Chapter 355 Onset of Illness
“Ah, young master, where is Lisa?”
Xiahou was startled. The young master’s skills had improved again. He had no idea when the young master had reached his side.
“Never mind her. When she can’t find me, she’ll naturally come back.”
Ding Ning laughed wickedly. “Brother Xiahou, I am thinking of your future happiness. You have to be able to hang on.
“Uh!”
Xiahou stood up with embarra.s.sment. He glanced outside uneasily but did still not see Lisa so he could only follow Ding Ning into the reserved room.
The Tan Family restaurant did not have a main hall, only 17 individual rooms each outfitted with a banner, set of bells, screens, and bridges that crossed over little streams. Although there was no front hall, there was a front desk. The straight corridor led toward the individual rooms. Each room was named after a garden scene in Jiangnan, such as the Humble Administrator’s Garden, Yellow Crane Tower, and Ancient Garden.
In the room, everything from the skirting, wainscots, corner lines, door covers, window coverings, round tables, and chairs were all made of mahogany. Paintings and calligraphy by famous artists hung on the walls. The golden napkins, apricot-yellow edged dishes, apricot-yellow tablecloths, and waitresses dressed in apricot-yellow uniforms combined with the elegant and traditional Shenzhou music, it all gave one the sense of being in a royal palace…
Inside the Ancient Garden room, Ding Qianlie ignored the imperial decorations and shooed the waitresses out. As if talking to herself, she muttered in a low voice with a helpless expression, “Mother, don’t worry. Brother will be here soon. We already agreed last night. Don’t worry.”
On close examination, a black microphone, mostly hidden by her hair, could be seen in Ding Qianlie’s ear.
Inside the Humble Administrator’s Garden room, Shen Muqing looked on curiously as Aunt Xiang spoke mysteriously to someone through a microphone. Looking at her worried expression, thoughtfulness flashed through her eyes.
Last night, she had stayed in the room Aunt Xiang had temporarily rented. From her red eyes, clearly swollen from crying, and her agitated mood, she could tell that Aunt Xiang had seen someone last night that could easily arouse powerful emotions within her.
In this matter, Shen Muqing cleverly did not ask any questions about it. She just pretended to ignorance and chatted with her. Seeing that Aunt Xiang’s attention was still unfocused and often drifted away, she knew she had guessed pretty accurately.
But whether Aunt Xiang had met her rumored lover or her son that she had not seen in over 20 years, she did not know.
As for whether or not Aunt Xiang had a new love, Shen Muqing did not think this was possible given her understanding of Aunt Xiang. Given her position and beauty, if she wanted to move on, she would not have kept herself for that mysterious lover for more than 20 years.
It had to be said, curiosity was clawing at her heart right now but her good upbringing made her force down this curiosity. In her heart, she silently wished this woman, who had led such a difficult life, happiness and hoped that she would be able to find it as early as possible.
It had to be said, although Aunt Xiang was almost 50 years old, she still looked like a beautiful woman in her early 30s. Time had not left any mark on her face that incited jealousy in others. No wonder she was the most beautiful woman in Yan Jing back then.
Thinking of the t.i.tle of “first beauty” in Yan Jing, Shen Muqing’s attention drifted for a moment. It seemed that the moment that this Aunt Xiang appeared, the t.i.tle of “first beauty” never appeared again in Yan Jing.
However, the t.i.tles “first demon” and “first talent” of Yan Jing were t.i.tles that grew better known. This was an indirect show of respect to Aunt Xiang.
Unfortunately, the t.i.tle of “first talent” of Yan Jing did not accompany her long. Because of her short life and her coming to Ninghai to study, probably no one remembered this name in Yan Jing anymore.
However, even though she had disappeared for more than two years, the demon Xiao Nuo’s reputation still remained and was still spread widely throughout the circles in Yan Jing.
Xiao Nuo. Thinking of her childhood playmate, a warm smile appeared at the corners of Shen Muqing’s mouth. If she had one true friend growing up, Xiao Nuo was probably the only contender.
That crazy girl was truly sincere and warm-hearted. If not for that d*mn illness, perhaps they would have been best friends who could talk about anything.
She had long known that Xiao Nuo had come to Ninghai for work. As for why she had never come to find her, she could guess at the reason.
She didn’t blame her. After all, the state of her body spoke for itself and no one would want to bring trouble to themselves. Particularly after Xiao Chunan’s accident, Xiao Nuo had cut all contact with her family. It was understandable that she did not want to contact her.
But Shen Muqing very much wanted a friend right now. In her 22 years of cautious living, her heart had long become dead like still water. She did not dare to want such things as friendship and love. She lived quietly and waited for fate to decide her life.
But after Ding Ning appeared, it was as if a spring breeze rippled the lake’s calm waters. It brought unrest into her heart. Love and friendship, these luxuries in life became things she longed for.
Although leaving Ding Ning was very painful and she had to endure the torture of missing him every day, she did not regret it. She was satisfied with having a love that she had never dared to imagine. She could not be too greedy.
The books said that love was selfish but she did not agree. If being with him required the sacrifice of her life, she would not have a second thought.
But if it required Ding Ning’s life as a price, she could not endure such a consequence. For the sake of his safety, this was fine. Furthermore, even without her, he had Ling Yun as a companion. Presumably, he had long forgotten her by now.
But why did her heart hurt so much? Without him, was there still meaning in her life? She was not as strong and courageous as Aunt Xiang, to be able to wait bitterly for more than 20 years for the person she loved. Even if there was only the most illusory hope, at least they loved each other deeply and missed each other mutually.
But what about her? What did she have? What could she do? She could not see the future, could not see hope. Life without Ding Ning was darkness.
Ding Ning’s voice and smile repeatedly played in her mind like a projector. Deep reluctance and sadness enveloped her, making her heartbeat speed up. Longing and hopelessness like she had never felt before cut through her heart like a knife. So this is what heartbreak felt like. It was not the same as a heart-attack, Shen Muqing thought.
“Muqing, Muqing, what’s wrong?”
Aunt Xiang unexpectedly turned her head and saw Shen Muqing with her hand over her heart, face pale, and pupils blown wide as she slowly slid off her chair. In a fright, Aunt Xiang quickly ran over to help her and cried out in a startled voice…
“What’s wrong, mother?”
Aunt Xiang’s startled cry rang through the earpiece. Ding Qianlie furrowed her brows and asked anxiously.
“Sister, I’m here. What’s wrong? Why is your expression so unhappy?”
Right at this moment, Ding Ning pushed opened the door and came in with a smile. When he saw Ding Qianlie’s increasingly worried expression, he asked with concern.
Ding Qianlie’s brows were drawn together tightly. After hearing Aunt Xiang’s hurried explanation, she immediately grabbed Ding Ning’s hand. “Leave first; I’m coming now with my brother.”
Ding Ning looked at her with confusion. He knew something important must have happened and allowed her to pull him out.
“Chairman, I’m sorry, I… ah, why are you here?”
As they went out, they ran into Lisa who appeared very dejected. When she saw Ding Ning, her mouth immediately dropped open in surprise.
Ding Qianlie’s expression was solemn. If the girl of the Shen family had an accident while with her mother, not only would her mother’s movements be difficult to continue keeping a secret but they would easily become enemies with the Shen family. She waved her hand to cut off Lisa’s words. “Tell me later.”
Pulling Ding Ning, she hurried to the Humble Administrator’s Garden’s room. “Sister, what’s happening?”
“A person with heart problems suddenly had an attack. Oh, right, this patient is someone you know.”
Ding Qianlie hurriedly explained as they walked.
“Someone I know? Who?”
Ding Ning’s expression was confused. He could not think of someone he knew who also knew Ding Qianlie.
“Shen Muqing.”
Ding Qianlie gently raised her lips and lightly tossed out this name but Ding Ning felt like he had been struck by lightning. His face immediately turned white.
No one knew about Shen Muqing’s illness better than him. After his treatment, nothing life-threatening would happen for a year but now she had unexpectedly had an attack. There was only one possibility, she must have endured some powerful stimulation. This filled him with anger and his eyes grew red. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Where is she? Take me there quickly.”
Ding Qianlie glanced at him worriedly. She knew he had put the blame of Shen Muqing’s attack on the person that was with her. But that was their mother, surely she could not say that it was their mother that had triggered her heart attack.
In reality, even she did not know why Shen Muqing suddenly had an attack out of the blue. Subconsciously, she thought that their mother must have accidentally said something that triggered her.
How could they possibly guess that Aunt Xiang’s worried expression would make Shen Muqing randomly think of Ding Ning, become depressed and develop world-weary thoughts, and thus trigger the onset of a heart attack?
In fact, she had already learned how to control her breathing and had learned the Sutra of Cultivating Spirit. Even if she had a heart attack, she could control her heart-rate and seek medical treatment in time.
But she was moved by Aunt Xiang’s sympathetic relationship experience and felt deeply disheartened. She also hated that she did not have the courage to fight against her family. In her self-pity, thoughts of death grew in her mind. Before she could utilize her training, she had already fainted. Thus causing the present critical situation.
Anxious, Ding Ning practically half-carried Ding Qianlie as he rushed as quickly as possible to the Humbler Administrator’s Garden room and kicked open the door with a bang. Ignoring the waitresses’ startled cries, he only had eyes for the soft body and the pale white face.
“Muqing!”
Ding Ning’s heart felt like it was being pierced by needles. Almost flying, he leaped over and immediately grabbed her wrist to carefully investigate the situation of her body. Thus, he missed Aunt Xiang, who was standing to the side, and her complicated expression.
Aunt Xiang’s emotions at this moment were extraordinary and difficult to describe. She had never thought that she would be so close right now to the son she had missed day and night.
This immediately put a stop to her plan of quietly leaving. She stared at Ding Ning in a daze, and he was all she could see.
Ding Qianlie quickly moved forward and pulled on her arm. In a low voice, she said, “Aunt Xiang, you should leave first.”
She knew that Ding Ning’s hearing was very good. Afraid that he would hear her calling her mother, she instead called her Aunt Xiang.
Only now did Aunt Xiang come back to herself. She reluctantly glanced at Ding Ning one more time, and then made a “call me” gesture at Ding Qianlie before hurriedly leaving.
“I’ll help steady her heart first. Everyone get out; don’t let anyone come in.”
After Ding Ning’s inspection, he silently let out a breath in relief. Fortunately, he had arrived in time. If he came three minutes later, Shen Muqing would have died without a doubt.
Her heartbeat had already come to a standstill and need powerful resuscitation to make it beat again. For a normal person, perhaps this was very difficult but for him, it was a piece of cake.
“Alright, I’ll stand guard outside with Knife Scar. No one will be allowed in.”
Seeing Ding Ning’s serious expression, Ding Qianlie hurried agreed as she headed out.
The owner of the restaurant, Tan Cong, hurried rushed over. Afraid that someone may die and implicate him, he was anxious to call for an ambulance but was coldly rejected by Ding Qianlie.
Although Ding Qianlie, a G.o.ddess of the business world, was mysterious, Tan Cong, as the owner of a top-level restaurant, was well-connected socially and had all the information of the major clients he could not offend stored in his mind.