Of his four masters, the Great Master Meng Wenhan was old-fashioned and harsh, he was a pedantic but erudite scholar. The Second Master Zhao Fugui was cunning and black-hearted, a cla.s.sical smiling tiger. Third Master, Duan Xiaowu, was not good at talking and was shy but took action ruthlessly. Fourth Master, Chen Qiao"er was kind to the entire world and her skills in the kitchen stole nature from the world.
Logically speaking, Fourth Master, Sister Qiao, spoiled him the most and in some ways, made up for the mother"s love he lacked. He should be the closest to her.
However, in reality, it was Zhao Fugui who had the best relationship with Ding Ning. This was because his other three masters taught him as his elders and made him feel respect and fear.
Only Zhao Fugui, this b.a.s.t.a.r.d, did not treat him like a child and fooled around with him all day. He spoke without a filter and said things that made Ding Ning"s ears turn red. There was no generational gap to speak of between them.
He was filled with the aura of a common person and hid a knife within his smiles, sinister and ruthless. However, he was very righteous-minded when it came to people that he trusted and would sacrifice himself for their friendship.
He imparted to Ding Ning the ways of survival of the people who sc.r.a.ped a living at the bottom of society. He taught to only speak a third of what he thought to those he met, to not throw out his entire heart.
During Ding Ning"s growth, Zhao Fugui did not hold back in playing tricks behind his back, making him fully understand the sinister nature of the human heart. Only beatings forged memories and he learned his lesson well.
When he was little, Ding Ning"s favorite thing to do when he had leisure time was to listen to Zhao Fugui tell stories of all kinds of people from all over the world. This filled him, a youth of 17 who had never left the small town of Luochuan, with a longing to see the exciting world outside.
Something the Second Master often said was, the righteous are often the common folk while the well-learned are often ungrateful.
Each time he said this, the Great Master would become angry. First, they would engage in a battle of quoting the cla.s.sics then it would develop into a full fight.
Initially, little Ding Ning had nervously called for father and Uncle Xiaowu to stop the fight. Later, he realized that while they argued, their attacks were measured. They were just using it as an excuse to learn from each other.
And so he no longer found it strange after a while. Each time, he would even bring over a little stool and sit to the side cheering happily.
Woken by Xiao Nuo gently stroking his scars, Ding Ning did not open his eyes and continued to feign sleep. For some reason, he began to miss the time he spent living with his father and masters, and could not help but feel gloomy.
Xiao Nuo did not notice Ding Ning waking up. At this time, all of her focus was caught by the stone man on Ding Ning"s neck.
Her heart thundered and her mouth was dry. She had never been as excited as she was in this moment, her line of vision had already become blurred by tears.
Although she had never seen a stone man before, she was sure she was not mistaken. The stone man in the picture hanging in her father"s study was exactly the same as the stone man in front of her eyes.
The reason she was so excited was because her father had once pointed to the stone man in the picture and told her that her fiance would come to their door before she was 25 to fulfill their wedding agreement and he would bring this stone man as proof of his ident.i.ty.
But she had never thought that the world would be so small. After all this, Ding Ning had turned out to be the fiance she had strongly protested against. She had felt a great deal of resentment toward the father who had always spoiled her for taking this matter into his own hands.
Thus, after her brother disappeared and her father did not agree for her to enter Dragon Soul to carry out an investigation, she left home in a fit of rage. Alone, she ran to Ninghai to join the Special Forces and had not contacted her family for over two years.
It was not until now that she was filled with grat.i.tude for her father"s arrangements. So her father"s taste had been so good and the person she had fallen in love with was that very fiance. This made her a bit angry at the same time as feeling overjoyed.
Originally, she had felt guilty for falling in love with Ding Ning while he was dating Ling Yun. After all, she was the other woman.
But now, she was filled with righteousness. Ding Ning had a marriage agreement with her and was her true and proper fiance. Why should he date Ling Yun? She was the other woman.
This made her come to a very important decision. She would no longer go to Dragon Soul. She would stay in Ninghai and protect the dignity of her fiance. She would not allow Ding Ning to sow any more wild oats.
At the same time, she decided not to tell Ding Ning the truth. She was very eager to see what kind of exciting expression Ding Ning would have when he came to carry out the marriage agreement and saw that his fiance was her.
"Hehehe!"
Thinking of this, Xiao Nuo could not resist laughing out loud. That wild and pleased laughter made gooseb.u.mps rise all over Ding Ning"s body.
Secretly narrowing his eyes into slits, he looked out to see Xiao Nuo stroking his scars while nodding her head like a hen pecking at food. The smug smile on her face seemed to be asking for a spanking.
Her mental state hadn"t been thrown into disorder by his rejection, had it? Why was her smile so sinister and terrifying?
No. Was she going to force herself on him? Was that why she was smiling so evilly?
Then should I struggle and oppose it? Or should I submit? Submit? I"ll... submit!
Sneaking a glance at the magnificent view of Xiao Nuo"s chest that surged as she laughed, Ding Ning swallowed and felt that he had no immunity against Big b.u.t.t at all. Eventually, he would not escape her grasp and it was best to submit.
Steeling his heart and closing his eyes, he covered his chest like an angered wife and said in a sacrificial and solemn tone.
"Don"t laugh in such a scary way, I"ll submit but... be gentle, alright? It"s... it"s my first time."
"Hehe..."
Xiao Nuo"s pleased laughter abruptly stopped. Looking at Ding Ning acting like a wronged wife, she immediately seethed with anger and helplessness.
Without any semblance of a wise and virtuous woman, Xiao Nuo jumped onto the bed and straddled Ding Ning"s body. Reaching out with both hands, she wrapped them around his neck and shook him with force. Fl.u.s.tered and exasperated, she shouted angrily.
"I"m going to strangle you, you pervert. It"s your first time, is it not my first time too?"
"But I"m the pa.s.sive one, you"re the active one."
Ding Ning rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue as he retorted righteously. His groping hand had already quickly snuck onto her perky bottom. That feel... my G.o.d... it was awesome.
Xiao Nuo immediately sensed his misbehaving hand. She was embarra.s.sed and angry but for some reason, she also did not want to stop him and she even felt a sliver of secret delight.
Lying to herself to comfort herself, she reasoned that he was already her fiance and she would eventually be his woman, so what if she let him take advantage?
Blushing hard, she rolled her eyes charmingly, "Pervert, trying to take advantage yet you won"t even take responsibility."
"I..."
It was as if he, who had been taking advantage of the alcohol to let loose, had been shouted at in the face. All of his charm immediately dissipated and his roving hand pulled back as if it had been shocked. With an unspeakably dispirited expression, he said, "Sorry!"
Xiao Nuo regretted her words the moment they left her mouth. After all, Ding Ning did not know that she was his fiance and furthermore, he still loved Ling Yun. She had spoken irresponsibly. What had been a done deal had been destroyed in one fell swoop by her words.
In an effort to save the situation, she blushed and sprawled on his body in a questionable position and breathed sweetly. "Am I so unattractive?"
"No, you"re very pretty and very charming. It"s just that I... I..."
Ding Ning looked at the pretty face right in front of his and for some reason, felt much panicked. His lips opened and closed for a long time, unable to come up with a reason.
"Is it because of that Ling Yun? Is she really so great? Can I not compare?"
Thick jealousy rose in Xiao Nuo"s heart and she asked with reddened eyes.
Ding Ning"s mood darkened. He pulled at his mouth forcefully, and his expression was more serious than it had ever been before.
"It"s not that she"s better than you, rather, we"ve been together for five years. Although we have pretty much broken up, before everything is cleared up, I can"t do anything that is unfair to her, unfair to you, and unfair to myself. Think about it. If I am with you before she and I have completely broken up, then in the future, I might have something with another woman while we are together. This is not fair to you and not fair to her."
"Ah, you two are breaking up?"
Xiao Nuo did not hide the joy in her expression at all. Only upon seeing Ding Ning"s increasingly heavy expression did she feel that she was forgetting herself a little with joy.
Stretching out a hand, she gently touched the downturned corners of his mouth. With a playful pout, she said, "I wasn"t doing it on purpose. Don"t be mad."
"Do you want us to break up so badly?" Ding Ning asked darkly.
"Of course, you"re mine. She doesn"t deserve to be with you. It is you and I who are a pair."
Xiao Nuo spoke matter of fact. There was nothing wrong with what she said, after all, in her mind, Ding Ning was her fiance. However, she had overlooked Ding Ning"s feelings.
Ding Ning sat up abruptly and pushed her away. With a blank face, he said, "Thank you for your affection, unfortunately, I don"t think I should be with you. Even if I break up with her, I will not be with you."
"Why not? What has she done for you to be like this toward her?"
Xiao Nuo had not thought Ding Ning would become hostile so quickly and her entire person was caught off-guard. She stared at him stupidly and asked in a wounded tone.
Ding Ning could not stand overbearing and unreasonable women, and his mood became even more irritated. Sitting up, he began to dress. With a cold expression, he enunciated each word carefully.
"In your eyes, Ling Yun is just an insignificant girl and is not even worthy of being friends with someone like you but for me, she is not just my girlfriend. She is my family and friend, if you look down on her then it means you are looking down on me."
Ding Ning dressed very quickly. He stood and looked coldly at the pale-faced Xiao Nuo, who was biting her lip tightly. "Ling Yun was my first true friend, in every sense of the word. When I first came to Ninghai, I was only 17 and had never been out of the little town my home was in. You will never understand the fear and confusion I felt toward a foreign city. It was Ling Yun who took care of everything for me and accompanied me through those most difficult months. At my lowest, most difficult, most painful, and most confusing times, it was always she who comforted me, supported me, and encouraged me and gave me the courage to face the confusing unknown and made me feel less lonely. So, she said she loved me and so we fell in love. Although it might have been a mistake for us to be together from the very beginning, even if we can"t be lovers, she is forever my best friend. Anyone who looks down on her is looking down on me. Captain Xiao, you are up high, so naturally, you look down on us common people. I, Ding Ning, am the same as her we are just normal people. Thus, thank you for your affection. Apologies, I dare not presume on your attention!"
"Bang!"
Only when the door of the room slammed close with force did Xiao Nuo, who was still taking in the meaning in Ding Ning"s words, realized that he had just left like this and hurriedly chased after him, shouting, "Wait, I didn"t mean it like that. You..."
But by the time she had run out of the door, there was no sign of him left. Xiao Nuo stamped her foot hard and berated herself for being too pleased and touching on Ding Ning"s wound when she spoke without thinking.
Thinking about it, it was indeed she who had acted in too much haste. There might be some unhappiness right now between Ding Ning and Ling Yun and they were going through a breakup but how could five years of affection be put aside just like that? Even if they could not be lovers, they would still be good friends.
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