“That just means you don’t care about me,” Ning You said in a tea-like, provocative tone. “If it were Ning Hong, whether she eats or not, the stepmother would still prepare food for her, right?”
Ning Hong immediately said, “Of course! She’s my real mom. If she doesn’t care about me, is she going to care about you?”
He Meili was stabbed in the back by her biological daughter and her face darkened.
…Ning Hong really couldn’t tell who was closer or farther away!
She wanted to smooth things over, but Ning You was one step faster, looking at Ning Zhongyi sympathetically.
“You heard that, right? Is this still the Ning family? It’s already turned into the world of this mother and daughter pair.
You think they’re slapping my face? No—they’re not even putting you, the head of the household, in their eyes.”
“I’m your daughter. If I don’t get food, it means you don’t get food either! He Meili using your Ning money to pamper that surnamed Guo’s daughter—doesn’t that mean she has ulterior motives?”
She pulled out a chair across from Ning Zhongyi and sat down heavily, continuing to stir things up.
“Think about it, doesn’t that make sense?”
“Even if we father and daughter aren’t close, that’s between us. What does it have to do with outsiders? Why are they giving me sarcasm and indirect pressure?”
Ning Zhongyi’s expression shifted slightly.
Although Ning You clearly intended to sow discord, her words did make sense.
He Meili had repeatedly gone against his instructions in subtle ways—did that not mean her ambitions had grown?
Thinking of this, his cold eyes grew even sharper.
He Meili, as his wife, immediately noticed the change in his expression and her face changed dramatically.
“Old Ning, I didn’t…”
“Go get Ning You’s bowl and chopsticks!” Ning Zhongyi interrupted sharply.
Ning You’s words had already planted a thorn in his heart. Every time he thought about it, it irritated him more and more, and his patience with He Meili was gone.
He Meili clenched her fists, her sharp nails digging into her palm.
“Yes.”
Ning You looked satisfied, drinking water calmly as if she had done nothing at all.
Ning Zhongyi glanced at her, then closed his eyes, thinking about work at the factory.
He wasn’t in the project team?
Preposterous!
With his ability and qualifications, how could he not even be a member?
There must be something going on behind the scenes.
Ning You took a sip of water and suddenly said, “Old Ning, I want money and ration coupons!”
Ning Zhongyi opened his eyes and frowned. “Didn’t I already give you fifty…”
“Fifty yuan is nothing!” Ning You said.
“I don’t have a mother, and my father doesn’t care. Everything I need I have to buy myself. There are so many things missing—what can that little money even do?”
She rolled her eyes and dragged Ning Hong into the mess.
“Look at what Ning Hong and the fat kid are wearing, then look at the patches on my clothes. Do I really have the father of a senior engineer?”
Ning Hong said weakly, “What does this have to do with me…”
Ning Yu, whose name had been “lost” due to his weight, looked down at his belly and protested, “I’m not fat. I’m just full of ideals and faith—my body is just slightly expanded.”
Ning You ignored them and continued her performance.
“Is it really like people say—once there’s a stepmother, there’s also a stepfather?”
“No way, right? Old Ning, you’re an educated intellectual. You wouldn’t be so unclear-headed, would you?”
She sighed faintly.
“Actually, even fingers have length differences. Being biased isn’t a problem—but what if you’re biased toward the wrong side?”
“I’m just afraid you’ll end up being taken advantage of like a sucker.”
Her tone was complex and emotional, as if Ning Zhongyi was already the ultimate “sucker.”
Ning Zhongyi, the “sucker,” felt suffocated and began questioning himself.
Was he… really?
Maybe… he was.
He pulled out five large banknotes and placed them on the table.
As for being a sucker or not… that could wait.
Right now, he just wanted peace and quiet.
Ning You didn’t take it immediately, giving him a look as if he were poor.
Seeing this, Ning Zhongyi exhaled and added five more notes, along with some ration coupons.
With warning in his eyes, he asked, “Enough now?”
His temper was rising.
Ning You finally accepted happily.
“As expected of a top talent from a big factory—so generous! Old Ning, the way you pay is really refreshing. I hereby declare you… a high-quality human male!”
This round of emotional manipulation also made her realize clearly that the scumbag father had a lot of money—big money.
If she didn’t get it all, she wouldn’t leave.
The Ning family’s money belonged to her “Dandan.” Even if it was donated or burned, it could not go to this family.
Ning Zhongyi, after several days of frustration, had not heard a single nice word from her.
Now hearing praise, he actually felt a bit like a proper father again and felt slightly pleased.
“Don’t think that just because you said something nice, I’ll forget how you’ve been causing trouble and embarrassing the family.”
Ning You: …Huh?
Was that even a compliment?
“High-quality human male” counted as praise?
Alright, if Old Ning thinks so, then so be it.
He Meili came in and saw Ning You slowly putting a thick stack of banknotes into her pocket, stunned.
How could Ning Zhongyi possibly give her so much money?
Noticing her shocked gaze, Ning You smiled slightly—beautifully.
But to He Meili, it looked like pure provocation, making her even more suffocated.
Since Ning You had not been allowed at the table for days, dumplings had not been prepared for her.
Now that she wanted to eat, He Meili had to cut from her own and Ning Hong’s portion.
Afraid she would cause trouble again, she gave her a full bowl.
“Here, your dumplings. They’re a bit hot—eat slowly.”
At night.
Ning You sat at her desk writing letters with her left hand.
She wrote three before stopping.
Charges included:
Ning Zhongyi—illegally hoarding gold bars, antiques, jewelry, etc.
He Meili—suspicious childbirth timing of Ning Yu, implying moral misconduct.
Ning Hong—bourgeois lifestyle, looking down on workers, possessing foreign-language books, suspected ideological issues.
After finishing the denunciation letters, she stored them in her space, waiting for the right moment to release them.
Click.
A faint sound came from the living room.
Ning You’s eyes sharpened. She quietly moved to the door and looked through the keyhole.
It was Ning Zhongyi.
In the middle of the night, dressed in black, clearly going out for some shady business.
The door closed.
She did not move.
After a while, the door opened again.
Ning Zhongyi scanned the house carefully to confirm everyone was asleep, then left again.
Shortly after, Ning You’s own door opened.
A slender figure slipped out and followed at a steady pace.
Ning Zhongyi was cautious, looking back every few steps, but moving quickly.
Ning You did not follow too closely. Observing his route, she immediately understood—
He was going toward the “red lantern” place.
Wait.
What does that place even have to do with a red lantern?
Ning Yu, looking wronged with a double chin, muttered: It did have a red lantern back then…