Kangning Grand Hotel is now famous nationwide, firmly holding the top spot in the hotel industry. Its 5% shares are incredibly valuable, a huge benefit. The Ning family wants Ning Zeshu to take these shares, but they are reluctant due to Ning Zeshu’s poor marriage prospects.
In the current generation of the He family, although He Dingbang has many unmarried children, the Ning family is resistant because they are all illegitimate children with unknown mothers.
Only He Shixia is a legitimate child, with his mother being the current head of the He family, and he himself has an excellent reputation, making him the best candidate for an aristocratic marriage.
Although He Shixia mentioned that the origins of this marriage contract between the two families are quite crucial, it wasn’t mentioned in the original novel. Anyway, it was ruined because of the “fake young master climbing into bed” incident.
In the subsequent plot development, although the real young master Ning Zeshu had a significant role in the Kangning board of directors, the details about the shares weren’t specifically written. In the end, Ning Zeshu took control of Kangning.
“So, does the person fulfilling the marriage contract from the He family get any benefits? I see your parents are quite enthusiastic,” Ning Yichu asked curiously.
He Shixia shook his head, “That’s what puzzles me. This marriage contract doesn’t really benefit the He family. I asked my mom, but she didn’t give me a direct answer.”
Ning Yichu thought about the original plot, wondering if He Weian and Tang Qingshan, or something from the He family, were being held by the Ning family, which is why the He family was willing to “sacrifice” He Shixia for the marriage.
As they talked, He Shixia suddenly thought of something, “Ah Ning, you’re nominally a Ning family member too. Now that we’re married, it counts as fulfilling the marriage contract between the two families, right? How about we go and ask for that 5% share from Kangning? It seems quite legitimate.”
Ning Yichu laughed, “Do you really think the Ning family is that stupid? They guard against me like I’m a thief. They made me sign an agreement as soon as I turned eighteen. Unless they voluntarily give it to me, I can’t get any property from the Ning family. I’m also puzzled, why do they insist on keeping me in the Ning family? Do I have such a big impact on the Ning family’s reputation?”
He Shixia frowned.
“But I’ll make them give it to me voluntarily,” Ning Yichu continued to smile.
He Shixia asked softly, “Are we going to the Ning family now?”
Ning Yichu glanced at the time, “Not today, it’s a bit late. Let’s pick up the dog and go back to the He family. We’ll go to the Ning family tomorrow. I’ll have the whole day to slowly pack my things.”
So He Shixia instructed the people he sent to continue investigating at the hotel, then drove Ning Yichu away.
The hotel was quite a distance from the pet hospital, and by the time they returned, it was already dark.
Junzi was already on the operating table, just anesthetized. The nurse was about to take a photo to send to He Shixia to update him on the progress when they arrived.
The neutering surgery for a male dog is simple, taking less than twenty minutes. The nurse even held the two things just removed from between Junzi’s hind legs, asking He Shixia and Ning Yichu if they wanted to take them home.
He Shixia raised an eyebrow.
Ning Yichu’s expression was indescribable.
The nurse, accustomed to this, said, “Some owners want to take them home as a keepsake. Of course, most owners think it’s unnecessary and don’t take them. We have to ask to decide how to handle them to avoid future disputes.”
Ning Yichu instructed He Shixia to take a photo, “Take a picture and send it to He Ruzhu, tell him Junzi can only be a gentleman from now on. Then we won’t take these things.”
Since Ning Yichu said so, He Shixia took the photo, sent it to He Ruzhu, and quickly deleted it, not wanting to keep such a photo in his album, feeling like it was cyber pollution…
Just after the surgery, Junzi hadn’t woken up from the anesthesia, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless.
After listening to the vet’s post-operative care instructions, they left with Junzi and the anti-inflammatory spray from the hospital.
As soon as they returned to the He family, He Ruzhu rushed over, wailing, “Junzi! My poor little Junzi, your balls are gone just like that, losing worldly desires at such a young age…”
He Ruzhu glared at Ning Yichu, “It must be you who ordered it! Who let you touch my dog!”
Ning Yichu coldly replied, “Say one more word and I’ll neuter you too.”
He Ruzhu, like his dog, bullied the weak and feared the strong, immediately intimidated, even sniffled, his arrogance diminishing.
He Shixia handed the dog and medicine to He Ruzhu, “Just in time, you take it back and take good care of it.”
Junzi had woken up from the anesthesia, resting its head on the Elizabethan collar, looking listless and allowing itself to be handled.
He Ruzhu, holding the dog, also became dejected, “Sixth Brother… Grandmother really won’t let us return to the main house?”
He Shixia replied, “Your attitude towards Ah Ning just now doesn’t seem like you still consider me your Sixth Brother.”
He Ruzhu choked, looking at Ning Yichu.
Ning Yichu looked back at him leisurely.
He Ruzhu pouted, reluctantly muttering, “Well, sorry then.”
Ning Yichu patted Junzi’s head, then walked away.
He Shixia followed him.
He Ruzhu called out, “Sixth Brother!”
He Shixia didn’t look back, “Learn to be polite first.”
He Shixia and Ning Yichu headed back to the main house, while He Ruzhu, remembering what Grandmother said, didn’t dare to follow, holding the dog and muttering, “I don’t think Ning Yichu is that polite either,” as he walked back to the side house.
At dinner time, only Ning Yichu and He Shixia were eating in the dining room.
He Shixia’s parents hadn’t returned from the company yet, and He Ruxue’s gallery had an event today. She coaxed the unhappy He Grandmother to go out with her, and after visiting the exhibition, the grandmother and granddaughter had dinner outside.
…
The next morning, He Shixia drove Ning Yichu to the Ning family.
Today was Saturday, and according to Old Master Ning’s “old-fashioned” requirements, unless there was something urgent, the Ning family had to stay at the Ning Family Old Residence, enjoying family time together.
Hearing that Ning Yichu had returned, and that He Shixia was with him, the Ning family members all had strange expressions, looking at Ning Yichu’s adoptive parents—Ning Shaoren and his wife Han Wenhua.
Including those not completely kicked out like He Grandfather and He Dingbang, the He family had twelve people, not counting Ning Yichu.
The Ning family had even more.
But the He family’s numbers were thanks to He Dingbang’s many illegitimate children. The Ning family’s numbers were thanks to Old Master Ning’s vitality—
Old Master Ning was exactly eighty years old this year and had been married four times in his life.
At twenty, he married his first wife, having a son and a daughter. This marriage lasted twenty-five years, ending with his first wife’s death.
A year after his first wife’s death, forty-six-year-old Old Master Ning remarried. His second wife, Liu Shuang, was sixteen years younger than him. This marriage lasted ten years, during which they had a son and a daughter.
The missing fourth child was born during his second marriage, the result of an affair.
Liu Shuang divorced Old Master Ning due to his infidelity. After the second marriage ended, Old Master Ning’s third marriage began with his previous affair partner, Yu Lianlian, who was thirty-one years younger than him.
When the third marriage began, Old Master Ning was fifty-six, and his third wife, Yu Lianlian, was only twenty-five.
This marriage lasted twenty years, during which they had two daughters.
Four years ago, Yu Lianlian, under pressure, had to divorce and make way for the seventy-six-year-old Old Master Ning to marry his then twenty-four-year-old fourth wife, Lu Xi.
Lu Xi was already nine months pregnant when she married Old Master Ning, giving birth to his youngest son as soon as she entered the Ning family.
Old Master Ning had eight children in total, the oldest being sixty and the youngest only four. Only the eldest son and second daughter were married.
The eldest son, Ning Shaoren, and his wife, Han Wenhua, had two sons: thirty-five-year-old Ning Zeqi and twenty-two-year-old Ning Zeshu.
The second daughter, Ning Anchun, married a man who joined the family, named Wang Mian. They’ve been married for over thirty years without children.
The third son, Ning Shaoyi, is now thirty-two, and none of the younger siblings are married or have brought illegitimate children home, or the Ning family would be even livelier.
However, the Ning family is lively enough—Old Master Ning’s second wife, Liu Shuang, and third wife, Yu Lianlian, still live in the Ning family after their divorces.
Liu Shuang, dissatisfied with Old Master Ning’s infidelity, chose to divorce. After traveling the world, she found that without considering marriage, living in the Ning family was more comfortable. Given that she had contributed a son and daughter to the Ning family, Old Master Ning allowed her to return.
Yu Lianlian, forced to make way, never left the Ning family after the divorce. Old Master Ning, for the sake of their children, didn’t drive her away. The fourth wife, Lu Xi, wasn’t happy about this but had no choice.
—With such a family tradition, Ning Yichu couldn’t understand why the Ning family insisted on keeping him, just to make the outside world think the Ning family was kind-hearted and improve their reputation? It seemed unlikely to have much effect.
Thanks to the Ning family’s external narrative, Ning Yichu had indeed faced ridicule and scorn over the years, but as far as he knew, it hadn’t suppressed the reputation Old Master Ning’s personal conduct had established for the Ning family, at most adding a laughingstock.
In summary, not counting Ning Yichu, the Ning family had sixteen people.
But at the moment, only fifteen were present, as the family’s most treasured young master, Ning Zeshu, was not home.
“Xiao Chu, you’re back! What a coincidence, you came back when Xiao Shu isn’t here,” Lu Xi said with a smile.
If you didn’t listen to her words, just looking at her expression, you wouldn’t see any sarcasm or unwelcoming attitude.
Old Master Ning frowned, “Why are you back? Shixia is here too, what’s with your neck, are you hurt?”
Seeing the bandage on He Shixia’s neck, Old Master Ning showed some concern. After getting He Shixia’s “just a small injury, it’s fine now” response, he didn’t ask further, instead, he reproached, “Why are you as unruly as this little brat, visiting without even a phone call in advance?”
Ning Yichu laughed, “We’re all family, notifying you in advance for a welcome would be too formal, no need.”
Old Master Ning’s face darkened further.
Ning Yichu’s adoptive brother, Ning Zeqi, sneered, “So you came back with a backer to show off? Wrong place to flaunt, isn’t it?”
“Having a He family child in the belly really makes a difference, our Xiao Chu speaks with more confidence, more outgoing than before,” Old Master Ning’s second wife, Liu Shuang, laughed.
Ning Yichu’s adoptive parents looked displeased, with his adoptive father, Ning Shaoren, sternly saying, “Alright, Shixia, Xiao Chu, do you have any business here? This attitude doesn’t seem like a proper family visit.”
“If you’re here to show off to Xiao Shu, too bad, he’s really not here today, come another time,” Old Master Ning’s third son, Ning Shaoyi, who had pushed Ning Yichu down the stairs as a child, suddenly spoke.
“He’s not here? How about calling him back?” Ning Yichu said with interest, “After all, uncle is about to become a brother, missing the recognition scene would be a regret.”
Author’s Note: