He Jing stopped in her tracks and looked at him strangely. "Why are you apologizing to me?"
He Ning also stopped and looked straight at her with his beautiful eyes. His eyes were filled with seriousness. "If I hadn't asked, Fourth Brother wouldn't have said those words. I apologize for my and Fourth Brother's actions."
He Jing pursed her red lips tightly and remained silent for a while. She observed He Ning's reaction and saw the feigned calmness on his face concealing his unease. Unable to hold back, she burst into laughter, "Haha! Second Brother is so serious. I thought it was something major, but it turns out to be this. Don't worry, I didn't take it to heart."
He Ning still didn't believe his ears, "Really?"
"Of course."
When He Sui wrongly accused her, she deliberately did not explain, just to wait for them to find out.
People only believed what they saw, not what others said. She had just joined this family, and the slightest movement would cause them to be vigilant and panic. It was normal for them to suspect her.
She wasn't angry at all, but her excessively good-natured leniency would only make people think they could take advantage of her. To prevent them from doing more outrageous things in the future, she could only pretend to be angry.
She didn't expect the effect to be better than she had imagined. He Ning, who was only gentle to Cheng Yi in the original novel, had already opened a hole in his heart. He Jing didn't believe that she couldn't pierce through it.
Sure enough, He Ning's complexion visibly improved. He looked at her, his handsome face still had a cold look, but his tone had unconsciously softened a lot, "But don't do such things in the future. You should behave like a student at school. You're not a businessman."
He Jing nodded and smiled with narrowed eyes, "I understand."
He Ning didn't say anything else, and the two of them went home together.
...
He Jing thought that when she returned home, the house would definitely be pitch-black. However, that wasn't the case. The clock passed twenty minutes, and the He family's house was brightly lit. Other than He Xiaoguo, Father He and Mother He, as well as He Sui, were sitting in a row on the sofa in the living room. None of them were asleep.
As they saw their return, the three of them stood up from the sofa almost in unison and said one after another, "You guys are back."
He Jing greeted them one by one, "Dad, Mom, Fourth Brother, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Mother He pushed He Sui with an unnatural expression, causing him to stagger and fall in front of He Jing. He Sui's arrogant face was filled with reluctance. He lowered his head and quickly said, "I'm sorry."
If one didn't listen carefully, one wouldn't be able to hear it clearly.
He Jing teased him intentionally and deliberately smiled mischievously, "Fourth Brother, what did you say? I didn't hear you clearly."
He Sui immediately raised his head and glared at her fiercely. Then, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "I said I'm sorry!"
He Ning frowned. He Jing smiled gently. "It's okay, Fourth Brother, don't take it to heart."
Only then did Mother He say, "Jingjing, this matter is Xiaosui's fault. Don't take it to heart. Xiaosui promised me that it will never happen again."
He Jing smiled lightly when she heard that. Her eyes were like crescents. "I believe what Fourth Brother said. The oden is still in my room. They can be reheated and eaten tomorrow morning."
He Sui saw that He Jing wasn't being unreasonable and unforgiving, so he forced himself to calm down. He turned to He Ning and asked straightforwardly, "Second Brother, did you go out specifically to pick her up?"
He Ning pursed his thin lips and his expression immediately became very unpleasant. He Jing made a sound of surprise and looked at him with confusion. Their eyes met. Before He Jing could say anything, He Ning strode back to his room and slammed the door coldly.
Mother He was afraid that He Jing had been bullied and asked worriedly, "Jingjing, did anything happen between you and Xiao Ning? Did you happen to run into each other on the way back?"