Chapter 413: Unt.i.tled
City A, Zhang’s residence.
The Zhang family was busy these days. Jiang Lixue had prepared a room for Ning Ning and even asked Cheng Anya about his preferences. She did her best to decorate it according to Ning Ning’s preferences and put a laptop in his room immediately after knowing that he liked playing with computers. She had also asked about what Ning Ning didn’t like and changed it accordingly.
Ning Ning hurriedly shook his head and secretly thought that he was being treated more than ten times better than how his own mother had treated him.
“G.o.dmom, it’s okay. This is good enough. I like it all. Don’t make yourself so busy. I am not picky about what I wear and eat or where I live. I’m easy to raise.” Ning Ning addressed Jiang Lixue as his G.o.dmother sweetly.
It made Jiang Lixue happy and she doted on him a lot. She knew that she had little chance of getting pregnant and Zhang Bo had pa.s.sed away. Hence, she gave Ning Ning all the motherly love that she could not give to her own child.
“I’ll have to treat you well even if you are easy to raise.” Gao Ying, Second Young Master Zhang’s wife, said with a smile. She had a pair of mixed-s.e.x twins and knew Jiang Lixue’s heart best. She was happy for her sister-in-law and even helped her with the preparation of Ning Ning’s arrival.
The Zhang family was very strict with the education of their children. The children from the Zhang family were all talented, which was due to their family education. Ning Ning had felt the atmosphere of the Zhang family in just two days after arriving there.
Unity, fraternity, and sibling love. They were a true family. It was not easy for a big family with so many males in the house to have such relations.h.i.+ps.
It was the first time that Ning Ning had encountered such a big and united family.
Cheng Anya reminded him repeatedly to gain Jiang Lixue’s liking. Ning Ning was obedient. He went there with that goal in mind and made Jiang Lixue and Commander Zhang very happy. Commander Zhang spent half of his life in the army and half of his life in politics. He was strict and serious. With Ning Ning as his happy pill, he had more smiles on his face. Because he was happier, Third Young Master Zhang and Fourth Young Master Zhang, who were originally mischievous, teased Commander Zhang together with Ning Ning. The Zhang family was immersed in joy.
Commander Zhang was very satisfied with this G.o.d-great-grandson. In his eyes, Ning Ning was almost the perfect grandson. The only drawback was that he woke up too late in the morning. The Zhang family was a family of the military and all generations had developed the habit of waking up early and running in the morning. They even had a large outdoor practice field. Commander Zhang’s two sons were not young, but they also got up and run before going to work in the morning. The four young masters of the Zhang family got up even earlier. In the early morning, they practiced judo and Western swordsmans.h.i.+p in the yard while chatting at the same time. Half of them were engaged in business while the other half in politics. Hence, they talked about current affairs, business, and trade. Second Young Master Zhang would even pester their eldest uncle to talk about the policy that was about to be introduced recently.
The girls in the Zhang family would usually run a few laps on the track while talking about their own affairs. Time in the morning was the most important for the Zhang family to bond and get in touch with each other.
The Zhang family’s two grandmothers and two daughters-in-law would be in the kitchen, preparing for family breakfast.
Ning Ning woke up exceptionally early that day. He greeted the elders sweetly once he went downstairs. “Good morning, grandma, second grandma, G.o.dmom, and second aunt. It smells good…”
“Ning Ning, why don’t you sleep a little while more?” It was the earliest he had woken up ever since he went to the Zhang family. For the first two days, he had slept until ten in the morning, skipped breakfast, and ate lunch directly instead.
Ning Ning raised his small fists. “Great-grandpa said men can’t dawdle in bed. I have to be a man.”
Grandma Zhang smiled. “Children should get more sleep. But, you should go back to sleep after having breakfast next time.”
“Okay. I’m going to the backyard.” He gave Jiang Lixue a kiss and ran toward the backyard.
“First sister-in-law, this child is so sweet.”
“That’s right. Anya has taught him well. It is all the effort of his mother to have raised him so well, although he was from a single-parent family. It seems like I have taken advantage of her.”
“Xue, you shouldn’t say that. That child is fated with our family.”
“Little precious, why are you so early today?” Fourth Young Master Zhang stopped his rapier upon seeing him. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Did you wake up early today because grandpa had scolded you yesterday? Come, let fourth uncle see if your dark circles are out.”
Ning Ning swatted off his hand and greeted all of them one by one. Zhang Zehai commented, “Children should wake up early since they are still growing. He can only grow taller if he jogs in the morning.”
“Grandpa, did G.o.dpa and the other uncles jog like this in the morning too?”
“Of course.”
Ning Ning pouted. Commander Zhang laughed. “Little precious, let great-grandpa see how you jog.”
“Sure!” Ning Ning saluted him and ran along the track. Second Young Master Zhang shouted at the back. “Run faster. You are as slow as a snail.”
“My legs are short…”
Laughter could be heard from the back.
Third Young Master Zhang said, “Grandpa, you shouldn’t ask the child to wake up so early. He still wasn’t asleep at two in the morning. No wonder he usually wakes up late.”
“Two in the morning?” Commander Zhang was shocked. He shouted. “How are you taking care of the child? Why wasn’t he asleep at that time?”
Zhang Penghui widened his eyes, looking innocent. He did not know about that at all.
“Hey, don’t reprimand him. I saw the light in Ning Ning’s room switched on last night and the night before. I don’t know what he was doing in front of the computer. Wow, grandpa and Dad, do you know how cool he was while operating the computer?” Third Young Master Zhang said. He recalled what had happened last night. To him, Ning Ning was an expert in computing.
“Playing games?” Zhang Zean asked. “I heard that children might get addicted to computer games.”
“It doesn’t seem like he was playing games.”
…
After a few minutes, Ning Ning ran back to where he started running and panted. His face had turned entirely red. Second Young Master Zhang went over, hugged him, and teased him. “Ning Ning, you are really weak. It’s only four hundred meters and you can’t make it already?”
“I rarely jog,” Ning Ning said. He hadn’t started his training yet and he had been sitting in front of the computer since he was young. It was inevitable. He had almost died when he was running together with Nuo Nuo on the island then.
“This is bad. You have to run more in the morning,” Commander Zhang laughed and said. “Your third uncle noticed that you sleep late at night. Were you playing computer games?”
“Games?” Ning Ning raised her eyebrows and shook his head. “Games are too easy for me. I have already gotten sick of it and have quit playing them long ago.”
He would only play the games that he had designed. He felt that the games designed by other people were all boring.
Everybody was stunned into silence.
“Boy, don’t be proud. Play with me next time.” Fourth Young Master Zhang poked his shoulder and challenged him. “Stop bragging. Have you played the games from our game company before?”
“Did you mean the games from Feng Xing?”
“Yes, you are right.”
“Then, who designed the games from San Huan?”
“Haha, I designed them. Are you sad? I majored in computing and those are my proud works. The games I have designed are the most popular and they have been popular for two years already.” Fourth Young Master Zhang laughed out loud proudly.
Commander Zhang expected better from him and glared at him while Fourth Young Master Zhang stared back at him. All of them laughed.
“Fourth uncle, I can’t bear to hurt you, but…” Ning Ning touched his nose and hid behind Commander Zhang while giving him a ma.s.sage. “That game is r.e.t.a.r.ded.”
Fourth Young Master Zhang had thought that Ning Ning would wors.h.i.+p him, but the ending was different from what he had expected. His expression darkened and he pretended to hit him. Commander Zhang glared at him fiercely and Fourth Young Master Zhang touched his nose. “Grandpa, you are so biased.”
…
“I remember that Third Young Master Ye once complimented his son as a computing genius. Even MBS International’s security system was hacked by him. Is it really you?” Third Young Master Zhang pointed at Ning Ning and asked. “Right, he said that his son had even hacked his own personal data and had a cyber-war with him for a few days.”
Second Young Master Zhang looked at Third Young Master Zhang as if he was trash. “Stupid. Third Young Master Ye only has one son. If it’s not him, then who?”
Fourth Young Master Zhang said, “The legendary genius…”
Everybody was stunned into silence.
Ning Ning smiled cutely. Commander Zhang turned back and asked, “No wonder you do not have to go to school. What are you going to learn in Britain in two weeks later?”
“Everything.”
“Is Ye Chen going to raise you as the successor of An Ning and the Dragon Gate?” Zhang Zean was clear of what was going on. Most people might not know that Third Young Master Ye was one of the masters of Dragon Gate, but the Zhang family knew once the news was out.
Zhang Zean was one of the government officials that Fourth Young Master Tang had interacted with. Hence, he was quite clear about it.
Ning Ning just laughed it off. He didn’t reply to him or deny it.
Commander Zhang was a democratic person. “Indeed, you’ll have to learn a lot if you are going to take control of both the underworld and the business world. You might have to suffer in Britain with your weak body.”
“Grandpa, I agree that he’s too delicate.”
Ning Ning stared at the people who were gloating and he pinched himself on his arm. ‘This is nothing.’ Everyone knew what he was thinking at a glance and they laughed again.
Ning Ning thought that it was difficult for him to show them how accurate his shooting was and the fact that he had killed people would surely frighten them. He’d better keep a low profile and maintain a lovely and elegant image.
Zhang Wanyan looked at Ning Ning with mixed feelings. He was totally different from when she had seen him on the wedding day. It seemed that he had changed into another person. She couldn’t figure out how a child could change so much.
He was cold, fierce, and cruel that day. However, in the Zhang family, he was cute, elegant, and lovely.
She couldn’t figure out which was the real him.
While the family was joking around, Xu Xing ran over like a little princess. Zhang Wanyan looked at her lovingly. “Xing Xing, why did you get up so early too?”
“I saw Ning Ning had woken up, so I did as well.” Xu Xing smiled lovingly. “Ning Ning, let’s run together.”
Ning Ning shook his head and refused calmly. “I’m not running anymore. You can go ahead.”
The people in the Zhang family were very sensitive. They had felt that Ning Ning acted weirdly every time Xu Xing appeared, as if he was covered in a layer of something. Although he was smiling, there was a feeling of isolation.
“Little Xing Xing is up too. Why don’t you sleep for a while more?” Commander Zhang pulled Xu Xing over with a smile. The Zhang family had always been like that. They treated the males like gra.s.s while the females were like treasures.
It didn’t matter how strict one treated the males, but females must be pampered. It was a very biased treatment. The males in the Zhang family were very hostile to their sisters when they were young due to the unfair treatment they received.
“I’ve had enough sleep already,” Xu Xing said with a smile. She stared at Ning Ning, hoping that he’d run with her. Ning Ning pulled the second, third, and fourth young masters over to talk about games.
Xu Xing pouted sorrowfully. Commander Zhang felt puzzled when he saw that the boys were chatting happily while Xu Xing was unhappy. He wondered why Little Ning Ning disliked Little Xing Xing.
Although Xing Xing was a bit arrogant, she had a great personality. Apart from being respectful to the elders, she was a kindhearted sweet talker, which was particularly favored by the elders. Zhang Wanyan knew the reason vaguely, but it was difficult for her to explain.
Xu Xing had followed Ning Ning everywhere for the few days he was living in the Zhang family. Ning Ning did not lose his temper and answered every question he was asked. However, he was not enthusiastic. His att.i.tude was very different from his att.i.tude toward the people in the Zhang family.
Commander Zhang had long known that he was deliberately avoiding Xu Xing.
“Little Xing Xing, since you are always following Ning Ning, are you picking him up?” Fourth Young Master Zhang suddenly raised his voice and asked Xu Xing while they were discussing games with Ning Ning. Ning Ning almost wanted to beat him up.
Xu Xing frowned cutely. “What do you mean by picking him up?”
“You brat, speak more politely.” Zhang Zean couldn’t help but scold and knock his son on his forehead using his finger.
Commander Zhang stared at him too.
“Dad, it hurts. Okay, I’ll be more civilized. Miss Xu Xing, do you wish to be Mister Ye Ningyuan’s bride?” Fourth Young Master Zhang spoke politely using civilized terms.
Ning Ning’s gaze was calm. Although he was looking away, he was secretly scheming in his heart. ‘Fourth uncle, you are dead meat. Let’s see how I can play with you.’ Ning Ning’s brain was full of ideas to play tricks on Fourth Young Master Zhang. The more he thought about it, the more black-bellied he was.
“Will the bride always be with Ning Ning?” Xu Xing’s eyes brightened and asked, feeling pleasantly surprised.
“Yes.”
Xu Xing was still ignorant and didn’t understand what that meant. But, when she heard that she could be together with Ning Ning all the time, she clapped happily. “Then, okay, I’d like to do that.”
Commander Zhang found her cute and laughed.
Second Young Master Zhang teased. “Ning Ning, someone has confessed to you. Do you want this bride?”
“I have a bride already.”
Everyone was curious. Zhang Zehai couldn’t help laughing and asked, “Ning Ning, did your parents really get a wife for you?”
“I found her myself. I have even accepted her dowry.”
Second Young Master Zhang clapped his hands and laughed. Most of them thought that he was joking. Fourth Young Master Zhang couldn’t help but ask, “Then, where’s your bride?”
Ning Ning smiled. “I have lost her.”
“Are you kidding or are you serious?”
Ning Ning was about to speak when Jiang Lixue called them back to have breakfast. They had to interrupt the conversation. Xu Xing was hurt and vaguely understood what was going on. She walked behind Zhang Wanyan and was in a low mood.