eyes.
I will no longer follow your wishes.
The more you push me away, the more I want to see things clearly.
After quickly finishing her chores, Ning Yao ignored Ning Yiwen's presence in the kitchen and hurried back to her room.
She took out a pen and ink from the cabinet and began to make plans.
She wrote down all the information she could understand.
She was wondering, who exactly were the "many people" that Brother Ning mentioned?
Retrieving the photos from Nanjing was neither particularly easy nor particularly difficult.
But the shorter the timeframe, the more difficult this task becomes.
Suddenly, Ning Yao remembered something else: what had happened after they entered the police station.
Captain Xu Zheng was extremely respectful to Brother Ning...
In other words, Brother Ning knows someone even more capable than Captain Xu Zheng.
Ning Yao bit the end of her pen, racking her brains as she thought.
Soon, she thought of something else—
That rumor had a completely nonsensical origin.
They all said that Huo Lichao called Ning Ge "brother-in-law", which used to bother her, but now, looking back...
Huo Li, are you talking to Brother Ning?
Are they very familiar with each other?
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Author's Note: I don't know if everyone will like reading this. In the last few chapters, I've been trying to write out the female lead's thought process, just in case it's too wordy. But I feel I should stick to what I want to write, so I'll give it a try.
I just enjoy the thought process of unraveling complex issues step by step.
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