Chapter 95 - Bringing Grandma Over For A Short Stay

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

Ning Yao, “…”

Ning Yao had indeed made the tea burning hot intentionally; with any luck, it would burn Ning Qing’s mouth. But she hadn’t expected that Ning Qing would be so arrogant in front of so many people, daring to spill tea on her!

And Ning Qing had never drunk rose tea. She could say whatever she wanted to.

Ning Yao wanted to roll her eyes. Ning Qing’s clever and sharp mouth had challenged her efforts time and again.

Ning Zhenguo was afraid of making more trouble. He said in a slightly low voice, “Forget it, Yaoyao; isn’t it just a scald? What are you making a fuss about? Go apply some ointment. We still need to get down to business.”

Ning Yao’s face became even darker. Her father had never dared to reprimand her, but now he scolds her when she had been wronged?! Not only did he not help her, but he totally disregarded her!

“Forget it, Yaoyao, I think Qingqing did not do it intentionally. Let’s go. Mom will help you apply some ointment.” Li Meiling received Ning Zhenguo’s warning gaze. She dared not cause trouble, and could only grit her teeth and bring Ning Yao away.

Ning Qing was very happy to see the mother and daughter bearing suffering and humiliation together.

She wanted them to have a taste of what it’s like.

Ning Qing looked back at Lu Shaoming. The man’s deep narrow eyes were covered with the faint light of warm adoration as he looked at her. He looked as if he were praising her for doing well, and as if he were lamenting the suffering she had suffered.

He had a pair of eyes that could talk.

Ning Qing’s heart felt very warm. Today, she was a little arrogant, and had also lied. He must have noticed her subterfuge. In fact, she was afraid that he would dislike her, and she was also afraid that he only liked her beautiful appearance.

But he wasn’t shallow. He was protecting her and supporting her. He pitied the environment she grew up in and loved everything about her. She could expose her true self to him without disguise.

He understood her and pitied her.

“Young Master Lu, Junxi, let’s sit down and talk. Have some tea, have some tea, ha.” Ning Zhenguo smoothed things out.

“Shaoming, I’ll go check on Yao Yao in the kitchen,” Ning Qing said softly to Lu Shaoming.

“Alright.” Lu Shaoming sat on the sofa, his legs crossed with dignity and elegance.

Ning Qing turned around with a smile. When she turned around, she accidentally caught Xu Junxi’s gaze. His face was very gloomy. Ning Qing even saw a blue vein jumping violently on his forehead.

Ning Qing sneered coldly. Why? Did it hurt him to see her bullying Ning Yao?

She would bully Ning Yao just to show him!

…

In the kitchen, Li Meiling applied the ointment to Ning Yao’s hands. The tears in Ning Yao’s eyes rushed down her face. She was so furious she cried. “Mom, that Ning Qing is too arrogant, and how can Dad do that? He didn’t help me at all!”

“Yaoyao, Mom knows you’ve been wronged today, but you have to bear with it first. Your dad has something to ask of Young Master Lu. You can’t ruin your dad’s business and make him angry.”

“Mom, how did Ning Qing get Young Master Lu? Young Master Lu has so much money, status, and dignity. Why does he like Ning Qing?”

Li Meiling sighed. “Sigh, Mom hadn’t known about this until this afternoon either. How could that little bitch Ning Qing be so lucky? We can’t end her no matter what we did.”

Li Meiling looked at the love interest on Ning Yao’s face and said in a cold voice, “You’d better not try to get Young Master Lu. The Lu family is not something you can climb up to. I discussed the date of the marriage with Xu Junxi’s mother this afternoon, so you can just wait to marry into the Xu family and become a young mistress.”

“Mom, I’m not thinking about getting Young Master Lu,” Ning Yao said, but her face was a little red; she was even more disgruntled. “You said I can’t climb up and get Young Master Lu. What about Ning Qing, she’s qualified to get him?”

“Pfft,” said Li Meiling with a contemptuous sneer. “Yaoyao, the Lu Corporation is a commercial empire, and the Lu family is a genuine noble family. As far as I know, Young Master Lu’s parents are now living in Los Angeles in the US. Their demands on their daughter-in-law are quite harsh. Do you think the Lu family will be able to accept Ning Qing? Young Master Lu is just toying with her. Watch how Mom will deal with her once Young Master Lu gets tired of her.”

“Yes!” Ning Yao nodded heavily. “Mom, you have to avenge me then, I…”

Ning Yao’s voice stopped abruptly because she saw Ning Qing leaning against the door, those cool beautiful eyes of hers indicated that she was silently laughing at them.

“What are you doing here?” Sparks of hatred burst out from Ning Yao’s eyes.

Li Meiling also looked up. She shielded Ning Yao behind herself and looked at Ning Qing sarcastically. “Ning Qing, haven’t you always been very noble? Why are you also playing these sneaky tricks now?”

Ning Qing stood there languidly. The side of her soft face was cold as she laughed and said, “Sneaky? Hah, Auntie Li, are you blind? Everyone sitting in the living room knew that I had splashed Yaoyao intentionally, but so what? No one would help you.”

“You!” Ning Yao was so furious that she was speechless.

Li Meiling smiled and said, “You feel honored that everyone has helped you along the way? Aren’t you still depending on Young Master Lu’s power, depending on a man? What are you showing off for?”

“Tsk tsk.” Ning Qing clicked her cherry mouth and retorted, “I’ve learned the skills of relying on men from Auntie Li and Yaoyao. Isn’t your purpose in life to hold on to men and make good use of them? Why haven’t you felt ashamed of showing off in front of me for 20 years?”

Li Meiling stared at Ning Qing, but she had no comeback.

Ning Qing gracefully stood upright. Her slender back was straight. She approached the mother and daughter one step at a time. She squinted her eyes and murmured, “Oh, I am different from the both of you. Look at the men you are trying to catch. What kind of prize are they? Why did they become cowards when they saw Young Master Lu? Being able to get Young Master Lu is an accomplishment of mine. Aren’t you interested in Young Master Lu, Ning Yao? Do you have the ability to make Young Master Lu look at you the way he looks at me? Hah, birds of a feather flock together. If you want to climb up the social ladder, you should take a mirror to look at yourself first!”

Ning Yao trembled with rage and Li Meiling’s expression turned ugly. She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth as she said, “Ning Qing, do you really think Young Master Lu will marry you? Do you think you will marry into the Lu family as Mrs. Lu? Dream on!”

“Hah…” Ning Qing suddenly remembered Xu Junxi’s mockery of her that day. Like this mother and daughter, he had said that Lu Shaoming was just toying with her. She wondered what the expressions of these people will be when the news of her marriage eventually comes to light.

Ning Qing laughed lightly. With a little wit, she asked, “Why don’t you take a guess, Auntie Li? Didn’t you say that you had known how I would end up 20 years ago? Haha, today I sit proudly in the Ning family’s living room while the both of you hide in the kitchen. Did you predict this when you were scheming all those years ago?”

“You!” Li Meiling raised her hand and tried to slap Ning Qing.

But her hand was intercepted by Ning Qing. Ning Qing sneered, “Auntie Li, are you so mad that you’re not thinking straight. Desperate? I advise you to think carefully before you slap me. If you dare to hit me, I can assure you that Ning Zhenguo will give you a slap in the face.”

Li Meiling’s eyes bulged in anger, but Ning Qing was right. If she did something to ruin Ning Zhenguo’s business, Ning Zhenguo would definitely deal with her.

She was now 45 years old, and could only rely on Ning Zhenguo for the rest of her life. She must not lose the man’s favor.

Li Meiling took back her hand.

“Hmph!” Ning Qing snorted coldly and looked at Ning Yao. She turned gracefully and calmly and left.

…

Everyone sat at the Ning family dining table for dinner. Ning Qing sat beside Lu Shaoming.

Ning Zhenguo carefully peeped at Lu Shaoming’s expression. This man had practiced taichi with him when they were chatting in the living room. He was very obscure about the “rights to land development.” He could not understand what he meant.

The man’s table manners were proper and elegant. Even his quietly sitting posture had an air of awe-inspiring courage. Ning Zhenguo looked at him a couple of times, a little nervous.

He did not dare to rush him, but he was afraid that Lu Shaoming would just leave after dinner, so Ning Zhenguo buckled up and grinned as he said, “Young Master Lu, I wonder if you could consider giving me the rights to develop that land. My company has already invested a lot of manpower and financial resources. If I don’t get the rights to develop the land, we will face bankruptcy. You know Qingqing is the precious daughter of our Ning family. If the company goes bankrupt, Qingqing will also be affected.”

His “precious daughter” caused goosebumps to rise on Ning Qing’s entire body as she sneered repeatedly in her heart.

“Tomorrow I’ll ask my Secretary contact you about the rights to develop the land,” Lu Shaoming opened his mouth and said.

This sentence made Ning Zhenguo happy and hopeful.

Ning Zhenguo kept winking at Ning Qing, asking her to say some good words and add fuel to his fire.

Ning Qing sneered; she didn’t know where Ning Zhenguo got his confidence from. If it hadn’t been for her grandmother, she would have wanted him to go bankrupt.

“I’ve come to dinner today because there’s something I want to discuss with you. I want to take care of my grandmother for a while.” Ning Qing looked at Ning Zhenguo and went straight to the point.

“This…” Ning Zhenguo was in a dilemma.

“No!” Li Meiling’s hand stiffened and she instantly refused.

Her voice was a little agitated. Everyone at the table was eating quietly and looked up at her as they realized that she was acting out of place.

Ning Qing saw that Li Meiling’s expression was unnatural and knew that she felt guilty!

“Qingqing, it’s not that Auntie doesn’t allow you to take care of Grandma, it’s just that Grandma is old and not in good health. It’s not suitable to move her, and Grandma’s mind has deteriorated after falling down the stairs. She has symptoms of dementia sometimes, and she strikes out and injure people at other times. We have a professional doctor here. They have taken care of Grandma for three years and are very experienced, which is helpful to her recovery.” Li Meiling calmed down and gave a reasonable excuse.

“Auntie Li, you don’t need to worry about all these things. I’ve arranged it over there. Grandma is also my grandmother. Grandma always spoiled me most. I just want to be filial to my grandma as a granddaughter.”

“But Qingqing, Grandma suffered a serious psychological trauma when she fell down the stairs. You live with elder sister; what if Grandma were to become agitated after seeing older sister again?”

Ning Qing knew that Li Meiling would bite on to this matter. Sure enough, Ning Zhenguo nodded repeatedly and agreed with Li Meiling.

Ning Qing drew up her lips and looked at Ning Zhenguo with a pair of bright autumn pupils. Word by word, she asked, “Are you really trying to stop me from taking care of my grandmother?”

Ning Zhenguo froze. The threat in Ning Qing’s eyes was too obvious. If he didn’t agree with her, the land development deal could not be discussed further.

Could she speak on behalf of Young Master Lu? Ning Zhenguo was suspicious.

Lu Shaoming put down his chopsticks and gracefully wiped the corners of his mouth with the wet towel on the table. His silent eyes gazed deeply at Ning Zhenguo, and he gently said to Ning Qing, “Ning Qing, let’s go.”

“Alright.” Ning Qing was about to get up.

“Young Master Lu, Qingqing, please stay!” Ning Zhenguo was so frightened that broke out in a cold sweat.

Just now, Lu Shaoming gazed at him deeply. His displeasure was mixed with a sharp unwillingness to compromise on the matter. The strong pressure made his back grow cold.

He felt that ever since Lu Shaoming had entered the door, he had said very little. He had condescended to them a bit. Every movement of his was full of nobility, and he had been standing guard beside Ning Qing. Ning Qing was like a brave little girl, moving forward bravely to fight for her rights and interests, while he waited beside her, his handsome figure giving her the most powerful backing.

This kind of pampering was like how a brother or father would defend a woman in their family.

When Ning Qing threatened him with “agree or disagree”, Young Master Lu had immediately said “let’s go”; he was very protective of her.

Ning Zhenguo couldn’t risk it. He bet on Ning Qing and laughed as he said, “Qingqing, you’ve misunderstood Dad. Dad knows you want to be filial. Grandma has been nagging for you these past three years. It’s already very late today. You can send a car to pick up Grandma to stay with you for a period of time tomorrow morning. If Grandma can’t adapt, then you should send her back.”

“Zhenguo!” Li Meiling wanted to speak.

“Well, that’s settled then.” Ning Qing glanced askance at Li Meiling with a raised willow eyebrow. Lu Shaoming had accompanied her today but Li Meiling couldn’t have seen that Ning Qing was going to win.

“Uncle Ning, I’ll ask my secretary to draw up a contract tomorrow. After Ning Qing has fetched Grandma away, you come to Guang Qing to sign the contract for the development rights.”

Ning Zhenguo’s eyes gleamed. He had not chosen wrongly. “That’s great. Thank you Young Master Lu. Qingqing, Dad is at ease, knowing that you’ll be taking care of Grandma.”

Letting Ning Qing take care of her grandmother for a couple days in exchange for the rights to land development was a matter of steady profits, and Ning Zhengguo really didn’t need to think that one through.

“Zhenguo…” Li Meiling still wanted to say something.

“Enough, stop talking,” Ning Zhengguo reprimanded her sternly. “Eat your dinner!”

Ning Qing felt refreshed after settling her grandmother’s matters. She looked at the man beside her gratefully. Lu Shaoming curved his lips; his eyes were full of tenderness.

At this time, a servant served up a plate of crabs. Ning Zhenguo said to Ning Qing, “Qingqing, Dad hasn’t forgotten that crabs are your favorite. Let the servant deshell one for you.”

“Do you like crabs?” Lu Shaoming asked in a curious voice.

“I…” Ning Qing wanted to answer.

But Xu Junxi answered for her, “Young Master Lu, Ning Qing does not like crabs. Not only does she dislike crabs, but she also has skin allergies when she eats them.”

Ning Zhenguo’s face was covered with embarrassment.

Ning Qing glared at Xu Junxi sharply. Nobody would think that he was dumb for not talking. In front of Lu Shaoming, she could affirm that he had said that intentionally.