Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Ning Qing’s eyes were in a cold, sharp glare. Her voice was firm, and every word of hers was powerful. “It is a fact that everyone knows that his mother had passed away when giving birth to him, but you cannot speak like that! Your mothers gave birth to you, and both of you were born healthy and well. His mother was not that lucky, and she passed away. His mother not only gave him her selfless love, but she also gave up her own life. If his mother in heaven were to know that the son who she used her life in exchange for was labelled as a little malignant star daily by you guys, how upset would his mother be?
“Who permitted you all to cruelly bully a child who never had the chance to enjoy the love of his mother? Who allowed you to use other’s pain as your own entertainment. What right do you have to talk about the poor guy like this. Before you open your mouth to speak, first think about who you are.”
After Ning Qing spoke, the entire venue was dead silent.
Everyone could only look at the girl in a shocked daze. Her words were extremely sharp, and every word of hers was strong and dominant.
Ning Qing turned around and she looked towards Song Yingjie. The boy also looked at her, and his eyes were even redder, and he had a thin layer of fog in his eyes.
Some tears were threatening to fall, but they could not.
Ning Qing slowly put on her sunglasses. She walked towards the door, and while she walked, she said, “Go, go tell them. You have to apologize and make a move first because you are the crown prince of both the Song and Zhu family. Go say bye to them.”
The crowd: “…”
Ning Qing disappeared by the door.
When Song Yingjie made his way out, Ning Qing was standing by the car waiting for him. At this moment, he saw that her emotions were complicated. He lowered his gaze and went forward without a word.
The two of them sat in the back. The old butler was seated in the front passenger seat, and the driver was driving the vehicle.
“Madam, where are we going now?”
Ning Qing looked at the already-dark sky, and she softened her tone and said, “Bring me back to the Ning home. My mother is waiting for me to return home to have dinner.”
The car stopped outside the Ning family villa. Ning Qing looked at Song Yingjie and said, “Little rascal, get out of the car. You looking like you need some help.”
Song Yingjie was silent for a few seconds, and he obediently got out of the car.
Two of them walked into the villa.
“Qingqing, you are back!” Yue Wanqing heard the sound of the door opening and quickly came forward to welcome her.
“Yeah, Mum. I am back. I brought a guest along today, Song Yingjie. He is my mother in law’s own nephew, and Shaoming’s younger cousin. Add another pair of chopsticks and a bowl; he will be eating dinner in our house.”
“Sure, Zhenguo, get another pair of chopsticks and a bowl.” Yue Wanqing shouted inside. She then tugged on Song Yingjie’s elbow and said, “Yingjie right? You seem to be really young. You must still be a student, right? Come, come in. Aiyo, what’s wrong with your face? Did you get in a fight? Sit here; Aunt will get the first aid box to help you handle it.”
Song Yingjie was brought to the sofa. He had a look around. It was not a high class villa, but the beige, white, and blue were cool colours, and even the thin open floral muslin that was covering the coffee table was inviting. It was simply elegant and homey.
The man who stood in the dining room was probably Ning Qing’s father. He was taking the bowl and chopsticks, and he looked gently and benevolently towards his direction, then lowered his head to arrange the utensils.
Song Yingjie could not help but give him another look. This was the first time that he saw a man touching the utensils.
At this moment, Yue Wanqing walked over, and she opened the first aid box and sat by his side. She first used the cotton ball to clean up the wounds on his face.
“Does it hurt? Tell Aunt if it hurts. You have such a beautiful face; if there were a scar on it, it would not look good anymore. You should avoid fighting in the future.”
Song Yingjie was embarrassed as he pursed his lips. He never allowed anyone to come near him. This aunty was very gentle, and she still had the scent of soap on her body.
It was very warm, and it had the smell of home.
“Mum, don’t pity this little rascal. He only knows how to get into trouble…” At this moment, Ning Qing was peeling an orange in her hand, and she was eating it while she walked over.
Yue Wanqing was annoyed as she spared her a glance and said, “What little rascal? Speak properly; it is not as if he doesn’t have a name. You have no manners.”
Song Yingjie lifted his gaze to see that girl sitting obediently by the side of her mother. She was using her small head to nudge her mother’s shoulders and she was smiling with her eyebrows in a curve while looking at him.”Yingjie.” she called out to him.
Song Yingjie froze and immediate channelled his gaze down.
While handling Song Yingjie’s wounds, Yue Wanqing said, “Qingqing, your mother-in-law is back. When will you arrange for our families to meet one another? This is basic etiquette for this situation. What’s more, you have been married for such a long period of time, but the Lu family is a rich family; I don’t know if they are satisfied with you?”
Ning Qing ate the orange and smiled saying, “Mum, Shaoming is on a business trip. My parents-in-law are also busy; you understand it well. They are a wealthy family. I will arrange for you all to meet. My parents-in-law are satisfied with me, especially my mother-in-law. She treats me just like her own daughter.”
Upon hearing her words, Song Yingjie lifted his gaze to look at Ning Qing. That girl was lying to her own mother. Her small white hand was peeling a piece of orange to stuff it into her small mouth, and she was eating it deliciously.
“Is that right?” Yue Wanqing smiled happily and said, “Then you should be very grateful. Your mother-in-law is your second mother. In the future, you need to be filial to her. Whenever you meet with an issue, you have to think about Shaoming first, and then act according to his needs. You guys are all one family.”
“Mum, I know.”
Upon hearing that, Yue Wanqing was relieved. She bandaged the injury for Song Yingjie and put the first aid box away. “Yingjie, let’s go, we will go and have dinner.”
Yue Wanqing was walking in front. Ning Qing slowly rose up and Song Yingjie walked to her side and softly said, “Liar”
Ning Qing spared a gaze at him and said, “What do you even know, little rascal? No matter how badly you are treated outside, after you come back home, making your family happy is your responsibility.”
The luxury vehicle of the Lu family was stopped outside the Ning family villa for the entire duration. The old butler got out of the car and stood on the grass patch. Through the large windows of the kitchen, he could clearly see the four people seated around the dining table, Song Yingjie was seated beside Ning Qing, and Yue Wanqing was dishing some food into Song Yingjie’s bowl.
In the Lu family, no matter how boisterous things got, they could not take a dish and place it into another’s bowl.
Song Yingjie did not speak, and only lowered his head to eat, but this was probably the most formal he had been, and he appeared to enjoy this meal more than any other meal that the old butler has seen him eat.
At this moment, the old butler’s phone rang; it was Song Yajing.
“Hello, Madam…”
“Hello, Uncle Fook. Where is Yingjie? How come there was no one at home when I arrived?”
“Replying to Madam, Young Master Yingjie is having dinner with Madam in the Ning family right now.”
“What, Ning family? Can Yingjie adapt to the food in the Ning family? Quick, bring him back!”
The old butler was silent for a few seconds and he said, “Madam, just allow Young Master Yingjie to have a meal here. Young Master Ying Jie is fine with the food.”
Song Yajing was taken aback and she said, “Uncle Fook, you….”
The two had dinner and left the Ning home. Ning Qing went back to the Tea Pavilion villa, and Song Yingjie went back to the Lu home. They shared a ride.
The engine started, and Song Yingjie used the rear view mirror to look at the two seniors standing by the side of the door. He was in a daze.
The car made a turn and the two disappeared from sight. Ning Qing saw that he was still in a daze and had not withdrawn his gaze. She laughed and asked, “Do you like my family?”
Song Yingjie moved and looked outside the window, “Yeah.” He nodded his head lightly and said, “It is very warm, and in the past… When my grandmother was still alive, when I went to school, she always stood by the side of the door and waved at me…I have never seen Grandmother’s back facing me.”
It was quiet inside the car. Ning Qing had a quiet smile on her face and she said emotionally with a gentle voice, “But my family was not always this warm. My father has a lover outside the marriage, and even has an illegitimate daughter. Four years ago, my father officially married his mistress legally and kicked both my mother and I out of the house. Those few years were the hardest years I’ve ever had. My mother needed money for an operation. I didn’t have the money and borrowed some from my father, but he actually tried to give me away to a middle aged man.”
Song Yingjie turned his head around and looked at Ning Qing in shock.
Ning Qing looked into his eyes, shrugged her shoulders, and said, “At that time, I was beaten up badly by that middle aged man. I had a tough time escaping, and I met Shaoming outside the hotel.”
Ning Qing was envious as she spoke. “Look, you still had it better. You were the oldest son of the Zhu family once you were born; you also have the Song surname. You had the privilege to continue to be stubborn and rebellious for life because both your uncle and oldest aunt will always protect you.”
Song Yingjie listened on without much expression on his face. He turned his head again to look outside the window.
“But.” Ning Qing said again, “Your uncle and oldest aunt will have to grow old one day. What would you do then?”
This sentence reached the depths of Song Yingjie’s heart. His eyes were wet and the tears that were hidden away rolled down his face.
The youth’s shoulders were shaking, and he looked so frail and helpless. “Why? Why are there so few people who love me? Even those who do have to leave me in the end… Why are they all fooling me, and making use of me…?”
Ning Qing used her small white hand to pat her own shoulder and said, “Come, come over here. I will lend my shoulder for you to lay on for a moment. This time, I will definitely not laugh at you.”
Song Yingjie did move; he was sobbing secretly.
Ning Qing directly stretched out her hand to press his head to her shoulder.
“Yingjie, do you think that you are the one that Heaven threw away? Heh, but there are so many people on earth. Who are you exactly? Why would Heaven bother with you? The number of people who love you is too small? It’s not too small. Your uncle and your oldest aunt have given you everything, and they did not miss out on anything. Your grandmother and mother that passed on loved you that much. Look at those sparkling stars in the sky; that’s them looking at you from up above.”
Song Yingjie perched on Ning Qing’s shoulder to look outside the window. The night sky tonight was really beautiful, and there were numerous stars sparkling in the night sky.
“Is that really grandmother and mum?” he murmured in a daze.
“You have them in your heart, so they are always here. But if I were you, I wouldn’t have the face to see them. Your mother lost her life while bringing you to the world, while your grandmother had great hopes for you, and wanted you to support the entire Zhu family in the future. But you’ve lived so messily, and you’ve failed to live up to all of their expectations.”
Song Yingjie used his hand to cover his handsome face. The car was filled with the sound of him sobbing.
The old butler used the rear view mirror to look towards the back. The girl’s gentle beauty was lighting up this dark cabin.
Her voice was really melodious, just like the sounds of nature of the night sky.
“You asked me why so many people are fooling you, making use of you. The answer is really simple; it’s because you are easy to fool and good to make use of. You are twenty years old this year. There is a half brother of yours who would affect your position in the family, but you do not know a single thing about rivalry for profit among the wealthy families. Last night when you snuck into my room, you didn’t even consider what could happen. You didn’t think that this move would deal a shocking blow to the uncle and oldest aunt who love you the most. You are twenty now. Even if you do not understand the rivalry among wealthy families, that is fine. You still do not like to study, you go party and create messes when you have nothing to do, you have a bunch of shady friends beside you; who would want to care about you?”