PANT - Chapter 68
Chapter 68: Mo Lingyuan x Original Shi Ning
Mo Lingyuan had known since she was a child that her parents didn’t love each other. They would argue endlessly at home, smashing everything in sight, while she could only curl up in a corner, waiting for the noise to stop.
When her father stormed out in anger, her mother would come to her in tears, holding her and stroking her long hair over and over, telling her, “Lingyuan, grow up quickly.”
Little Mo Lingyuan tugged on the ear of her stuffed rabbit, looking at her mother in confusion. “Mom, what can I do when I grow up?”
If she grew up, would her parents stop fighting?
Her mother would snatch the rabbit away, grip her by the shoulders, and say earnestly, “Lingyuan, you’re a top-tier Omega. When you grow up, you can find the most powerful and wealthy family to marry into. Then, even if we leave that damn man, we can live the life we want.”
Mo Lingyuan didn’t understand.
If her mother wanted to leave, why not leave now?
It wasn’t until she was older that she learned what being a top-tier Omega meant: a perfect reproductive tool compatible with everyone. Her father would take her to social events, and the way people looked at her was like they were appraising a piece of merchandise.
No one genuinely cared for her.
Her parents only cared about whether she had attended her dance class and how her etiquette lessons were going. If she got hurt, they only worried about whether it would leave a scar, whether it would make her unsightly.
No one at school cared about her either.
The title of “top-tier Omega” set her apart from ordinary people. Even if she did manage to make a good friend, her mother would inevitably storm into the school to put a stop to it.
“They aren’t worthy of being your friend.”
“Mo Lingyuan, don’t waste your time on such trivial things.”
“You’re all I have, Mom.”
But was making friends a trivial thing?
Hugging her books, Mo Lingyuan sat by the window, watching the girls outside run across the campus, laughing and holding hands. It didn’t look trivial at all, she thought.
She longed for it.
But after her mother showed up like that time and time again, no one wanted to be friends with her anymore, even when she took the initiative.
They called her “princess,” their tone laced with mockery.
Mo Lingyuan was beautiful, consistently at the top of her class, and skilled in a host of extracurricular activities.
She was proficient in everything a young lady from a wealthy family was supposed to be.
Her family was well-off. Not a top-tier magnate, but certainly more affluent than a middle-class family. Her mother wanted her to befriend children from even wealthier families at school, but Mo Lingyuan didn’t like them. They were often impolite, possessing the same arrogance her parents had.
Social class was a ladder to the heavens, and to keep climbing, her parents had all but put a price tag on her.
After a while, Mo Lingyuan thought she could probably get used to a life like this.
Until she met Mo Qi in middle school.
To be precise, she didn’t go by that name back then.
At the time, she was preparing for a competition. Worried that Mo Lingyuan’s performance would be subpar and embarrass her, her mother hired a special tutor for her, supposedly a student from a prestigious university.
Her mother praised the tutor’s academic achievements but lamented her poor family background, calling it a pity.
Mo Lingyuan was indifferent to this. When she first started interacting with Mo Qi, she didn’t feel anything special.
Until one stormy night, when she was stranded at school, unable to go home.
Her tutoring session was supposed to start at seven in the evening.
Mo Lingyuan sent Mo Qi a message, saying she couldn’t make it today and that they should cancel the class.
But Mo Qi showed up at her school gate, holding an umbrella and wading through the rain.
Mo Qi was smiling, raindrops sliding down the edge of her umbrella, creating a hazy curtain.
“Lingyuan, we agreed to have class today, so I came to pick you up.”
It turned out that falling for someone could happen in an instant.
It turned out that this was what it felt like to share everything that happened at school each day.
It turned out that being cared for was truly addictive.
Mo Lingyuan looked up to Mo Qi, her gaze painting the woman as a deity. She had even planned it all out: after getting together with Mo Qi, her parents would be furious because her choice would defy all their plans.
At thirteen or fourteen, a young girl’s heart was in bloom. A courage she had never known before burned within Mo Lingyuan.
She thought she would use this to make a clean break with her parents, to disappoint them, which suited her just fine.
But soon, the unexpected happened.
Her mother passed away, and her father quickly found a new wife.
Mo Lingyuan had thought she could remain indifferent and treat it with cold detachment, but walking into the house with that new woman was Mo Qi.
She had become her sister.
Her blood-related sister.
Mo Qi was the child this new woman and her father had years ago.
One evening after class, Mo Lingyuan had been leaning against Mo Qi’s leg, cooing, “I wish you could be my older sister.”
Her words had become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
They had become reality.
Mo Qi seemed the same as ever, but Mo Lingyuan could no longer rely on her as she had in the past.
Though vicious bubbles still surfaced in her heart from time to time, thinking, why not seduce Mo Qi, create a scandal, let the whole world know, make her father lose all face, and drive Mo Qi’s mother to despair.
The word incest sounded wonderful.
But it was just a thought.
She met Shi Ning on the first day of high school after Mo Qi had moved in.
Due to a social engagement, she attended a banquet at the Shi Residence with Mo Qi.
She actually noticed Shi Ning right away.
That girl standing in the crowd, smiling with abandon, her black hair streaked with red.
Across the crowd, the other girl’s gaze met hers.
Mo Lingyuan had seen that look of astonishment in too many people’s eyes before.
That Shi Ning wanted to be friends with her was also within Mo Lingyuan’s expectations.
This is just another Alpha who’s taken a liking to my looks and my top-tier Omega status, she thought.
But it was perfect timing. She was in a terrible mood and needed company.
And so, they gradually grew closer.
Shi Ning didn’t go to the same high school as her, but the two schools weren’t far apart.
Every day after school, Mo Lingyuan would see a girl on a bicycle, a messenger bag slung over her shoulder, propping up her bike as she waited for her. When she saw her come out, Shi Ning would wave enthusiastically. Sometimes, Mo Lingyuan had a poor appetite in the afternoon and didn’t like eating in the school cafeteria. Shi Ning would buy soft bread and milk from the tuck shop and bring it to her.
Sitting on the back of her bike, Mo Lingyuan was unwilling to wrap her arms around her, so she would always just pinch the hem of her clothes.
Mo Lingyuan found it strange that Shi Ning could arrive so early. When she asked, the answer she got was that the last period at the neighboring school was free activity time, so she could leave.
Later, when she visited the Shi Residence, she found out that this girl skipped the last class every time.
Little liar.
Once, it was also pouring rain. Mo Lingyuan held her schoolbag over her head and ran to the school gate. Not seeing Shi Ning, she hailed a taxi and left.
But as the taxi drove away, she saw Shi Ning’s figure.
She was wearing a raincoat, riding her bicycle, heading toward the school gate.
In the heavy rain, her bright yellow raincoat was eye-catching. Shi Ning was moving forward, against the flow of all the people and traffic.
Mo Lingyuan subconsciously yelled, “Stop the car.”
But the taxi driver said, “Miss, no stopping here, and it’s a one-way street. What do you need?”
The car never stopped.
On that rainy day, she didn’t receive Shi Ning’s umbrella.
Afraid that she would keep waiting, Mo Lingyuan sent Shi Ning a message, telling her she had left early.
Shi Ning replied: It’s raining today, so I didn’t go. Don’t worry.
Liar.
Shi Ning liked her.
Mo Lingyuan gradually became aware of this.
But how long could this affection last?
What Shi Ning had fallen for was perhaps the glamorous version of her she saw.
Shi Ning had no idea about the viciousness that ignited within her time and time again, nor the intolerable possessiveness she harbored.
She was a girl who was bad to the bone, rotten to the core.
Mo Qi started dating, which was perfectly normal.
So Mo Lingyuan started dating too.
She couldn’t stand Mo Qi bringing someone home and saying gently, “Lingyuan, call her Jiejie.”
She had to find a way to distract herself.
In the summer night breeze, the two of them were on the school’s athletic field.
Shi Ning had helped Mo Lingyuan climb the wall into her own high school.
Mo Lingyuan sat on the horizontal bar, swinging her legs. She bent down, her long hair cascading, and spoke as if casually, “Hey, Shi Ning, let’s date.”
Shi Ning had a grape-flavored lollipop in her mouth. Hearing her words, she froze for a moment, then broke into a smile, the silver stud in her right ear flashing.
She said, “Okay.”
Now it was Mo Lingyuan’s turn to frown. “You just agreed like that? You’re not going to ask me why I said that?”
Shi Ning walked closer, took the lollipop out of her mouth, and looked up into Mo Lingyuan’s eyes.
“I said it the day we became friends.”
“I’ll agree to anything you ask.”
“Besides, I like you.”
She smiled, bright and brilliant. “So I’m very happy you said that.”
But Shi Ning didn’t ask me if I actually liked her, Mo Lingyuan thought.
Dating Shi Ning didn’t seem much different from being friends with her.
There was nothing that needed getting used to.
She was the lofty princess, and Shi Ning was the knight who guarded her side.
She had always thought that things were fine this way.
Although seeing Mo Qi still made her heart ache with jealousy, and she still envied the person who could stand openly by her side, Shi Ning was pretty good too.
Until one day, she was leaving her house to go to the supermarket when someone stopped her and stabbed her in the back of the neck.
Her pheromone gland were damaged.
When Shi Ning found out, she stormed in, full of fury, demanding to know who did it.
Mo Lingyuan said it was one of Shi Ning’s little fans.
But she was lying.
She knew who did it.
It was Mo Qi’s girlfriend at the time.
There was always a special intuition between women.
She didn’t know where she had slipped up, letting the other woman see her true feelings.
She didn’t dare and didn’t want to tell Shi Ning about this.
So she lied.
The breakup also came suddenly. Going abroad for treatment was only because Mo Qi’s girlfriend had demanded it; otherwise, her family wouldn’t cooperate with the Mo family.
Mo Lingyuan was easily discarded.
Consumed by guilt, Shi Ning didn’t dare to come looking for her.
For ten years in a foreign country, Mo Lingyuan was always waiting for a message from someone.
But she didn’t know whose name she was hoping to see light up her phone screen: Shi Ning or Mo Qi.
News from Shi Ning came quickly.
Traces of her could still be found on her WeChat Moments.
She was in a relationship, had a girlfriend.
Mo Qi also frequently posted photos with her girlfriend.
Everyone had someone by their side, except her.
Only she was alone, huddled in a small, cheap apartment.
The princess was cast out to a foreign land. From then on, she could only rely on herself to move forward.
The moment she confirmed that this Shi Ning was not “her” Shi Ning, Mo Lingyuan actually felt quite relieved.
She didn’t know what she was relieved about.
Perhaps it was that she could continue to hope that the way Shi Ning treated her now, falling in love with Su Tianxue, was only because a different soul was inside, not because it was her true self.
But the Shi Ning who had grown up with her, who had been reckless with her, was gone.
If Mo Lingyuan had to choose.
Between Shi Ning disappearing and Shi Ning’s love for her disappearing, she felt that the former seemed more acceptable to her now.
Once love disappeared, it could never be found again.
Just like how her feelings for Mo Qi had long since vanished amidst repeated despair and heartbreak.
There was no love left, and she was incapable of loving again.
It couldn’t be retrieved.
Finding Su Tianxue to ask about parallel worlds was just a fleeting thought that crossed the mind of a little lunatic like her.
But surprisingly, she actually got an answer from Su Tianxue.
That night, Shi Ning’s car had sped down the mountain road and crashed into a tree.
That day, a star had happened to fall to Earth.
Mo Lingyuan believed in coincidences.
Right now, besides coincidences, there was nothing else she could believe in.
On the day Shi Ning and Su Tianxue were getting married, a star was going to fall.
This was a prediction from a foreign astronomical institution.
So, without telling anyone, Mo Lingyuan got in her car and drove onto the same mountain road where “her” Shi Ning had her accident.
She floored the accelerator.
Then, without hesitation, she crashed into a tree.
-CRASH.
Mo Lingyuan had actually wanted to do this for a long time.
On countless nights, the thought of dying had swarmed her mind, as if innumerable insects were tearing at her brain, screaming for her to destroy everything.
Beneath her flawless face was a breakdown suppressed day and night.
But she wasn’t that brave.
She had also once cherished Mo Qi’s tenderness.
But now, she had nothing to fear and nothing to hold on to.
This crash would either mean life or death.
Or, like Shi Ning, she would disappear.
The moment of impact wasn’t the deafening crash Mo Lingyuan had imagined.
The car was stuck against the tree, but her body had vanished into thin air.
When Mo Lingyuan opened her eyes, she was in a room.
The room felt vaguely familiar.
When the room’s owner pushed the door open, she finally remembered where she was.
This was Shi Ning’s home.
She had visited before.
When she was still dating Shi Ning, she had been in this room too.
But back then, the room seemed… warmer than it did now.
Mo Lingyuan remembered that Shi Ning liked to use green bedsheets, which had a very spring-like feel. But now, the room was all shades of gray.
They had once kissed at the desk.
That was Mo Lingyuan’s first kiss.
She also remembered that, in that moment, she was the one who kissed first.
Shi Ning was always so careful, not daring to hold her hand, worried about even hugging her.
She was probably always considerate of her feelings.
Sometimes, this thoughtfulness annoyed Mo Lingyuan a little.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t craved moments that crossed the line.
Since Shi Ning wouldn’t take the initiative, she would.
They only kissed, nothing more.
Everything from the past swirled in Mo Lingyuan’s mind.
She looked at the Shi Ning who pushed the door open, wondering how she was going to explain why she was here.
But-
The Shi Ning who walked in looked only eighteen years old.
There was no high-spiritedness on her face, only endless gloom and sorrow, tinged with melancholy.
Mo Lingyuan froze.
She opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but she found that Shi Ning walked straight toward her and then passed right through her body.
Mo Lingyuan was in disbelief.
She turned around, reaching out to touch Shi Ning, but her fingertips could only pass through Shi Ning’s arm.
So- she was dead?
And after dying, she had returned to Shi Ning’s eighteenth year.
But how could Mo Lingyuan be sure that this Shi Ning was the same one she had known?
Or, she thought-
Perhaps.
Perhaps the luckiest Shi Ning was the one who had never met her at all.
It would be best not to meet her.
She had never been a good person.
God had probably never heard her prayers.
She saw Shi Ning take out her phone and dial a number.
When the call connected, the voice from the receiver was one she knew better than anyone.
It was her own.
On the phone, her voice sounded very clear.
“Why are you still calling me?”
Now, standing beside Shi Ning, Mo Lingyuan realized just how cold and impatient her tone of voice had been.
Shi Ning sat at the desk, holding her phone, seeming a bit flustered.
After a moment, she spoke, her voice choked with pain as she pleaded, “Lingyuan, can we not break up, please?”
Mo Lingyuan wanted to say yes, but she couldn’t speak at all.
Her other self on the phone repeated the lines she had said before.
“I never liked you. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
“I’m going abroad. Don’t contact me again.”
“But Lingyuan-”
“Shi Ning, you’re not my dog. Stop pestering me.”
Then, the call was disconnected.
When Shi Ning called again, she only got the notification that she had been blocked.
-Sorry, the user you are calling is busy. Please try again later.
Standing beside Shi Ning, Mo Lingyuan felt a cold sweat break out all over her body.
She had forgotten she had said such cruel things.
At that time, she seemed to be in a terrible mood due to her injury, her illness, and being pressured by Mo Qi’s mother.
But even so, that was no reason for her to hurt Shi Ning.
I really am a bad person, Mo Lingyuan thought.
An out-and-out bad person.
So bad that, looking back, she still hoped Shi Ning would be waiting for her right where she left her.
Shi Ning stared at the phone. It seemed like she was crying, but maybe she wasn’t.
She slumped onto the desk. Mo Lingyuan couldn’t see her face or hear her voice, much less hug her.
How long will days like this last? Mo Lingyuan wondered.
Was she doomed to just stand by Shi Ning’s side and watch her like this?
The prankster god answered her with practical action.
-Yes.
She could only watch Shi Ning like this, in a place no one knew existed.
Watching her fall into a slump after the breakup, yet still posting on her Moments that she was doing fine.
Watching her deliberately find someone to pretend to be her partner, take a photo together, and announce their relationship.
Watching her do all this, then stare at her phone, as if waiting for a reply.
It turned out that all these years, she hadn’t been happy either.
Knowing this, Mo Lingyuan felt not a shred of joy.
In the past, across the ocean in a foreign country, whenever she saw news online that Shi Ning seemed to have found a new girlfriend and was in a new relationship, there was always a moment when she felt unwilling to accept it.
Unwilling to accept that she had been let go so easily.
All the things Shi Ning had said had become lies.
Promises had turned to scattered sand.
She couldn’t accept it.
She wanted this person to love her, to always love her.
But now, standing by Shi Ning’s side like a ghost, watching her toss and turn every night, yearning for the same name.
Her name.
Mo Lingyuan felt immense pain.
She felt no happiness in this at all.
It would be better if Shi Ning could just move on.
After a long time, Mo Lingyuan got used to drifting around like this.
As a ghost, her sense of time wasn’t as sharp, and her perception of its passage was unclear.
She could only sense the changes in time through the changes in Shi Ning.
She grew taller.
The red streaks in her hair now became the color of roses.
Her gaze transformed from youthful recklessness to unruly world-weariness.
She watched her put on high heels and suits.
She also watched the people around her come and go.
Sometimes, Mo Lingyuan would even have the interest to secretly comment in her mind, thinking that some of the young women were actually quite nice.
She was going to be a ghost for the rest of her life anyway.
It would be better if someone could properly accompany Shi Ning.
But sometimes, in the dead of night when no one was around, Mo Lingyuan would secretly kiss Shi Ning’s brow.
She always dreamed when she slept, and she always frowned in her dreams.
Mo Lingyuan thought that she was probably in every one of Shi Ning’s dreams.
Because of her, she would shed tears, would call out her name.
She was like a knife plunged into Shi Ning’s heart.
Throughout all the changes in the world, it was never removed.
Shi Ning herself was unwilling.
And no one else could take it out.
She would rather fall asleep every night clutching the wound, letting all the pain and blood flow freely, than throw this knife away.
It was as if, by throwing it away, everything would disappear.
She couldn’t bear to part with it.
Even the hurt Mo Lingyuan gave her was seen as romantic.
Sometimes, Mo Lingyuan would feel that this life was just a fleeting moment.
But at other times, she would feel that a very, very long time had passed.
Until one day, she saw Shi Ning drive away.
She chased after her, settling into the passenger seat.
Mo Lingyuan wanted to know where Shi Ning was going.
When the car entered the mountain road, winding through a circle of lush green.
When the other people appeared.
Mo Lingyuan suddenly realized.
Ten years was too long, passing in the blink of an eye.
Today was the day Shi Ning had her accident and disappeared.
A wave of despair rose in Mo Lingyuan’s heart.
She thought, no matter what, she had to make Shi Ning stay.
That accident couldn’t happen again.
But she couldn’t do anything.
She couldn’t touch anything in this world.
She could only watch helplessly as everything was about to repeat itself.
Just as Shi Ning was about to drive toward that tree, Mo Lingyuan mustered all her strength and shouted, “Shi Ning! Don’t!”
She thought, Shi Ning must have heard her voice.
That’s why she looked over in shock, failing to notice the road ahead.
And so-
With a crash.
The car hit the tree.
Mo Lingyuan’s eyes widened, and then she laughed in despair.
So.
So this was where it all began.
She woke up again.
Mo Lingyuan didn’t dare to open her eyes.
She was afraid that if she opened them, she would find nothing but emptiness, that she would be back in the cycle.
Back to the day she met the Shi Ning from ten years ago.
Trembling, she opened her eyes, and her first reaction was shock.
It felt unreal.
She sat up, looked around, and realized this seemed to be her residence abroad.
The memories of those ten years felt like a dream.
It was as if it had happened, yet there was no trace of it.
The first thing Mo Lingyuan did was grab her phone to check the time.
!!!
Now!!!
It was the day of Shi Ning’s accident.
Mo Lingyuan quickly found Shi Ning’s contact on WeChat and sent her a message.
Mo Lingyuan: Are you there?
After waiting for a long time, Shi Ning didn’t reply.
Just as Mo Lingyuan thought she was too late, Shi Ning replied.
Shi Ning: ......
Six ellipses said it all.
Mo Lingyuan: ......
Shi Ning: You need to borrow money?
Mo Lingyuan: Yeah, is that okay?
Shi Ning: How much, I’ll transfer it to you.
As soon as those words appeared, Mo Lingyuan knew.
The current Shi Ning was her Shi Ning.
The one who had walked with her through her youth, the one who had stayed by her side for ten years.
Tears instantly welled up.
They splattered on the phone screen, shattering into flowers.
Mo Lingyuan wiped the tears away with her thumb.
Mo Lingyuan: I want cash.
Shi Ning: .......?
Mo Lingyuan: Don’t go street racing. Wait for me at the airport.
Mo Lingyuan: Did you hear me?
Shi Ning didn’t answer.
Mo Lingyuan’s heart tightened again.
She was worried Shi Ning would go to the race.
And have another accident.
Her heart was in her throat.
It wasn’t until Shi Ning sent her a photo that she finally felt at ease.
Shi Ning: [Image]
Shi Ning: Okay, I’ll go home first, then pick you up.
Without a second thought, Mo Lingyuan started booking a ticket. She didn’t even bother to pack her luggage, choosing the earliest flight and sending the information to Shi Ning.
When it was actually time to meet, Mo Lingyuan felt a little hesitant.
She was anxious on the plane.
She felt like a bad woman who had suddenly grown a conscience.
She had no idea how she was going to face Shi Ning in a little while.
What would she say?
The reckless folly of their youth ten years ago was still etched in Mo Lingyuan’s mind.
The moments she had spent by her side for ten years had also become part of her very being.
Memory had become a part of her life.
Now, Mo Lingyuan could say that she was Shi Ning’s most familiar stranger.
She knew that before sleeping, Shi Ning liked to toss and turn, trying out every sleeping position before hugging a pillow to sleep.
She knew that Shi Ning only liked to use her electric toothbrush for half the recommended time, then spend the rest of the time rinsing the brush under water.
She knew everything about Shi Ning.
But Shi Ning was completely unaware of this.
It would be strange to suddenly reveal it, right?
Mo Lingyuan’s mind was in a whirl. When she actually got off the plane and walked toward the exit, she suddenly felt a sense of helplessness, unsure of how to move forward.
She couldn’t imagine what Shi Ning would be like when she saw her.
Would she be happy?
Or would her face be cold and indifferent?
Or would she yell at her?
Mo Lingyuan was extremely nervous. Then, at the exit, she saw the most conspicuous person: Shi Ning.
Just like many years ago, when they first met, her gaze passed through the crowd and landed on Shi Ning.
Shi Ning was looking at her too.
Mo Lingyuan pressed her lips together, not knowing whether to raise her hand and say hi, or do something else.
She walked over.
Shi Ning brought out the hand she had been holding behind her back.
A single rose.
“For you.”
Mo Lingyuan suddenly burst into tears.
How could she still be so foolish after all these years?
This person was Shi Ning.
Not anyone else.
It was the Shi Ning who, once she said she would love her, would always love her.
To this day, she still remembered the words she had said.
Ten years ago, when they were still dating, Shi Ning had asked her what she wanted for Valentine’s Day.
“I like being given flowers, but I don’t want a bouquet, that’s too tacky. Just one, a red rose, preferably with a black ribbon tied on it.”
That’s what Mo Lingyuan had said.
But they had broken up completely before Valentine’s Day ever came.
So Mo Lingyuan had never received such a rose.
Until today.
Until this moment.
Shi Ning remembered everything.
Seeing Mo Lingyuan cry, Shi Ning was a little flustered and at a loss.
She didn’t have any tissues, was afraid her hands weren’t clean, and was also afraid Mo Lingyuan wouldn’t like it, so she didn’t dare to reach out and wipe her tears. She could only ask lamely, “What’s wrong? Were you bullied abroad?”
First, she asked to borrow money.
Then she wanted cash.
And now she was crying upon seeing her.
What could it be if not being bullied?
Hearing Shi Ning’s words, Mo Lingyuan sniffled. She grabbed Shi Ning’s clothes and wiped her tears on her sleeve.
Then she snatched the rose from Shi Ning’s hand.
Shi Ning was dumbfounded.
She asked tentatively, “How about I make an appointment with a doctor for you?”
Mo Lingyuan really seemed a bit mentally unstable.
Mo Lingyuan gritted her teeth. “No need.”
Shi Ning thought to herself, I should probably still make one.
Something feels off.
She led Mo Lingyuan to the car. Mo Lingyuan insisted on kicking her out of the driver’s seat and driving herself.
Shi Ning: “Do you have a license?”
Mo Lingyuan: “.......Just get in the passenger seat.”
The princess was about to throw a tantrum.
Shi Ning opened the passenger door and got in.
She opened the navigation app, searching for an address.
Mo Lingyuan glanced at it and felt something was wrong.
“What’s this address?”
Shi Ning explained, “It’s your first day back, so I booked a hotel for you. I figured you probably don’t want to go home, otherwise, you wouldn’t have contacted me.”
As she said the last few words, a bitter smile appeared on Shi Ning’s lips.
She knew she was just Mo Lingyuan’s last resort.
In Mo Lingyuan’s world, she was at the very bottom of the list.
Unless absolutely necessary, Mo Lingyuan would not seek her out.
Mo Lingyuan saw through Shi Ning’s thoughts, and a pang of guilt struck her heart. She lowered her eyes and turned off Shi Ning’s phone.
Shi Ning: ?
“I’m not going to a hotel.”
Shi Ning: “Then do you want to go home?”
Mo Lingyuan: “I’m not going home.”
Shi Ning: “Huh? Then?”
Mo Lingyuan: “I’m going to your place.”
Shi Ning: ......
She looked at Mo Lingyuan, and after confirming that Mo Lingyuan’s eyes were filled with seriousness, she fell silent.
Mo Lingyuan raised an eyebrow. “You’re not willing?”
How could she possibly be unwilling, Shi Ning thought.
When faced with Mo Lingyuan, she could never utter a word of refusal.
She nodded, about to input her home address into the navigation.
But Mo Lingyuan started the car directly.
“I know where it is.”
Shi Ning was bewildered. “I don’t live in the same place anymore.”
She no longer lived with Qin Li and Ye Wanlan.
She didn’t want to watch her biological mother and Ye Wanlan show off their affection in various ways every day.
Mo Lingyuan: “I know.”
Shi Ning: “.....Huh?”
How could Mo Lingyuan possibly know?
Seeing Shi Ning’s surprised expression, Mo Lingyuan thought, of course I know.
The way to Shi Ning’s home was a route she had driven with her countless times during those ten years.
At first, Shi Ning thought Mo Lingyuan was just talking nonsense, planning to let her drive until she was hopelessly lost before taking over and driving home herself.
After all, they weren’t short on gas.
But Mo Lingyuan really did park the car steadily right in front of her house.
She even found the entrance to the underground garage.
In that instant, Shi Ning was stunned.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t surprised; she was even a little scared.
So she asked in a hoarse voice, “How did you know?”
Mo Lingyuan gripped the steering wheel, thinking, crap.
She was so focused on getting to Shi Ning’s house that she forgot about this part.
“I-”
How could she explain it?
By saying, I’ve been by your side for ten years, you just didn’t know.
Wouldn’t that scare her to death?
Sensing Mo Lingyuan’s hesitation, Shi Ning didn’t press further. She opened the car door.
Seeing her action, Mo Lingyuan looked up.
“Let’s get out,” Shi Ning said, averting her gaze.
Mo Lingyuan got out of the car and followed beside Shi Ning.
Back at her place, Shi Ning didn’t have a guest room; she had renovated them all.
She wasn’t in the habit of having guests.
“You sleep in the bedroom, I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
After saying this, Shi Ning left as if she were fleeing.
Mo Lingyuan watched her in silence.
Was she that scary?
After taking a shower, Shi Ning came out to prepare the sofa, getting ready to put on a set of bedding.
Mo Lingyuan stood behind her, holding a glass of water, and suddenly asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me why I came back?”
Shi Ning: “.......You’re just going to leave anyway.”
What was the point in asking for a reason?
Mo Lingyuan rolled her eyes, then thought that she was mostly to blame for Shi Ning becoming like this. She suppressed her temper, walked over, and poked Shi Ning’s back. “Who told you I was going to leave?”
Shi Ning’s action of putting on the duvet cover paused. “You’re moving back to the country?”
She suddenly remembered something.
“Mo Qi is getting married.”
Mo Lingyuan gritted her teeth, took a step forward, and snatched the duvet from Shi Ning’s hands.
“It has nothing to do with her.”
Shi Ning had a temper too.
She looked at Mo Lingyuan. “So? Does it have something to do with me, then?”
Mo Lingyuan: “Yes, because of you.”
This answer was completely unexpected for Shi Ning.
She wanted to beg for mercy.
“Mo Lingyuan, what do you mean?”
Shi Ning couldn’t hide her pain.
The woman’s voice was pleading.
“Will you let me go, please?”
Coming and going as she pleased.
Even a puppy would be heartbroken.
Besides, she had never been some puppy.
Mo Lingyuan knew that any explanation at this point would be futile.
To say, oh, I think I like you now.
To the Shi Ning of this world, it would sound like nothing more than an absurd joke.
A prank.
Mo Lingyuan pressed her lips together and sat down on the sofa. “Anyway, I came back because of you, and it has nothing to do with anyone else. And, you don’t have to sleep on the sofa tonight. I will.”
Shi Ning: “.......”
Did a comet hit the Earth or something?
How did the world turn upside down?
She couldn’t understand Mo Lingyuan’s thoughts.
Mo Lingyuan knew that, given Shi Ning’s sleeping habits, she would definitely not be able to sleep on the sofa.
That girl was a restless sleeper.
Since Mo Lingyuan insisted, Shi Ning didn’t ask any more questions.
The moment she turned to go back to her room, Mo Lingyuan couldn’t help but ask, “If I said, if, I like you now, Shi Ning, would you believe me?”
Shi Ning sighed softly. “Mo Lingyuan, I’m not an idiot.”
She closed the door and leaned against the frame, listening to her own heartbeat.
Almost.
She almost believed it.
Seeing Shi Ning like this, Mo Lingyuan lost her temper too.
She deserved it; this was something she had to endure.
She glanced at Shi Ning’s room, then lay down on the sofa.
Mo Lingyuan thought.
This is so much better than the past ten years.
She could speak, she could be seen, she could touch.
She could truly be by her side.
She had endured ten silent years.
She refused to believe it.
She, this princess, couldn’t win back a defecting knight!
And that night was not a peaceful one for Shi Ning either.
She had a dream.
She dreamed that she and Mo Lingyuan were in a car, speeding toward a tree.
The vehicle crashed.
She woke up with a start, yet she thought, if that were the case, it would still be a perfect ending.
If they couldn’t be together in life, at least they could die together.
Then, from outside the door, came Mo Lingyuan’s knock.
“Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?”
Shi Ning hummed in affirmation.
“I’m coming in.”
Mo Lingyuan twisted the doorknob, looking somewhat anxious. She skillfully walked to the side of Shi Ning’s bed and reached out to stroke her brow.
The movement was slow.
Gentle.
Stroke after stroke, it quickly soothed the anxiety and unease born from Shi Ning’s nightmare.
For some reason, Shi Ning felt that this sensation was very familiar.
As if, over the past ten years, Mo Lingyuan had done this to her countless times.
But then she thought with self-mockery, how could that be possible.
She was being foolish again.
Calming down, Shi Ning said, “I’m fine now.”
She grabbed Mo Lingyuan’s wrist and moved her hand away. “You can go rest now.”
Mo Lingyuan blinked and lowered her hand.
“Okay.”
She obediently left.
Watching her retreating back, Shi Ning was stunned.
When did Mo Lingyuan become so obedient to her?
When Shi Ning woke up early in the morning and saw Mo Lingyuan lying on the sofa, she remembered that yesterday, she had picked up Mo Lingyuan and brought her home.
The development of all this was beyond Shi Ning’s expectations.
She never thought that one day she could have a proper conversation with Mo Lingyuan again.
Seeing Mo Lingyuan sleeping soundly, the thin blanket having slipped off her body, Shi Ning subconsciously worried that she would catch a cold. So she went over, picked up the blanket, and went to cover her with it.
Just as she laid it on her, her wrist was grabbed by Mo Lingyuan.
Mo Lingyuan smiled triumphantly. “Worried about me?”
Shi Ning pressed her lips together.
The sunlight was just right. Mo Lingyuan suddenly spoke, “Shi Ning, let’s start dating again, okay?”
Her casual tone was just like the words Mo Lingyuan had said to her many years ago.
Shi Ning lowered her eyes and refused.
“No.”
She said, “I don’t have another ten years to waste.”
But I’ve already spent ten years with you, Mo Lingyuan thought.
Mo Lingyuan reached out and wrapped her arms around Shi Ning’s back as she stood up and turned to leave. She nuzzled against her clothes like a cat, soft and ticklish, as if acting spoiled.
She said, “Then this time, let me be the one to pursue you.”
She still had countless decades.
And she didn’t think any of it was a waste.
Because she was winning back someone who loved her.
This was more important than anything else.
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