“This matter is handed over to you. If you fail to handle it properly, take Ning Hong and get out!” Ning Zhongyi said coldly before returning to his room.
If Ning You still had any use, then the fact she ruined his plans alone would have earned her punishment.
But considering the factory director of the turbine plant was about to visit, he would endure it a little longer.
His words were icy and ruthless. He Meili drew a sharp breath, struck as if by lightning.
She sat on the sofa, both angry and hurt, and cried for a while.
After crying, she realized it was pointless—no one cared.
Wiping her face, she went to find Ning Hong.
..
The storage room was damp, dark, and carried an indescribable smell. He Meili frowned and covered her nose, her resentment toward Ning You deepening.
“What are you doing here?” Ning Hong said unhappily.
He Meili realized she had been misunderstood and sat beside her daughter, speaking gently.
“You’re my daughter. What’s wrong with me coming to see you?”
“Hmph!” Ning Hong snorted, sounding wronged. “You still know I’m your daughter…”
Which mother would let her daughter live in a storage room?
Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was a stepmother.
He Meili’s expression darkened slightly—but her anger wasn’t toward Ning Hong, but toward Ning You.
Her child was always good; anything bad must be someone else’s fault.
“Don’t say that. You’re hurting my feelings,” she said with a wounded expression. “If I didn’t care about you, would I have brought you into the Ning family?”
She tapped Ning Hong’s forehead.
“Don’t listen to that little bitch Ning You.”
“It’s such an obvious attempt to sow discord. I don’t believe you can’t see it.”
Ning Hong: “……”
She actually didn’t see it.
Afraid of being seen as stupid, she quickly straightened her expression.
“…You already said it was obvious, of course I saw it!”
He Meili studied her for a long moment and finally felt relieved.
“As long as you think that way.”
Then she added, “I’ve got this under control. Don’t worry. She won’t be in the way for much longer—at most another month…”
Ning Hong’s eyes lit up. “Mom, what are you going to do?”
She was eager to know Ning You’s fate.
He Meili, worried her daughter would ruin things, shook her head.
“You don’t need to worry about that. Just behave yourself for the next few days and don’t mess things up.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Ning Hong said excitedly, already imagining Ning You’s miserable ending.
Ning You, however, wasn’t afraid of their schemes at all—because they were about to be the ones overwhelmed.
She began packing.
She took everything she could, leaving not even a scrap of paper for the scumbag father and stepmother.
She packed several bundles—some stored in her space, some mailed away, some carried with her.
Looking at the “treasures” Ning Zhongyi had carefully hidden away, she smiled until her cheeks hurt.
That commercial street space she had—so what if she couldn’t fully use it yet? With these things, she could live comfortably anywhere.
Still, she felt a bit unwilling.
Since she had a golden finger, not being able to use it fully was just annoying.
She wandered around the space again—and was shocked to find that a section of the supermarket had unlocked.
The grain and oil section had partially opened!
Rice, flour, grains, oil!!!
Food—absolutely critical in times of famine.
She got excited.
But after a moment, she forced herself to calm down.
Something was wrong. She needed to figure out the unlocking condition.
She began analyzing everything carefully, and a vague idea formed in her mind.
Not certain yet—she needed more testing.
What she didn’t expect was that the opportunity would come so quickly.
Everything went smoothly. Freedom was just around the corner, and she was so excited she barely slept that night.
She got up early the next morning—before six.
As she opened the door, she ran straight into Ning Hong carrying two wooden buckets emitting a strong urine smell.
Seeing them triggered unpleasant memories in Ning You’s mind, and her expression darkened.
In the family compound, although it looked decent, the facilities were inconvenient. Toilets were on the first floor, making things troublesome.
In warm weather it was manageable, but in winter it was unbearable.
Each household prepared buckets for emergencies.
Once used, they quickly became foul if not cleaned daily.
The original Ning You had been forced to clean them for seven years.
Seeing Ning Hong struggling with the same humiliating task, something in Ning You snapped.
Half-awake but bolder than usual, Ning Hong glared at her.
“What are you looking at? This kind of lowly job should be yours! Why should I do it? Go tell my mom you’re willing to clean the buckets, or I’ll fight you!”
Ning You was in a bad mood and didn’t bother listening further. She punched her in the stomach.
“Are you done talking?”
“You said my room smells like urine before, didn’t you?”
She slapped her again.
“So it smells like urine, huh? How is your room now—nice and fragrant?”
“Even dogs know to bury their own shit. Do you need someone to teach you that too?”
This whole family had gone out of their way to bully the original Ning You—truly disgusting.
Unable to hold back her temper, she hit Ning Hong again.
“Ah!” Ning Hong cried out in pain, stumbling back, every hit landing cleanly.
“Ning You, stop! Stop it! Don’t hit me anymore… I won’t make you clean it anymore! Just don’t hit me! Don’t hit my face—I still need to go on blind dates…”
She cried while still worrying about marriage.
Ning You was speechless.
After beating her thoroughly and throwing her on the ground, she slammed the door shut and entered her space, heading straight for the supermarket.
“…It really unlocked?!” she was surprised—though only a small section had opened, just green beans.
So it really was unlocked through “face-slapping.”
Yesterday she had guessed the trigger might be dealing with Ning Zhongyi.
Now she confirmed it: the space system unlocked through beating up the Ning family.
Good news.
But…
Was it only Ning family members that worked? Or would outsiders count too?
She’d have to test that later.
😉
After being beaten, Ning Hong sat on the ground crying.
Only then did He Meili come out.
Seeing her daughter sitting next to a filthy bucket, she wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen anything.
“Mom, why are you only coming now? Ning You hit me! She slapped my face and hit my stomach—you have to avenge me, or I won’t live anymore!”
He Meili suddenly thought of her former mother-in-law, a vulgar woman who would always sit on the ground and throw tantrums.
Ning Hong looked exactly like her.
She felt a wave of irritation.
“Enough!”
“Look at yourself! Throwing tantrums over everything—what kind of worker behaves like this? Get up and talk properly.”
Ning Hong stopped crying abruptly and stood up obediently.
“Why did Ning You hit you?” He Meili asked.
“I made her clean the bucket and she refused,” Ning Hong cried. “If she won’t do it, fine—but she hit me! She hit my stomach! She hit my face! My face is ruined—I still have to go on blind dates!”
She angrily stomped her foot.
Not getting married before twenty was Ning Hong’s obsession.
For her, life meant only one thing:
—keep going on blind dates.