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nTranslator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

nNing Qing smiled. Actually, it’s easy to deal with Ning Yao. Despite so much experience, Ning Yao hasn’t improved at all. It might have something to do with the environment she grew up in.

nWhenever Ning Yao was in trouble, she’d have Xu Junxi and Li Meiling to guard and escort her. She never really needed to use her brain. Ning Qing was like her when she was eighteen years old, when she was the daughter of the Ning family. She didn’t know anything and she got so badly cheated by Li Meiling and her daughter.

nNing Qing exited the men’s fashion store and suddenly greeted a familiar face. It was Xu Junxi’s mom.

nMother Xu’s hair was tied up neatly and she was gorgeously dressed, just like a wealthy man’s wife. Mother Xu saw her too and they each picked up the pace.

nEver since Ning Qing had fallen, Mother Xu looked down on her. Then Ning Qing caused the incident in the entertainment circle, and Mother Xu disliked her even more.

nMother Xu “humphed” and lifted her chin up high.

nNing Qing didn’t feel hurt anymore. Her relationship with Xu Junxi had ended so she was extra lenient with Mother Xu. At the end of the day, she’s just a stranger.

n“Aunt Xu,” Ning Qing greeted politely.

nMother Xu didn’t respond.

nThen, “Mom!” Ning Yao ran out from the store with a big smile plastered on her face. It was obvious that she was ingratiating herself with Mother Xu, “Mom, why are you here? Do you want to shop? Let me keep you company.”

nMother Xu didn’t treat Ning Yao any better either. She stole a glance at Ning Yao coldly and said, “Don’t call me your mom. Those who don’t know better might misunderstand our relationship. Has the Xu family accepted you? Stop dreaming of entering the Xu family’s door!” Then, Mother Xu took a look at Ning Qing again, “I don’t know what the Xu family owes the Ning family! Junxi is just so tangled up with you sisters.”

n“Mom, you misunderstand me. I really love Junxi…” Ning Yao tried to explain.

nThen, the salesgirl ran out from the shop. She pulled Ning Yao by her sleeve, “Miss, I’ve wrapped up the shirt. One million dollars, please make payment.”

n“A million?” Mother Xu lifted her head to look at the name of the shop. “This place doesn’t carry any big brands. What kind of shirt costs a million dollars?”

nNing Yao was suddenly at loss for words.

nNing Qing smiled and replied, “Aunt Xu, I saw a shirt in this shop earlier but Yaoyao came in to fight over it with me and said it’s for Junxi. She also said that she has a card that Junxi gave her. It has no spending limit and she’s not short of money. So, she decided to spend a million dollars to buy the shirt for Junxi.”

n“What?” Mother Xu’s face suddenly grew grave. She extended her hand and pointed a finger at Ning Yao. “Well. You have yet to enter the Xu family’s door and you’ve already started spending our money! You don’t even blink at the idea of spending a million dollars on some **ty shirt. What are you thinking you little b*tch!?”

nNing Yao was stunned when she heard “b*tch”. She never though Xu Junxi’s mom would be a virago.

nMother Xu’s anger didn’t cease. She went forward to grab Ning Yao by her arm. “Follow me. Let’s go and look for Junxi. I’ll have him make a decision today. If he were to take you in, I’d kill myself.”

nNing Yao was tearing up from the harsh words. Mother Xu made a huge scene and everyone at the shopping center started surrounding them. She saw that a few of them recognized her.

n“Mom, listen to me. I can explain…”

nNing Qing watched the chaos as she smirked. She shall let Ning Yao get a taste of how Mother Xu had treated her back then!

nXiao Zhou got very excited and she took out her phone, “Ning Qing, let me film this and upload to the internet. Let’s see how Ning Yao ends up?”

nNing Qing agreed.

nBut before she could film, two bodyguards walked over to separate Ning Yao and Mother Xu. The bodyguards pushed Ning Yao behind them and another person walked over, Li Meiling.

nLi Meiling was wearing a huge pair of shades. She looked at Mother Xu and smiled politely. “Sister Xu, I happened to be looking for you to have a cup of coffee. As we run into each other today, let’s have a cup of coffee together at a nearby cafe.”

nMother Xu rejected her immediately. “I’m not going. I have nothing to talk to you about.”

nLi Meiling was wearing an unbeatable smile as she walked next to Mother Xu. She leaned towards Mother Xu and spoke in her ear. An expression of shock flashed on Mother Xu’s face.

n“Fine, I’ll wait for you at the cafe.” Mother Xu then left.

nNing Qing saw the drastic change in the dynamic; her face grew solemn. She wondered what Li Meiling told Mother Xu. She figured it must be related to the interest of Xu family.

nThe bodyguards dispersed the crowd. Then, Li Meiling took off her shades and walked before Ning Qing calmly. She called her as though they were very close, “Qingqing.”

nNing Qing could see the vicious glimpse in Li Meiling’s eyes. She stood straight and joked, ” Aunt Lee, you and Yaoyao always wear shades nowadays? You used to be famous, why did you become so shameful?”

nLi Meiling’s face grew ferocious. It was this b*tch’s fault. She ruined her twenty years of hard work!

n“Qingqing, you think you’ve won? Heh, what you could think of that hadn’t already thought of a dozen years ago. You were too immature before. Alright, I shall discuss Yaoyao and Junxi’s wedding date with Sister Xu now. By then, I will invite you to attend the wedding dinner. Haha,” Li Meiling laughed as she left.

nThe salesgirl was brought back into the shop by the bodyguards. Ning Yao wore her shades and flashed a proud smile. “Sister, do you think you can defeat me and my mom just like that? To break Junxi and I apart? Your little actions don’t cause any effect nor make us feel anything. Both of us are still living freely. We want men, we get men. We want money, we get money. Humph!”

nNing Yao walked away arrogantly.

nXiao Zhou was stomping her foot in anger. “Ning Qing, what’s going on? It seemed as though we were going to win against the pair of mother and daughter, but they are like cockroaches that never die. They’ve been resurrected again. D*mn, they’re arrogant.”

nNing Qing watched their back and had an idea. “Xiao Zhou, go and buy off the barista in the cafe. I’d like to hear what they say.”

n…

nIn the cafe

nLi Meiling was sitting opposite Mother Xu. Li Meiling pushed an envelope to Mother Xu.

nMother Xu opened the envelope and there was a share transfer agreement.

n“Sister Xu, there are always three to four directors of a different surname in the Xu family’s holding, Emperor Entertainment Group. They have been eyeing Junxi’s position and have been causing trouble. This is the fifteen percent share of one of the biggest directors with a different surname. As long as Junxi gets this, he would be able to remove all of the directors. From then onwards, Emperor Entertainment Group would belong to the Xu family entirely.

nMother Xu’s eyes were beaming with joy. “How did you get this?”

n“The director with a different surname has a son who likes gambling. A few days ago, he lost and the gang leader caught him. The director had no choice but to take out a mortgage on the agreement. In the end, I got it.”

nMother Xu heard and asked straightforwardly, “What do you want?”

nLi Meiling took a sip of her coffee and said, “This agreement is a dowry for Yaoyao. I want Yaoyao to be married into the Xu Family.”

n“This…” Mother Xu hesitated. To be frank, she was very unhappy with Ning Yao.

nLi Meiling saw and put down her cup of coffee. She took back the envelope and stood up. “As Sister Xu is not happy with the dowry, forget it. I’ll make a move first.”

n“Hey!” Mother Xu held Li Meiling. “Let’s discuss this.”

n“There’s nothing to discuss. I want Yaoyao to marry Junxi within a month!” Li Meiling was very persistent.

nMother Xu was hesitant. In the end, when Li Meiling wanted to leave, she nodded heavily and said, “Fine!”

nNing Qing had been hiding at the backseat in the cafe and she eavesdropped. There was a dull look in her eyes when she heard Mother Xu agree. She lowered her head in distress.

nLi Meiling managed to convince Ning Zhenguo to not attend the dinner banquet for Quang Qing that night, and Ning Qing already guessed that Li Meiling had been extending her hands to the outside world for help in the past twenty years.

nWhen Li Meiling kept Ning Zhenguo company to entertain the clients, not only did she control the Ning family business, she paid close attention to Emperor Entertainment Group and prepared herself long ago.

nNo wonder Li Meiling said that she had already thought about anything Ning Qing may think of twenty years ago. Ning Qing was too immature in this instance.

nThough they’d fought for so long, Li Meiling still had her ways to put things back on track. Just like Ning Yao said, whatever she did wouldn’t affect them. The mother-daughter duo continued to live freely.

nNing Qing clenched her fist and she once again felt lost in grief.

n…

nNing Qing pushed the door open. She walked into the Guang Qing building with a few paper bags in her hand.

nThe receptionist saw her and quickly bowed as she greeted, “Miss Ning, are you here to look for the president? I’ll bring you up.”

nDuring the Quang Qing banquet, Ning Qing danced with their president and everyone at Guang Qing treated her with great respect.

n“Alright, thank you.”

nThen, the receptionist brought Ning Qing into the lift. When she walked to the president’s office, she met many staff members. Everyone was shocked to see her. First of all, Ning Qing was famous. Second of all, it was her relationship with their president.

nZhu Rui never thought Ning Qing would come. He quickly came forward to greet her. “Madam, President Lu is in a meeting. He will return in ten minutes. You can wait for him at his office.”

n“Okay.” Ning Qing walked into the office.

nThe receptionist gasped, Madam?

nDid she hear incorrectly?!

nIt was Ning Qing’s first time entering Lu Shaoming’s office. His office was luxurious and spacious. The shiny french windows, black and white color scheme, and the simple yet magnanimous design revealed a silent coolness.

nEverything in her sight was clean without a speck of dust. She put the paper bag on the sofa and she walked to his desk.

nThe documents on the table were either the numerical reports with four decimal points or they were in various languages. She could only understand Mandarin and English.

nThe pen in the stationery holder carried weight. The engravings were of an ancient exquisite pattern. It was low profile yet luxurious.

nShe walked to the leather office chair and sat down. She leaned back in the chair and spun around. Mm, she squinted her eyes leisurely, so comfortable.

nShe then spun another few rounds and the chair stopped moving. Suddenly, a man’s man’s deep gentle voice ask, “Aren’t you dizzy spinning like that?”

nNing Qing quickly opened her eyes and looked. She didn’t know when the man had returned. The hand that stopped the chair was holding a document while his other hand was in his pocket. His handsome brawny body was bent down slightly as his bright black eyes gave out an imposing aura.

nA gentle ripple that quickly spread through Ning Qing’s beautiful eyes. She replied softly, “Shaoming, you’re done with your meeting?”

n“Mm, just finished.” Lu Shaoming took out his hand from his pocket and rubbed her exquisite face. He leaned forward and kissed her.

nThe man’s refreshing scent filled her nostrils. Ning Qing’s butterfly wing-like eyelashes fanned and she quickly closed her eyes.

nBut, his kiss didn’t land.

nWhen she opened her eyes, the man’s handsome face was extremely close to hers. His mountain-like pointy nose was touching her skin slightly but he didn’t kiss her. His deep slender eyes sharply looked into hers with a hint of affection, as though he saw through all her emotions.

nNing Qing was panicking. She thought he must be making fun of her.

n“What are you doing?” She extended her hands and shoved him at his chest. She didn’t like his introverted yet deep gaze. She was like a piece of white paper before him, a thirty year old man, and she couldn’t hide anything.

nEspecially when he was so tall. When he leaned down, she curled up on the sofa. It was like he locked her up in his embrace and she was engulfed in the man’s scent.

nLu Shaoming kissed her face lightly and smiled. “Why? You didn’t even dare to let anyone see us together. Now, you come to my office so openly? Wife.”

nHe emphasized on the title “wife”.

nNing Qing was blushing intensely. She pushed him away and stood up. She walked towards the sofa. “I got my paycheque today and I went to buy you clothes at the mall. I passed by your office so I decided to drop by.”

nNing Qing took out the piece of clothing that she’d bought from the paper bag. It was a knitted shirt.

nActually, she hadn’t really planned to buy a shirt at the mall, but Ning Yao came so she put on a show.

n“Do you like it?” Ning Qing turned around and wanted to show him.

nHer smooth shoulder hit the man. She didn’t know when Lu Shaoming had come behind her. He stood very close to her with his hands in his pocket.

nIn front of Ning Qing was a coffee table. He stood extremely close to her. She hardly sees him exercise but his body is as hard as a rock. The muscles underneath his shirt give her chills when she touches them.

n“Mm,” Lu Shaoming replied lazily. He looked and saw that it was a grey V collar knitted shirt that looked extremely soft. “I don’t really wear knitted shirts.”

nWas he trying to tell her she made a bad purchase?

nNing Qing tried to lean forward while still keeping distance between them. She tucked her hair behind her ears as she said softly, “I know you always wear shirts but I can tell that they are all tailor-made. If I bought a shirt, you would feel uncomfortable even if you force yourself to wear it. I might as well buy you a knitted shirt. You can wear it at home. You… look nice in anything.”

nNing Qing was confused. It was the first time she found a man who was so hard to please. She had to coax him to wear it after she’d bought it for him.

nLu Shaoming saw the girls earlobe. The last compliment that she’d given him. Just how embarrassed was she?

nIsn’t it the truth?

nHe raised his eyebrows and the moist breath filled her ears, “As my wife bought it for me, I’ll wear it. I’ll wear it for my wife.”

nNing Qing frowned. Why did he come so close to her ear when he talked? He thought she couldn’t hear his happiness in his cheerful voice? She complimented him and he got so proud of himself.

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