Chapter 10.3: If You Don’t Want to Hurt Me Then Don’t Hurt Me
An Ning changed her order to lemonade. For her own safety, she kept smiling and kept quiet. Anyway how she ended up here was in fact baffling. Hence it was inevitable that she was calculating in her heart when is the best time to take her leave. At this moment, Miss Haughty who has an unfriendly look on her face, smiled and said: “Li An Ning, doesn’t Xu Mo Ting accompany you to go shopping?”
Xu Cheng Yu has always been able to observe other people’s words and gestures for a clue as to their thoughts. “As everyone knows, my cousin is a busy man, so where got time to go shopping ah?”
Gao Xue glared at the talkative person. Cheng Yu was laughing in her heart. This woman has an ulterior motive on her cousin but did not dare to express it. In the end, she accepted a devoted man as her boyfriend. Ha, it turned out that she still has not given up in her heart.
She unintentionally glanced at An Ning. The expression on her face still looked like as if nothing had happened. She looked indifferent and gentle causing people to be convinced but did not know whether the calmness was real. Or her perfunctory skill was outwardly exceptional.
“However, my cousin really cannot measure up to Ah Xue’s boyfriend in certain aspects. He will definitely not pour a cup of tea or water for his girlfriend.” Cheng Yu was considered objective in her a.s.sessment.
When Gao Xue heard that, she was feeling a bit joyous in her heart. She fixed her gaze at the person opposite. She will not deny that she wanted to see Li An Ning’s reaction. An Ning only said “yes” softly …… sounded like an agreeing tone.
“……” Xu Cheng Yu sighed in her heart, such high level of power.
Liang Zi flipped through the menu and said with a smile: “To my surprise, the pastries here cost a hundred dollars for a plate. The pricing makes me think I am still in Europe.”
Xu Cheng Yu: “Young master like you is not short of this little money.”
Liang Zi: “I need to be thrifty but honestly speaking if too cheap, it also won’t do. Last time, I bought a cheap underwear. It was my first time going into a supermarket to buy underwear ah. The next day, I had to go rock climbing so I deliberately chose a big and red one for auspicious reason. The outcome was when there was a heavy rain, I was all wet. I did not expect my underwear’s colour to fade. Gee, my light-colored trousers was covered with b.l.o.o.d.y colour water. At that time, the facial expression of those few buddies who went with me were quite complex ah.”
Gao Xue burst out laughing, “Are you kidding?”
“I am trying to make pretty girls here happy, to the extent of disclosing my scandalous past willingly.” After saying that, he glanced at Li An Ning and saw that she still has that indifferent expression. He could not help but felt a little discouraged. She was really strange.
Actually Liang Zi has a conflicted mind. Although he knew she is Xu Mo Ting’s girlfriend, the love for beauty is a nature of all human beings. Moreover, it was said that her relationship with Xu Mo Ting was not intimate.
When Cheng Yu was not around, Liang Zi suddenly walked to her side: “Later, do you have time——”
When An Ning saw him, she was ‘scared’ and that feeling continued to exacerbate …… can’t be so unfortunate, right?
Liang Zi saw the listener’s lack of interest and also sensed something unusual, so he tapped on the tabletop, “How?”
Gao Xue who has been chatting with her boyfriend, shifted her gaze over to glance at An Ning. Then she shifted her attention to a few middle-aged men wearing suits on the next table. At a glance, they looked like senior executives. One of them raised his hand to signal a waiter. “Bring a pot of Tianfu Pu’er (dark tea) to the next table.”
Suddenly Gao Xue twitched the corner of the mouth and looked at Li An Ning with slight contempt in her eyes.
When Xu Cheng Yu came back from the toilet, the waiter was serving Pu’er, “Yo, who ordered this ah? The ace is already out.”
Gao Xue smiled: “Should be someone Li An Ning know?”
An Ning …… just smiled but did not speak. However she sighed repeatedly in her heart.
Xu Cheng Yu followed Gao Xue’s line of sight and looked at a certain spot. “Oh.”
Liang Zi sighed, “Sure enough, when there are beautiful women, there are plenty of benefits ah.”
Gao Xue’s boyfriend also kind of agreed. An Ning calmly thanked the waiter who has just finished pouring her a cup of tea. Then she held the cup and took two sips. Well, she had just drunk too much cold water, so can warm the stomach now.
Gao Xue: “Li An Ning, aren’t you going to thank that generous man?”
An Ning was puzzled, ‘why?’. Moreover they were having their business discussion, so it was not so good to disturb them, right?
At this time, a delicate and good-looking girl who has not been saying much, started to speak: “I still admire men who are a lot older than me ah.”
“Oh!” Meow Meow almost spurted out her tea.
Liang Zi: “Are you okay?”
An Ning waved her hands and took a paper towel to wipe the corner of her mouth to conceal the urge to turn her head.
Actually Gao Xue dislikes that delicate and good-looking girl. This time she was seeing two of the persons she dislikes in the same place. She muttered, “In this era, there is all kind of people in this world —— unpleasant to the eye ”
An Ning turned her head, “Well …… The Bible said, ‘Ignorant people love ignorance and scorners delight in their scorning’.” (Proverbs 1.22)
“……”
Causing the atmosphere to be awkward twice, An Ning thought she better adhered to the age-old adage: Silence is golden.
When they were leaving, Gao Xue told her boyfriend to drive his car over and asked Cheng Yu and that delicate and good-looking girl if they wanted a lift. However, she ignored Li An Ning who was standing in the middle, her att.i.tude …… unfriendly?
An Ning was completely indifferent and was about to flag down a taxi when Cheng Yu pulled her back, “How about calling my cousin brother to come to pick you up?”
“Ah?” Initially she appeared calm and collected but all of a sudden there was a change in her composure, “No need, he is very busy.” The main reason was because she was bitten by him yesterday …… very disturbed psychologically ah.
“Men always give the excuse of being busy.” Gao Xue looked straight ahead.
Liang Zi courageously volunteered: “I’ll send you back but I have a motorcycle.”
When she was about to tactfully decline, a black car stopped, “Ning Ning.” A calm and deep voice called out her name. An Ning pondered, hasn’t her father left already? The person who was sitting upright at the back seat was Li Qi Shan who ordered Pu’er for his daughter just now.
“Get in, I’ll send you back.”
“Oh, dad ……”
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she got into the black car. Aiya, if she had known earlier she would not have endured until the end.
The car speeded away. An Ning did not show any expression except appearing crestfallen, making Uncle Huo in front unable to restrain a smile, “Ning Ning, did you go shopping with your friends today? Why didn’t you buy something ah?”
“Oh ……”
Li Qi Shan who was sitting beside her said: “Since your stomach is not good, don’t drink too much herbal tea.”
An Ning nodded.
Li Qi Shan also said: “Did Jin Cheng go to your place this morning?”
“…… Yes.” After struggling for a while, she still wanted to make her stand clear, “Dad, can you ask little uncle not to come to look for me in the future?”
Li Qi Shan was a little surprised. Before his daughter will act a little wilful occasionally, but she has been rather well-behaved lately …… too well-behaved.
“Ning Ning, you might think I am being nosy, but I just want you to be able to have a better life.” Li Qi Shan sighed: “You knew about your mother’s stomach cancer, so you ought to know how much longer she can live ——”
“Dad,” An Ning interrupted him and looked down at a drop of tea stain on the corner of her sweater, “Before, I wished you’ll be able to give me even a little bit of strength, but I rarely think about it now. Do you know why?”
Li Qi Shan kept quiet and did not say anything. An Ning faintly replied: “Dad, I did not resent your divorce with mother, but when mother fainted, I …… did not have the strength to pull her up. I called you but your secretary said you were busy. …… I said mom has fainted. She has pa.s.sed out and no matter how many times I’ve called her, she also didn’t wake up …… you said to call 120 …… Oh, I was so stupid! Why have I forgotten that I can still call 120 ……”
Li Qi Shan repeatedly tried to say something, but he seemed to have lost his voice and can’t utter a word.
“Dad, sometimes I really hate you for being so cruel to mom. I knew there was no more love between the two of you, but how can you be so thorough? I once thought, could it be because I was not well-behaved enough, so you didn’t want me. You also didn’t want mother anymore. Later, I realized, in fact, it was no one’s fault, right? Just that you’ve stopped loving.”
“Ning Ning ……” Li Qi Shan discovered that his voice was abnormally dry.
“I want to be frank with you —— your daughter does not need so much love now.” Finally, An Ning’s eyes were a bit moist, “I’ve never doubted your concern for me, but occasionally, I will also want to say no to you. Dad, I don’t want the life you’ve arranged for me. Those things will only make me reject you more. ”
Li Qi Shan used his hand to wipe the face but he failed to wipe away the tiredness and sadness from his face. “Ning Ning, I’m very sorry.” This man who is well versed in politics and holds influential power, was surprisingly incapable of defending his own daughter’s accusation now, because everything she said is true.
An Ning shook her head, “You don’t need to apologize to me, as I’m living very well at the moment. Dad, if mother is gone, I will still stay here.”
That day when loyal Huo sent her home, he wanted to speak but stopped at a second thought. In the end, he only touched her hair. An Ning went upstairs and were at a loss standing at the doorway for a few minutes before opening the door and walking in. Mother was in the kitchen, skilfully putting the dish she has cooked on to the plate. She turned and saw her daughter: “Ning Ning, you are back just on time to help me to take out the last dish. Then we can have dinner.”
An Ning stepped forward to take the dish and ran back to the kitchen to wash her hands, “Mom, did you buy any clothes today?”
“I bought two, but for my daughter. I’ve put them on your bedside. Later, put them on and let me see.”
“Okay……” An Ning lowered her head to eat.
At night, when she was putting on the clothes for her mom to see, Mrs. Li complemented N times that she has good taste. After that she went to her room to have a rest.
Mao Mao went online to look for her: When are you going to come back ah?
An Ning: Tomorrow morning. Anything you want me to bring you?
Mao Mao: Meat, meat! I have not eaten meat for more than a month!
An Ning: ==!
Mao Mao: Recently I’ve been swallowing vitamin C tablets which are really big ah. Every time I ate, they also got stuck in the throat and can’t go down. Today, I deliberately broke the tablet into half to eat. As a result, it got stuck twice.
An Ning: Well …… how about breaking it into four?
Mao Mao: …… Good idea! Why didn’t I think of it ah! Meow Meow, what’ll I do if I don’t have you ah?!
An Ning: ……
Meow Meow returned to university the next day. When she was entering the dormitory door, she was startled by Qiang Wei’s wolf howl.
“At least you’ve to tell me you’re gay, then I will only feel more balanced ah!” Qiang Wei was talking on the phone.
Mao Mao came over to take her meat. An Ning softly asked: “What happened to her?”
Mao Mao: “Playing.”
Then, she heard Qiang Wei saying in a soft voice: “In that case, do you love me?”
When An Ning was walking pa.s.s, an even softer male voice came through the telephone: “I am giving you $8.50 of my $9 food money per day to buy snacks, so tell me if I love you or not?”
“……” An Ning felt that she had only gone home for two days, but why she felt “one day in heaven is like ten years on earth”?
……
The project team’s previous meeting was a long long time ago. Pity a certain male who had to do the experiments all by himself. As the group leader, An Ning did not put in much effort because she was busy. Thus she felt undeserving of the position.
Like before, she was the last person to arrive in the usual small cla.s.sroom —— Well, Xu Mo Ting should be even more busy than her, yet why was he always so punctual?
An Ning went over to say h.e.l.lo to E and a certain male. Lastly, she only weakly went and greeted the person at the head of the table, “Good Morning.”
He acknowledged it faintly. After she sat down, E leaned over and murmured a few words to An Ning. An Ning stared at the teeth marks on her hand which were gradually fading. However, the warm from his lick, seemed to have been left behind …… An Ning took one small breath and sat slightly upright. Well, she must not act emotionally.
Xu Mo Ting appeared very inspiring when he propped his chin on one hand. He also appeared calm and rational when he expressed his opinion but he was not harsh. This kind of people can very easily make other people obey.
In the middle of the discussion, Xu Mo Ting asked, “Anymore question?”
A certain male: “No, I have already sent all the material to the group leader. Will have to trouble Meow Meow to do further sorting out.”
An Ning felt ashamed, “I ought to do that.”
A certain male chuckled and unconsciously leaned his body a little closer: “Meow Meow ah, did you look at the stuff I sent to you?”
“What?”
A certain male winked, hinting to everyone to be aware of it.
An Ning remembered that folder marked ‘good stuff’, “Huh, I have not seen it yet.”
A certain male beat his chest, “You should look at this kind of stuff first!”
“Oh ……”
The two people ‘have a delightful conversation with each other’. A cold voice interrupted, “For those who have nothing else to do, you can leave now. Li An Ning, you stay back.”
Clearing the room?
E got up and smilingly said goodbye to An Ning. Although a certain man was unwilling, but he thought …… he was really no match against the other party. Although his love for Meow Meow was more solid than gold, playing it safe was more important.
Thus a certain male shouted to E who has just left to wait for him. An Ning sighed, there is really not many people who are loyal in this era.
There was no more hinderance between the two people. The air seemed to be shrouded by some impetuous particles. An Ning turned around and came into contact with Xu Mo Ting’s handsome face. He was also staring at her with a faint smile, “Sit closer a bit. Let me take a look at your hand.”
An Ning declined vaguely: “It does not hurt anymore.” But she still wanted to complain a bit: “Why did you bite so hard ah?”
“Very hard meh?”
Hearing his doubt, An Ning naturally went over and showed him her hand, “If you look carefully, you can still see the marks.”
“I did not control my strength properly.” He apologized with sincerity. The gentleness of the smile in his eyes was not diminished. He was also holding her hand.
Something has unwittingly infiltrated into the soul and cannot be removed any more.
What did it feel like to walk with Xu Mo Ting in the campus? Well …… more awkward than strolling in the supermarket.
Ignoring the attention of the pa.s.sers-by, An Ning thought of a question: “Hey Mo Ting, is senior brother Lao San hospitalized?”
“Yes.”
“Should I go and visit him ah?” Seem to be the morally correct thing to do.
The outcome was the person next to her was indifferent and said, “No need la. I’ve already visited him.”
“……” Any hidden meaning?