PANT - Chapter 66
Chapter 66
The Fei family's banquet was half a month later.
Over the past half-month, Shi Ning had made life miserable for Su Tianxue's "Teacher Zhang."
His son, who was facing his college entrance exams, was living in misery every day, unable to study and just lazing around at home.
The moment he started lazing around, Teacher Zhang's wife would fly into a rage.
And the moment his wife flew into a rage, Teacher Zhang's good days were over.
Under this torment, Teacher Zhang truly couldn't take it anymore.
Moreover, Shi Ning had somehow managed to find all his previous students, and every single one of them was coming to him to settle scores.
According to Shi Ning, they were preparing a joint lawsuit.
How could Teacher Zhang endure such a hassle?
He was a university professor. He had to teach every day, yet he was constantly being hounded by former students to settle accounts. The university was already getting displeased.
In the past, whenever he did this sort of thing, the students would always turn a blind eye.
After all, he had achievements in the academic world and was beneficial to the university.
But now that a problem had arisen, the university's attitude had become ambiguous.
Teacher Zhang knew he was about to be discarded like a pawn.
He held out for many days, but he couldn't bear it any longer and took the initiative to contact Shi Ning, asking if they could settle out of court.
If this really went to trial, it could drag on for another three months, if not longer.
By then, his son's college entrance exams would be long over.
His wife would have probably kicked him out long ago.
His job was already in jeopardy. If he couldn't secure a good future for his son, their family would never be able to get back on their feet.
Thinking of this, Teacher Zhang gritted his teeth and decided to propose a settlement to Shi Ning.
But Shi Ning wouldn't have it.
She wanted Teacher Zhang to bear the weight of a legal judgment.
However, since Teacher Zhang had already bowed his head, the outcome was decided. When Shi Ning told Su Tianxue about it, Su Tianxue was in the study, checking the latest discussions on a forum.
A user from another country had posted a discussion about an asteroid impact on Earth creating a spatiotemporal rift.
Su Tianxue was conversing with them in English.
When Shi Ning walked in and saw that Su Tianxue wasn't doing work-related things, she pressed up against her and cooed, "Wife~"
Su Tianxue kept her eyes on the computer and didn't turn around, merely humming in acknowledgment.
The sound rose at the end, carrying an inquisitive tone.
Seeing that Su Tianxue's attention was still not on her, Shi Ning huffed, plopped herself down on Su Tianxue's desk, and reached out to close the laptop screen.
Su Tianxue, who had been engrossed in a heated discussion: ......
She looked at Shi Ning helplessly. "What's wrong?"
"Did something happen?"
Hearing this, Shi Ning snorted. "Can't I come looking for you if nothing's happened?"
She said in a passive-aggressive tone, "Sigh, it seems marriage really is the tomb of love. After we got engaged, a certain someone's attitude toward me isn't what it used to be."
Su Tianxue was exasperated. "I was just too absorbed. I'm sorry."
Su Tianxue said, "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
Shi Ning braced her hands on the desk and leaned toward Su Tianxue, a gentle smile on her face. "Kiss me, and I'll tell you."
Su Tianxue naturally lifted her head and kissed Shi Ning.
Satisfied, Shi Ning hooked a finger under Su Tianxue's chin, as if stroking a well-behaved cat.
"It's nothing much. Just that the case with your thesis is basically settled. Teacher Zhang tried to talk to me about an out-of-court settlement, but I refused. I think it's best for this matter to go through the courts. Then I'll find some people, release some news, and blow this up. Let everyone know that intellectual property is still property, and thesis plagiarism must also face legal consequences. However, if we do it this way, the apology and compensation you're owed might be delayed a little longer."
Su Tianxue looked at Shi Ning and chuckled softly. "With you here, I'm not afraid of waiting."
Shi Ning hummed, her gaze on Su Tianxue growing more tender.
She reached out and began toying with a strand of Su Tianxue's long hair.
"Wife, I've performed so well. Isn't there a reward?"
Su Tianxue: "?"
Shi Ning: "You still haven't paid my lawyer's fee."
Su Tianxue: ".......Is this enough?"
Su Tianxue gave Shi Ning a kiss.
Shi Ning hopped off the desk and pressed her down onto the chair. "Not enough."
"Wife, I want much more than this."
As a result, the next day, when Su Tianxue was getting ready to change for the Fei family's banquet, she couldn't even look at the chair in the study.
Even its armrests had been used for naughty things.
Shi Ning always had wicked ideas that Su Tianxue never saw coming.
Not even the desk was spared.
The computer, books, and pens had all been pushed aside, moved to the other end.
Su Tianxue's favorite books were on a shelf next to the desk.
Yesterday, those books had watched with wide eyes as she lost control.
Shi Ning had even insisted she read from them.
Doing that while reading A Brief History of the Universe.
Her voice had been so broken it couldn't form a complete sentence.
.........
A madwoman.
Ever since agreeing to the engagement, Su Tianxue had discovered that this person, Shi Ning, was becoming more and more uncontrollable.
How could things go on like this?
At Su Tianxue's insistence, the two had reached an agreement of twice a week.
But sometimes, with just a little teasing and whining from Shi Ning, Su Tianxue found it hard to stick to her principles.
Other times, they did manage to adhere to the twice-a-week agreement.
But one time would last a whole day, and two days meant the whole weekend was gone.
........
She was at her wit's end.
Truly at her wit's end.
Su Tianxue collected her thoughts and went to change her clothes.
After getting together with Shi Ning, the two of them had moved from the old house into a residence Shi Ning had bought. The reason was simple: it was big enough.
Back at the old house, if Shi Ning insisted on hanging her clothes in Su Tianxue's closet, there simply wasn't enough space. The wardrobe was wobbly, looking as if it might collapse at any moment.
Initially, she had thought that with two people living together, their belongings might not add up to much. But later, as every corner of their lives gradually filled with traces of the other person, things became different.
The old house was left empty, but Shi Ning often had people come to clean it, not wanting the place to be covered in dust.
As for the apartment she had rented across from Su Tianxue's, Shi Ning had paid the rent and planned not to renew the lease when it expired.
The place they lived in now was large enough that Shi Ning had set up a dedicated walk-in closet, with wardrobes lining the walls, all filled with her and Su Tianxue's clothes.
At first, they had agreed to divide the space.
Su Tianxue's things on the left, Shi Ning's on the right.
Later, they completely lost track of left and right.
It was simply impossible to keep them separate, and it was common for them to swap clothes. As long as it wasn't a dress with very specific tailoring, they could generally wear each other's clothes.
Plus, Su Tianxue's usual style was simple and comfortable, so it was no problem for Shi Ning to wear her things.
Sometimes, when Shi Ning was on vacation, she would wear Su Tianxue's clothes.
Occasionally, Su Tianxue would also grab one of Shi Ning's business suits.
The two were influencing each other.
Now, for the Fei family's banquet, Su Tianxue's usual style of dress was certainly not appropriate. Fortunately, Shi Ning had a penchant for buying her dresses.
In Su Wanxing's words, Shi Ning was addicted to playing a real-life dress-up game.
Su Tianxue had also told Shi Ning not to buy these clothes, that it was a waste.
Things like haute couture gowns were completely impractical for her.
But Shi Ning delighted in it.
She loved buying them for herself, and she loved buying them for Su Tianxue.
So as not to let the clothes Shi Ning bought go to waste, Su Tianxue had actually secretly practiced walking in high heels.
While she still couldn't treat ten-centimeter stilettos as flat ground, five-centimeter heels were no longer a problem for her at all.
For the banquet today, Su Tianxue casually picked out a shimmering blue, deep-V dress that Shi Ning had bought.
It was a Celine dress, with clean, sharp tailoring. The skirt fell straight down, with a slit starting from the upper thigh. Two thin blue straps hung from the deep-V neckline.
Shi Ning changed into a nude-gold fringe dress. When she came over in her high heels to see Su Tianxue, she found her standing in front of the mirror.
She walked over and hugged her from behind, resting her chin on Su Tianxue's neck and nuzzling her like a puppy seeking attention. She wrapped her arms around Su Tianxue and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
This mirror had also recorded their frenzied moments.
At the thought, Shi Ning's hands couldn't help but start to wander again.
Su Tianxue slapped her hand away and looked at her reflection. "I feel like something's missing."
There was no adornment above the deep-V neckline.
It was a stretch of empty space.
Shi Ning chuckled softly, leaned in, and kissed Su Tianxue's collarbone.
She reached up and took off her own necklace.
A gem like a flowing moon came to rest against Su Tianxue's snowy-white skin.
Shi Ning said, "It's not empty now, is it?"
Su Tianxue glanced at it and nodded.
She asked Shi Ning, "What about you?"
Shi Ning smiled. "I bought a matching set when I got it."
And so, Su Tianxue watched as Shi Ning opened the jewelry box and took out a matching necklace.
Su Tianxue's was a crescent moon.
Shi Ning's was a shining star.
It perfectly matched the gold of her dress.
Shi Ning loved seeing Su Tianxue in a dress. She wasn't tense, unlike others who, once in a gown, would puff out their chests and hold their heads high to an extreme degree, appearing very stiff. Su Tianxue wasn't like that.
Even in a dress, she had a natural sense of ease.
She didn't see it as another battlefield. To her, clothes were just clothes, just a part of everyday life.
Shi Ning was now very much like Su Tianxue.
She reached out, fiddled with the moon pendant, and then moved her hand further inside.
Su Tianxue let out a muffled groan. "Do you want me to step on you with my high heels?"
Shi Ning said pitifully, "It's still early anyway. Wife, can you be so cruel?"
The small pink fruit hidden in blue.
It was a special game of hide-and-seek.
Starting from the fingertips, then spreading outward.
Forty minutes later, Su Tianxue had only one thought in her mind.
Thankfully, Shi Ning didn't rip the dress today.
Sometimes, she couldn't help but suspect that this person bought so many beautiful dresses to keep at home just for the purpose of... ruining them.
Shameless.
Wastefulness is shameful.
By the time they actually set off for the Fei family's banquet, two hours had passed.
Su Wanxing sent Su Tianxue a message.
Su Wanxing: Sis, where are you?
Su Wanxing had been invited to the banquet today by Fei Yue's younger sister, Fei Xuzhi.
That was why she had sent Su Tianxue such a message.
Su Tianxue replied with two words: Almost there.
Putting her phone down, she looked at Shi Ning. "Wanxing is rushing us."
A driver was driving today. Shi Ning sat in the back, squeezed next to Su Tianxue. Their dresses overlapped, gold and blue intertwining.
Shi Ning said, "Oh. What's the use of her rushing us?"
It wasn't her family's banquet.
"The banquet officially starts in half an hour. We'll make it."
Su Tianxue glanced at Shi Ning, not bothering to say more.
Things went exactly as Shi Ning had calculated. Half an hour later, they arrived at the banquet venue as scheduled.
Shi Ning said smugly to Su Tianxue, "See? I told you, half an hour."
Su Tianxue didn't waste her breath, pulling her inside.
The Fei family's banquet was grand, and all the prominent figures in A-City were present.
From the Shi family, besides Shi Ning, Ye Wanlan and Qin Li had also come.
According to Qin Li, she didn't have a mahjong game scheduled for the day, so she came out for some fresh air.
This wasn't the first time Su Tianxue had met Qin Li and Ye Wanlan. She had met them back when she and Shi Ning were pretending to be married.
But the situation then was different from now.
Back then, she had no intention of actually marrying Shi Ning, so there was no psychological pressure. Even meeting Shi Ning's family felt like a mere social obligation between strangers.
But it was different now.
Su Tianxue was still a little nervous.
Shi Ning sensed Su Tianxue's mood and teased her in a low voice, "I never thought my brilliant and stunning Sister Su could get nervous too?"
Su Tianxue shot her a look, thinking, That's Shi Ning's biological mother.
Ever since Su Wanxing found out that she and Shi Ning were truly together, she had been sharing strange things with her every day.
For example: "How to Get Along with Your Mother-in-Law After Marrying into a Wealthy Family."
And: "One Hundred Ways to Make an Unsatisfactory Daughter-in-Law Leave the House."
.......
Su Tianxue had no idea what was going on in her sister's head.
She was completely unaware that Su Wanxing's anxiety stemmed from the "future plot" she had seen, in which the Shi family had never accepted her.
But thinking about it, it was probably because at that time, Su Wanxing had seven Alpha partners.
There weren't many mothers in the world who would be willing to accept their daughter sharing a wife with others.
Wasn't that utterly outrageous?
In the current world, Shi Ning's wife was Su Tianxue.
Qin Li had always been very satisfied with Su Tianxue. Seeing her arrive, she smiled and walked toward her. "Xiao Su is here too."
Su Tianxue's relaxed nerves instantly tensed up.
She nodded. "Hello, Auntie Qin."
Qin Li: "Why are you calling me Auntie? Call me Mom."
Shi Ning sidled up. "Mom, don't scare her."
Qin Li: "Get lost."
Qin Li took Su Tianxue's hand and patted the back of it.
At first, she really hadn't taken Shi Ning and Su Tianxue's marriage seriously. But when she saw that Shi Ning had already proposed to Su Tianxue, she knew that this time, her perpetually unreliable daughter was truly serious.
In Qin Li's eyes, Su Tianxue was the savior who had rescued Shi Ning from the fire, allowing her to break free from her messy past relationships and become a new person.
Xiao Su was so wonderful.
She had a clean family background, a job, was self-reliant, and even took care of her younger sister.
After getting together with Su Tianxue, even her daughter, whom she thought would be idle for the rest of her life, had started to take things seriously.
Shi Ning wanted to be a lawyer? Qin Li would never have dared to imagine such a thing in the past.
Qin Li attributed all these changes to Su Tianxue, so her fondness for her had already skyrocketed. Seeing her was like seeing a flower, and her smile was especially bright.
Since Qin Li liked Su Tianxue, Ye Wanlan naturally would too.
The fact that Su Tianxue had taken the initiative to contact her before had also refreshed Ye Wanlan's impression of her.
Su Tianxue's nervousness gradually dissipated under Qin Li's gentle treatment.
After chatting for a while, Shi Ning really couldn't stand watching Qin Li steal her wife's attention any longer, so she grabbed Su Tianxue and dragged her away.
Shi Ning complained, "Wife, you can't just have eyes for my mom and not for me."
Su Tianxue: "Did I?"
Shi Ning: "Didn't you?!"
Shi Ning said righteously, "I'm the one marrying you, not my mom."
They were getting along so well that it made her feel like an outsider.
Su Tianxue: ".......I know."
She was only doing it because she didn't want to make things difficult for Shi Ning.
Su Tianxue had never in her life thought about trying to please anyone.
But-
If Qin Li didn't like her, then Shi Ning would be caught in the middle, and it would surely be a difficult dilemma for her, right?
So she wanted to do her best to prevent that from happening.
Shi Ning felt this was unreasonable.
Even if Su Tianxue's own mother was standing in front of her!
She would absolutely not back down!
Then, twenty minutes later, she fell silent.
The main figures of the Fei family's banquet had arrived. Fei Yue's two mothers had returned to the country, instantly becoming the focus of everyone present.
To show her sincerity, Fei Yue invited both Shi Ning and Su Tianxue over to introduce them to her mothers.
Su Wanxing was also there.
She got along well with Fei Xuzhi, and the two were now in the same group, often performing together. There were even people online shipping them as a couple.
After all, a cool genius paired with a sweet girl- this old recipe could still cook up a new flavor.
Zhu Yu had also come.
Fei Xuzhi certainly hadn't invited her.
But because Zhu Yu had some business collaborations with the Fei family's public-facing companies, she had been invited as well.
Now she and Fei Xuzhi were standing on either side of Su Wanxing.
Seeing this, Shi Ning couldn't help but sigh.
As expected, a triangle is the most stable shape in the world.
If it weren't for the fact that neither Zhu Yu nor Fei Xuzhi were characters from the original plot, Shi Ning would have thought Su Wanxing was about to go down the same old path from the story.
Upon meeting the Fei parents, Shi Ning gracefully led Su Tianxue to introduce them. Who would have known that the moment the introductions were made, something would happen?
The instant Fei Yue's actress mother, Li Wei, saw Su Tianxue, tears began to stream down her face.
An award-winning actress was an award-winning actress, after all.
The tears came suddenly, without any warning.
Everyone present was a little bewildered.
Fei Yue's tycoon mother, Fei Anyin, was startled.
"What's wrong?" Fei Anyin asked.
Li Wei continued to cry as she looked at Su Tianxue, which made Su Tianxue feel strange and her skin crawl.
Fei Yue: "Mom, what's wrong?"
Li Wei shook her head, took a step forward, and reached out, wanting to take Su Tianxue's hand and say something.
Su Tianxue was not good at accepting physical contact from others.
She took a step back, her eyes filled with confusion.
Seeing this, Li Wei wasn't angry, but her eyes held a look of longing as she asked, "Child, what's your name?"
"Su Tianxue."
"How old are you?"
Fei Yue really couldn't hold back any longer and told her mom, "Mom, she's already married. This is Miss Shi, her wife."
Her mother had no other hobbies besides acting; she loved playing matchmaker for her.
Fei Yue had suffered from this since she was a child.
Other mothers worried about their children dating too early, but Li Wei was different. She wished Fei Yue had been dating since she was little.
In Li Wei's words, she believed that if a person could experience more emotional trials during their formative years, it would be helpful for their future path in life.
But if Fei Yue had to say, her mom was just too idle.
Her head was full of romantic fantasies all day long with nowhere to put them, so she ended up dumping them on her.
This was why her first reaction upon hearing Li Wei ask for Su Tianxue's name and age was to tell her that Su Tianxue was married.
After all, in the past, after asking these two questions, Li Wei would continue with: "Are you dating? Do you have someone you like? What do you think of our Fei Yue?"
For so many years, Li Wei had never given up.
There was a kind of effort in this world called your mother trying harder than you to get you off the market.
But even with Li Wei's efforts, Fei Yue had never dated anyone, nor had her heart ever been moved.
She found dating troublesome.
Pointless.
Right now, upon hearing Fei Yue's words, Li Wei glared at her. "Xiao Yue, what are you thinking?"
Fei Yue: ?
Li Wei turned back to Su Tianxue, her gaze gentle. "Miss Su, would you mind telling me your age?"
Su Tianxue didn't understand, but out of respect for an elder, she answered the question.
"Twenty-eight."
"What's your birthday?"
"December twenty-third."
Capricorn.
As soon as these dates and numbers came out, Li Wei's tears completely broke free, pattering down like they were free, falling in torrents.
Shi Ning's heart skipped a beat.
She recalled the plot and what Su Tianxue had told her in the past.
The first time she saw Su Wanxing's pheromones go into overdrive, Su Tianxue had told her that she had been taking inhibitors since she was a child.
But if they were biological sisters, there would be no need for inhibitors at all.
Because their genes would naturally prevent the possibility of a union between a related Alpha and Omega, and thus they wouldn't react to each other's pheromones.
But Su Tianxue had been taking inhibitors, to the point that her pheromone gland was later damaged.
Shi Ning also remembered Su Tianxue telling her that she and Su Wanxing were not biological sisters.
In her mind, she was the Su family's child, and Su Wanxing was not.
.......
But, in the plot that Shi Ning knew, there was no storyline where Su Wanxing was found by some other family.
Tropes like the real and fake heiress never appeared at all.
At first, she had thought this was just a small difference between reality and the plot, a consequence of a minor butterfly effect.
But today, seeing Li Wei like this, Shi Ning suddenly had a guess.
Perhaps, Su Wanxing was the Su family's biological child.
And Su Tianxue was not.
This could also explain why, since childhood, the Su parents had given all their gentleness to Su Wanxing, while being indifferent to her, the older sister, leaving her to be raised solely by her grandmother.
If such a possibility was real, then...
Shi Ning felt the hand holding hers tighten.
She looked down and saw that Su Tianxue's fingertips were white.
At that moment, Shi Ning knew that Su Tianxue had probably understood what Shi Ning had just been thinking.
Li Wei sighed softly. "I had a younger sister. Twenty-eight years ago, she passed away during a difficult childbirth. Later, the child also disappeared."
Su Tianxue pressed her lips together. "Are you suggesting that you think I am that child?"
Li Wei hesitated. Facing Su Tianxue, she was momentarily unsure what kind of attitude and tone to use to get this child to speak to her more gently.
Finally, she took out her phone and found a photo.
Looking at the two women in the photo, Su Tianxue was stunned.
Li Wei smiled, her eyes filled with endless nostalgia.
"This is a photo of me and my sister. It's an old picture, not as clear as modern ones. But I think after seeing this, you'll probably understand why I made such a guess."
Shi Ning glanced at it and knew the answer instantly.
Li Wei's younger sister was practically cast from the same mold as Su Tianxue.
But the difference was that the young girl in the photo loved to smile.
Her smile was brilliant, full of youthful sunshine, as if no trouble in the world could cast even a hint of shadow on her.
Su Tianxue had never smiled so freely.
Shi Ning heard Su Tianxue ask, "What was her name?"
Li Wei said softly, "Her name was Li Ying."
A girl as beautiful as a warbler.
Her life had been forever frozen at the age of twenty-one.
That day was the day Su Tianxue was born.
Li Wei said cautiously, "Xiao Su, if you're willing, I can tell you more about your mother."
Su Tianxue replied coolly, "Right now, there is no evidence to prove that she and I have a mother-daughter relationship."
Shi Ning knew that although Su Tianxue appeared so calm, so cold, her heart had probably already collapsed into ruins. Otherwise, the hand holding hers wouldn't be squeezing so tightly, as if about to crush something.
Li Wei quickly said, "Of course, of course. If you don't mind, we can do a paternity test."
Shi Ning added, "Auntie, that should be called a kinship test. Paternity tests are for parents and their children."
Li Wei looked at Shi Ning with gratitude in her eyes. "Right, right, just what Xiao Shi said."
Su Tianxue lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry, I have no plans for that at the moment."
Anyone could see that she was in a very bad mood.
"If there's nothing else, may I leave now?" Su Tianxue asked.
Li Wei was very reluctant to let her go.
She didn't need any test now; she could be certain that Su Tianxue was her little niece.
But she had to respect Su Tianxue's choice.
Su Tianxue pulled Shi Ning away. As Shi Ning turned, she saw the deep guilt and longing in Li Wei's eyes. She was being held in Fei Anyin's arms, sobbing silently.
Fei Yue was probably stunned as well.
She stood rooted to the spot, looking at Li Wei, then at the departing backs of Shi Ning and Su Tianxue.
At that moment, a wave of relief washed over her.
Thank goodness. Thank goodness that when she was being deceived by Shen Qingtang, she hadn't done anything irreparable to Su Tianxue and Shi Ning, nor had she caused any damage that couldn't be remedied.
Otherwise, Fei Yue was certain that if her mother found out, she would be on the verge of being kicked out of the house.
Ever since she was little, she had heard Li Wei tell her stories about her aunt.
She was her most beloved little sister, and they had the best relationship.
But at that time, because Li Wei wanted to be an actress, she had a huge fight with her family. Ignoring her sister's pleas, she turned and fled abroad, ignoring all news from home, refusing to read any of it. She spent her days holed up in a drama rehearsal room.
It was only when her career was taking off that she saw news from home in a newspaper.
The Li family had fallen.
Her most beloved little sister, Li Ying, had probably inherited her rebellious streak. Disregarding their parents' objections, she insisted on being with someone they didn't approve of.
She ran away with that person, only to be deceived.
She died from a difficult childbirth.
The child went missing.
The Li parents couldn't handle the blow. Their hair turned white overnight, and they were hit by an economic crisis. The business they had painstakingly built for years was all gone.
By that time, Li Wei was already with Fei Anyin.
She had Fei Anyin investigate the person who had tricked Li Ying.
And ruined that person's life.
But even so, Li Ying couldn't come back.
Her parents wouldn't come back either.
And that little niece she had never met also didn't come back.
This incident left a deep scar in Li Wei's heart, making her constantly feel guilty. She found the letters she had never read and went through them one by one. Only then did she realize that if she had read the news from home sooner, perhaps the tragedy would not have happened.
Her parents had written to her.
Li Ying had written too.
The letter said she had met a wonderfully gentle person. Although his family background wasn't good, he was very kind.
Another letter said, Sister, I think I've been deceived.
All that person wanted was the Li family's fortune. He got Li Ying pregnant, hoping to force the family's hand, but unexpectedly, Li Ying cut ties with her parents to continue being with that scumbag Alpha.
The letter was stained with tears.
Later, the letters became gentle again.
Li Ying wrote, Sister, the baby kicked me today. I often wonder, when she grows up, how will I tell her about this? That her mother was once a fool who was deceived. But Mom doesn't regret giving birth to you one bit. Sister, I love this child. It's because of her that I've been able to persevere.
Li Ying imagined many things she would do with her child after she was born.
She said, I hope my child can have a childhood friend to grow up with, so that when she faces setbacks in life, she can look back and see that someone has always been in her life. That's a kind of strength, isn't it? Just like you are to me, Sister.
She also joked, My child will definitely be very popular. Many Omegas at school will like her.
And then, none of her fantasies came true.
She died on the day her child was born.
Afterward, Li Wei often dreamed of Li Ying.
A pregnant Li Ying would smile at her and say, "Sister, look, this is my baby."
She would reach out to embrace her sister, only to grasp at empty air.
Her guilt was so immense that she blamed herself for everything.
So much so that when she was first pregnant with Fei Yue, Li Wei even thought that perhaps this child was her sister's child, come to her womb.
She wanted to let Fei Yue have the life her sister had envisioned.
But the moment she saw Su Tianxue, Li Wei knew.
Su Tianxue was Li Ying's child.
She didn't know how she was doing, if she had been well all these years, if her parents had taken good care of her.
On the other side, Su Tianxue walked quickly, rounding a corner into an empty garden in the courtyard before finally slowing her pace.
Su Tianxue squatted down.
Shi Ning walked beside her and squatted down with her.
She asked softly, "Unhappy?"
Su Tianxue didn't make a sound.
Since she didn't speak, Shi Ning didn't disturb her.
It was quiet all around. The moon hung overhead, casting a faint glow. In the garden's pond, the sound of fish swimming back and forth could be heard, and the cicadas of the season were also chirping.
Su Tianxue's voice drifted lightly on the wind.
"Grandma always said that Mom and Dad didn't not love me, they were just too busy to have time to love me. That I had to take care of Wanxing and give in to her, just because Wanxing was the younger sister."
"And so, I believed that my whole childhood."
Su Tianxue let out a mocking laugh. "But today, I finally found out."
"They just didn't love me."
Did Grandma know she wasn't their biological child?
Su Tianxue didn't know the answer.
Seeing this vulnerable side of Su Tianxue, Shi Ning reached out, wrapped her arms around her, and gently patted her back.
"They don't love you, but I love you."
"Su Tianxue, not every parent in this world loves their child. Many people have never learned how to love, so how could they love their own children? Some people have children and learn love and attachment from them. And some people have children and gain a sense of power over them that they can't find anywhere else."
"Children are the only ones in the world they can control at will."
"We're better off without that kind of love."
Su Tianxue looked up, her eyes glistening with moisture.
Tears welled up, on the verge of falling.
Shi Ning gently brushed her stray hair aside. "Look, my dear."
"Grandma loves you, which is why she would take out every single cent she saved to buy you a birthday cake."
"Wanxing loves you, which is why she was so resistant to me getting close to you at the beginning."
"And I love you."
Shi Ning reached out and caught a tear that suddenly fell from Su Tianxue's eye.
The tear was scalding hot.
Shi Ning sighed softly and said earnestly, "For all the time to come, I will repay the love they owe you tenfold, a hundredfold."
"Look, I've crossed universes, time, and space to come to your side."
She smiled and kissed the corner of Su Tianxue's eye. "This must be part of heaven's plan."
Su Tianxue hummed in agreement.
"Shi Ning."
"Hm?"
"Hold me."
The woman's voice was muffled and carried a rare hint of pitifulness, like a small child seeking attention, asking for a warm embrace.
How could Shi Ning refuse Su Tianxue's request?
She moved forward and embraced her vulnerability in that moment.
In Shi Ning's arms, all of Su Tianxue's turmoil was soothed.
Humans probably need hugs.
In all moments of fearing heights and falling, an embrace- this tight, skin-to-skin contact, this act of two bodies silently transmitting strength to each other- could make a crumbling tower stand tall again, and make a traveler on the verge of giving up take another step forward to continue exploring the path of life.
Su Tianxue hugged Shi Ning back tightly, her arms wrapped around Shi Ning's waist.
The stars in the sky also seemed to circle around them.
The moon said nothing.
Su Tianxue's breathing evened out. After a long while, her emotions finally calmed along with the world around her.
The intense emotional fluctuations of that moment, the doubt and sorrow, had all melted away in this embrace.
Su Tianxue rested her chin on Shi Ning's shoulder and said in a small voice, "Thank you."
Shi Ning tilted her head, not understanding. "Thank me for what?"
Thank you for coming into my world.
Thank you for your embrace.
And thank you for loving me.
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