Chapter 119 - Ning Qing’s Humiliating Past

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

“You...” After he had been humiliated by Xu Lin, the school beau stood up quickly with a dark expression.

“Hey, Xu Lin, do you know how to talk? Love is irrespective of social status. Besides, our school beau only wants to make friends with Ning Qing and had not intended to woo her. Are we wrong for wanting to be closer to our goddess?” The president of the student union naturally had many classmates’ support, and someone came to his defence.

“Hah, you’re not wrong, but I wonder what your goddess thinks about this?”

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Ning Qing’s face.

Everyone was waiting for Ning Qing’s answer.

Ning Qing met Xu Lin’s provocative gaze, and she said to the school beau, “We really are not suitable to be friends.”

“What?” The school beau and the other students’ faces changed.

“Haha, you heard it yourself, how could the goddess be friends with you mortals? If you want to be friends with her, wait until you have power and money, then try again.” Xu Lin laughed.

Ning Qing ignored Xu Lin. She just looked at the school beau frankly. “You want to be friends with me because you like me, but I don’t want to be friends with you because I don’t want to hold you back. I don’t want to make use of your love for me and turn you into one of my back up plans, let alone give you hope and waste your time. It’s best for both of us to keep our distance from each other.”

Xu Lin had provoked her. If she were smart, she would have agreed to be friends first and given Xu Lin a slap in the face late, but she was unwilling to do so.

If she had promised to be friends with the school beau today, many other pursuers would flock to her tomorrow. She couldn’t afford to waste other people’s youth. Similarly, Lu Shaoming would be angry and jealous when he figured it out.

There was no place for any jealousy in the world of love.

Ning Qing’s words were cold but rational, and the school beau was impressed. “Ning Qing, no matter what, I still like you. I’m willing to do as you say, and I’ll still pay attention to you silently in the future.”

“Alright, you guys!” The crowd gathered to praise Ning Qing and the school beau.

A spurt of anger flashed on Xu Lin’s face, but she laughed quickly. She turned around, hooked her arm in Mother Xu’s arm, and brought her in front of everyone. “Auntie, do you remember Ning Qing? She used to be your soon to be daughter-in-law.”

Mother Xu had seen the scene clearly just now. The more people chased after Ning Qing, the better Ning Qing’s life was, the more her expression soured.

Remembering how Ning Qing had made things difficult for them in front of Emperor Entertainment Group’s board of directors and her disdain for the Xu family, she gnashed her teeth in anger.

“Hmph, who is Ning Qing now? Does she still have me and our Junxi in her eyes? We are not worthy to claim ties with her,” Mother Xu sneered.

“Auntie Xu, what you’ve said is too heavy. When Ning Qing was chased out by her father three years ago, did you help her? How could you blame her for being ruthless when you had abandoned her in the first place?” Lin Xuemei spoke up to fight for Ning Qing.

“You!” Mother Xu was furious.

Xu Lin laughed and said, “That’s right, but my auntie is Ning Qing’s elder after all. Does she know nothing about her upbringing of respecting the old and loving the young?”

Lin Xuemei wanted to speak, but Ning Qing grabbed her sleeve and shook her head gently.

She stepped forward, straightened up her slim back and looked at her Mother Xu, smiling coldly as she said, “Three years ago, I was chased out of the house. Even the college tuition fees had become a problem. I went to your door to borrow money from you. Have you forgotten how you had treated me? My upbringing has never been about respecting the old and loving the young, but clearly distinguishing between love and hatred. For those despicable people who have cast misfortune on those already unfortunate, I shall make you unworthy to claim ties with me, and I shall make you look up to me with resent!”

“Good!” As soon as Ning Qing’s words fell, the crowd echoed loudly.

“Hmph, Ning Qing, you’ve said so much, but isn’t it because Young Master Lu is richer than my cousin Xu Junxi in the end? You dumped my cousin so quickly and landed Young Master Lu. It’s clear that you were the one clambering over the dragon and attaching yourself to those in power!”

Ning Qing sneered, “You are two-faced and this is only your side of the story. If I had left your cousin and found a poor guy, what would you have said? Look, Ning Qing could only find someone like that after leaving the Xu family. Now I’ve found Young Master Lu, who is richer, better and more considerate than your cousin. You say that I’m clambering over the dragon and attaching myself to those in power. It’s funny. Does my future depend on you? Since the moment you abandoned me three years ago, how poor or how rich I become has nothing to do with you anymore. What are you even? You can’t give me anything, but yet you are jealous of what others have attained! ”

“Great, what Ning Qing said is very good!” All the students’ passion was kindled, as a flood of applause broke out.

Mother Xu’s face turned dark red, while Xu Lin’s face turned pale and red. She had long since heard that Ning Qing’s mouth was sharp and had indeed experienced it for herself today.

“That’s right. Besides, Auntie Xu, three years ago, it was Xu Junxi himself who had cheated with Ning Yao, and he had also generously admitted it in public. Do you still expect Ning Qing to stay in place and wait for Xu Junxi to return?” Lin Xuemei asked.

Xu Lin smiled immediately. Look at this, Lin Xuemei had finally mentioned today’s focus.

She was not here to argue with Ning Qing tonight.

Xu Lin stepped forward and approached Ning Qing step by step. “Ning Qing, was it really my cousin’s fault that you had broken up three years ago? There are so many people here today. Would you like to tell them the dirty things you have done?”

Ning Qing stood still. She looked at Xu Lin’s confident face and her heart sank.

She had a very bad feeling.

“Xu Lin, you’d better not slander people. What Ning Qing did three years ago, you can say it if you dare,” the school beau roared.

“Oh,” said Xu Lin, looking at Ning Qing’s pale face with a smile. “Do you guys remember the legendary Master Mu Yunfan of T City?”

Mu Yunfan?

When she heard the name again three years later, Ning Qing’s heart felt as though it had been crushed by a ton of bricks. She was in so much pain she could hardly breathe.

She finally knew Xu Lin’s purpose for coming tonight.

But how could this be? She had always thought that nobody knew except for the few parties involved.

“Remember. How could anyone in T city not know of Master Mu?” the school beau said.

“Master Mu and Ning Qing’s good sister, Yin Shuiling, were engaged since childhood, and three years ago Ning Qing and my cousin Xu Junxi were also engaged to marry. The children of these four families had all became couples. They were the legendary couples of their generation. It was a pity that...”

“What’s a pity? Don’t leave us hanging anymore,” someone shouted.

“Unfortunately, just three years ago, at Master Mu’s 20th birthday party, 18-year-old Ning Qing had quietly climbed into Master Mu’s bed!” Xu Lin pointed at Ning Qing and said fiercely.

“Wow.” The entire place was in a mess.

Everyone looked at Ning Qing in disbelief.

“Ning Qing.” Ning Qing stumbled back a few steps, and Lin Xuemei quickly reached out to help her. “Enough, Xu Lin, you weren’t there three years ago, and there wasn’t any evidence. You are framing her!”

“There is no impervious wall in this world. Ning Qing, dare you swear in front of so many people that you haven’t been in the bed of Master Mu?” Xu Lin asked Ning Qing aggressively.

Did she dare swear?

Ning Qing dared not.

Because that was the...truth.

But...but what had happened three years ago, she hadn’t known how it had happened.

When people saw Ning Qing staring silently at the ground, they were shocked. The school beau was disappointed with Ning Qing and stepped back.

At this moment, Mother Xu ran forward in shock. She grabbed Xu Lin and asked, “What, is what you have said true, Ling Ling? Why don’t I know about it? Did Junxi know that?”

Xu Lin patted her aunt’s hand and nodded slowly. “My cousin knows about it.”

Ning Qing was shocked, her pupils constricted sharply. Xu Junxi...he knew!

Xu Lin saw that she had shocked the crowd. She turned to Ning Qing and said, “Ning Qing, you always thought that my cousin had failed you by cheating on you, but how would you know the suffering and pain in his heart all these years? His fiancee and his good brother had slept together. He couldn’t accept it and couldn’t expose you. He couldn’t face the both of you. He didn’t dare to ask you, do you know why? Because my cousin loved you so much. He was afraid of blowing things up. He was afraid that you would be utterly discredited and would never be able to hold your head high again in T City.

“How righteous and magnificent you were at my cousin and Sister Yao Yao’s engagement dinner. Everyone saw how aggressive and domineering you were. My cousin could only endure the suffering silently and put all the blame on himself. He was so restrained and honest, so gentlemanly. You ask yourself, can you honor his deep feelings and conscience?”

Ning Qing was unable to refute any of Xu Lin’s words. Three years ago, that incident was her magic barrier and her insurmountable calamity.

Mother Xu wept inconsolably. She hammered herself in the chest and cried out, “What sin have I committed? How has that child Junxi survived these three years? Why did he ever meet Ning Qing?”

At this time, Mother Xu’s crying was more effective than any criticism. People looked at Ning Qing with even more unfriendly gazes and shook their heads one after another.

Xu Lin saw that she had controlled the entire situation, and Ning Qing could not refute her. She was feeling more pleased. She believed Ning Yao’s words. As long as she told everyone about this incident, it would be Ning Qing’s weakness.

“At that time, the Mu family was the most influential family in T city. How many people admired Young Master Mu? Ning Qing, why did you climb into his bed? Was it because of the Mu family’s power or Master Mu’s good looks? You know Master Mu was your good sister Yin Shuiling’s fiance. It’s very shameful for you to snatch away her love!”

“No, I didn’t, I...” Ning Qing wanted to explain that she hadn’t meant it.

But Xu Lin interrupted her, “What’s the use of discussing how she had climbed into his bed now? Now we should talk about the consequences of climbing into his bed.”

Ning Qing’s face turned pale and she could hardly stand. Her heart was in agonizing pain. Warm liquid dripped from the corners of her eyes, and she burst into tears in an instant.

“Three years ago, Yin Shuiling, the little princess of T City, was best friends with T City’s richest socialite Ning Qing. It was said that they could share everything except men. But do you all know why the sisters have become strangers now? That’s because not only did Ning Qing snatch her love away, but the most important thing was that the Yin family had encountered a financial crisis at that time, but they were keen to protect their daughter. So Father Yin had slapped Mu Yunfan in public, which led to the break of the two families. Later, the Mu family did not help the Yin family. Mother Yin died of a heart attack on the spot. Father Yin was sentenced to life imprisonment. He is still in prison now. Yin Shuiling changed from a princess to an orphan daughter and fled to other places.

“After some time, the Mu family moved to Singapore three years ago. The four families of Mu, Yin, Xu, and Ning grew further and further apart, and the friendship between generations had been broken overnight.”

When Xu Lin finished, the audience was silent.

She looked at Ning Qing, who was full of tears, and asked with a sneer, “Ning Qing, you’ve hurt so many people alone, do you know you are guilty?

“But your crime does not stop there. The darkest and most selfish thing about you is that you know you’re guilty, but you don’t say it out loud! You think that nobody knows about it. You want to deceive yourself and others all your life!”

“No, it’s not like that. I didn’t...” Ning Qing lost control and screamed. She threw aside Lin Xuemei’s hand and ran away.

The people left behind exclaimed in shock and started whispering amongst themselves.

The situation seemed turbulent this evening; it was doomed to be an extraordinary night.

...

Ning Qing went back to the Tea Pavilion Villa. Auntie Yang had taken a day off to take care of her grandson and was not in the villa.

And this month, Grandma had a craniotomy, and her health was improving day by day. Her memory was returning slowly. Her mother had brought Grandma and moved away from the villa, back to their own little condo.

The big villa was empty, with not a single soul in it. It felt very lonely.

It aptly reflected Ning Qing’s mood, grey and hazy like it was covered in fog. She couldn’t see herself. She couldn’t see the way ahead. She was completely lost.

She felt very cold, as if she were walking alone on a path with the cold wind biting at her face, landing like the sharp blade of a knife.

Down in spirit, she went upstairs and into the cellar. She took out a glass of fine red wine and drank it.

Her little body was huddled in the corner by the wall. She looked up and downed a glass of red wine.

Three years ago, she had attended Brother Yunfan’s 20th birthday party with Shuiling and Junxi. The four of them had grown up together, and on such a happy occasion, they had laughed and played. They had been so happy.

She drank some wine, this was her first time drinking, and she felt drunk and dizzy after drinking it. She got up and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

Not knowing which room it was, she opened it and went in. She fell into the soft bed as she blacked out.

She wanted to get up, but she was powerless.

In a daze, she heard the door open. It was Brother Yunfan’s voice. With a little drunkenness, he was laughing with some male friends. “Is this the room?”

“Yes, this is our 20th birthday gift for you. The chick’s out of this world. 16 years old, she’s very tender. She’s going to help you become a man.”

At that time, she had not understood the meaning of their words. She wanted to get up, but could not get up. At that time, a hot body pressed down on her.

It was the smell of Brother Yunfan. The faint scent of men’s cologne lingered with the scent of wine.

Someone came to kiss her. She was scared and avoided the kiss.

Then she felt the buttons of her clothes being ripped off, and she struggled to hide her body shamefully, but she felt dizzy and everything went dark.

When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in the arms of her Brother Yunfan. Her scream woke him up and he was surprised.

Then Shuiling arrived, and Auntie Yin and Auntie Mu. She didn’t have any clothes on. She shrank into the blankets, scared.

Her mind was a mess. She held her head, and she could not hear what the people around her were arguing about. She only remembered that later her Brother Yunfan had held her in his arms and said that everything was his fault.

Shuiling looked at her and turned away without saying a word.