Chapter 263
Chapter 264
“I am a game streamer. I bought a house myself, but the renovation isn’t finished yet, so I’m currently living with my family. The rooms are quite big, four bedrooms and one living room.”
“My family runs a fruit shop. My older sister and her wife both work regular jobs. They’re already married and even have a child.”
“They all have really good personalities, and my mom is super enthusiastic. Oh!” Zhong Ning suddenly remembered something, her voice rising several pitches. “The ring, take off the ring first.”
“…Don’t take yours off for now. Put mine with you.”
“Okay.” Xie Shiqing couldn’t help but laugh. While the light was red, she took off Zhong Ning’s ring and placed it into the inner pocket of her handbag.
“There’s another key question… where did this car come from?” Zhong Ning said, a little puzzled. “It can’t be mine, right? I haven’t even bought a car yet.”
Xie Shiqing shook her head. “I don’t know either. This whole thing is too bizarre, too absurd. There are unclear parts everywhere.”
“Let’s just take it one step at a time.”
At the same time, inside a vast manor, countless servants and bodyguards were running around. The butler shouted himself hoarse, “Why aren’t you going to find them already!”
Chapter 88 Extra Story Two
When Zhong Ning got home, the lights in the house were still off. Checking the time, it was already past eleven at night. Her family ran a fruit shop; although they didn’t have to wake up as early as those selling breakfast at two or three in the morning, they still had to open at six, so the elderly couple usually went to bed around nine or ten.
Xie Shiqing helped by turning on the flashlight on her phone, while Zhong Ning crouched down, using the light to rummage through the shoe cabinet for disposable slippers.
Just as she opened the packaging after finding a pair, a sudden bright light turned on. Zhong Ning’s mother squinted, her hand still on the living room light switch. “Little Ning, what are you doing here, sneaking around like a thief?”
“You… ah, you brought a friend home? Why didn’t you tell your mom?” She exclaimed, her drowsiness instantly gone, shooting Zhong Ning a slightly reproachful glance.
“It’s so late at night and the dew is heavy. Have you eaten, my girl?” Mother Zhong wore a gentle smile. “There’s still fruit in the fridge. We don’t have much else at home, but we have plenty of fruit. I’ll go cut a couple of mangoes for you.”
“Mom! Mom! No need, we’ve already eaten.” Zhong Ning quickly stopped her. “Don’t you have to get up early tomorrow? Go back to sleep. We’ll wash up and go to bed soon too. If we wake Mother later, she has trouble sleeping and will have a headache again tomorrow.”
“I can take care of everything myself.”
Zhong Ning pushed her gently by the back, guiding her into the bedroom. “Go sleep, go sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow. My friend will be staying at home for a couple of days.”
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t push me. Make sure you treat your friend well.”
Click—the bedroom door closed. Zhong Ning turned her head and met Xie Shiqing’s smiling eyes, then rubbed her face.
“Wash up first. I’ll go get you some pajamas.”
Leading her to the bathroom, Zhong Ning took out a new toothbrush and cup. “That fruit-flavored toothpaste is mine.”
Then she went back to her own room and picked out the most expensive and comfortable set of pajamas from the wardrobe.
At this moment, she suddenly felt grateful that in the past, because she stayed at home most of the time and usually wore pajamas, she had been willing to spend money on them. The ones she bought were all pure cotton pajamas costing in the high three-digit range per set. Although they couldn’t compare to what Xie Shiqing usually wore, at least they wouldn’t feel too rough.
Looking around her own room, after having lived in a large villa for a while—even if not long—her standards had clearly been raised. She now felt that her old bedroom was pitifully small.
She wondered whether Xie Shiqing would be able to get used to it.
Then she glanced again at her savings—six figures. Actually, that was quite a lot. After all, she had just bought a house and renovated it. At her age, being able to save up this much on her own was enough to be described as having achieved success in her career.
It was just that compared to Xie Shiqing’s previous environment, it did seem somewhat simple and modest.
They were already in two completely different classes. Barring any miracles, she wouldn’t be able to earn that kind of money even in ten lifetimes.
Zhong Ning, however, was quite calm about it. She didn’t feel that her family was poor in comparison, nor did she feel ashamed because of it.
Taking the pajamas, she returned to the bathroom. There was no bathtub at home, though the shower area was fairly spacious and had a dry-wet separation. The washing machine wasn’t there either, but there was indeed no bathtub.
They were already married, so there was nothing to be shy about. The two of them squeezed together and took a shower. Xie Shiqing’s hair was long while Zhong Ning’s was short; Zhong Ning’s dried quickly with just a towel, so she took a hairdryer and helped dry Xie Shiqing’s hair.
After both of them changed into their pajamas and came out, they unexpectedly ran into two people.
Mother Zhong and Zhong Ma.
Zhong Ning: “……”
Zhong Ning: “Mom, didn’t I tell you to go to sleep?”
Mother Zhong rolled her eyes at her. “Listen to what you’re saying. When guests come to the house, how can we just go to sleep?”
Zhong Ning sighed helplessly. “Her name is Xie Shiqing. She’s my friend. She happened to come here for a visit recently, so I invited her to stay at our place.”
Xie Shiqing smiled very obediently. “Hello, Aunties. Sorry to trouble you.”
“She’s Little Ning’s friend, so why call us ‘Aunties’? That sounds too distant. Call us ‘Mom’.” Zhong Ma said with a beaming smile, taking her hand and pulling her to sit beside her. “Where are you from? How old are you?”
Xie Shiqing had seen enthusiasm before, but it was always the polite, social kind. This kind from Zhong Ma was something she was experiencing for the first time in her life.
Moreover, the questions were truly ones she couldn’t answer.
Zhong Ning quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “She just got off the plane. She gets airsick and carsick. Mom, let her get some sleep first—we can talk tomorrow.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier? Honestly. My dear, go get some sleep. Sleep well—sleep as long as you want.”
“Go on, go on. Why aren’t you taking my daughter to bed yet?”
Zhong Ning: “……You really are my biological mother.”
Before her mother could glare at her again, she quickly pulled Xie Shiqing back into the room.
In the living room, the two mothers exchanged looks, wiggling their eyebrows as they whispered to each other, “Look at her like that—she must be in love. It’s not like there’s no guest room at home, yet she brought her straight into her own room.”