Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Although Wen Nuan was not favored by Jiang Shixian, she was different from Ning Shuo, whose father did not dote on him and whose mother did not love him. At the very least, she still had the status of the eldest daughter of the Wen Family.
After telling Servant to have the meal remade, Ning Shuo ate while saying to Wen Nuan, “Mom, get a divorce.”
Wen Nuan’s eyes flew wide with anger. “I’ve loved Jiang Shixian for so many years, and you’re telling me to divorce him?”
Ning Shuo tilted his head in confusion. “But if you divorce him now, you can still get something out of it and make a comeback later. If you wait until Jiang Shixian gives everything to that mother and son, what will you get even if you do leave?”
After a moment of silence, Wen Nuan sneered. “Such childish thinking. All you know how to do is bury your nose in books.”
The front door opened. Jiang Shixian, Ning Wang, and another woman Ning Shuo did not know-but who was presumably Ning Wang’s “birth mother”-walked in. In other words, she was the mistress who had already moved into the Jiang Family and was respectfully addressed as Madame Sang by Servant.
The Jiang Family seemed to be living in a modern setting, and yet, with a Mrs. Jiang already in the house, they had gone and brought in a “Madame Sang” too. It made the place feel like some ancient household with concubines.
Wen Nuan only dared argue with Jiang Shixian at home. Outside, she still had to uphold her dignity as Mrs. Jiang.
Seeing that Ning Shuo was still eating, Ning Wang immediately put on an act of being very close to Jiang Shixian, then said to Ning Shuo in a deliberately sarcastic tone, “Big Brother, why are you only just coming to the table now? Don’t you know that in the Jiang Family, if you miss mealtime, you go hungry? I’m not like that. I always keep Dad company while he eats.”
What a perfect little two-faced schemer.
For some reason, Ning Shuo almost wanted to laugh. He merely cast Ning Wang a cold glance, then went upstairs with an aloof air and returned to his room.
Jiang Shixian was furious. “That child really is getting more and more ill-mannered!”
Ning Wang patted his back. “Dad, don’t be angry. Brother has his whole heart set on studying, so naturally his feelings for you and for the Jiang Family are weak.”
The statement made no sense at all, but Jiang Shixian still nodded like one of those brainless tyrant CEOs in domineering-CEO novels.
So he really was exactly like the ones in those domineering-CEO novels on the Forum.
Ning Wang glanced at Wen Nuan, whose expression had abruptly darkened, and said in a good mood, “Dad, then I’ll go talk to Brother. We two brothers can’t let our relationship stay this bad forever.”
When he reached Ning Shuo’s door, Ning Wang had just raised his hand to knock when the door suddenly opened.
His wrist was seized. With a soft bang, Ning Wang was abruptly pressed against the door panel.
After so many years without training, Ning Shuo’s build was leaner than Ning Wang’s.
But when two young men of the same height and equally forceful presence faced off, that leanness did little to lessen the pressure.
Instead, it sparked with the sharp tension of two blades meeting point to point.
The remaining eight parts were nothing but seamless intimacy.
The lights in the room were off. Outside the half-open window, neon lights flickered faintly.
Pinning him down, Ning Shuo spoke in a voice so low it was almost inaudible. “Little Brother, why did you only come looking for Big Brother now? Unlike you, Big Brother has been waiting in his room for you for a long time.”
Warm breath spilled against his neck. Ning Wang curled his lips and asked with a smile, “Then what was Big Brother waiting for me in his room to do?”
The livestream cameras for the Arena Match could not be turned off. In front of the entire district, Ning Shuo licked and kissed the corner of his lips. “What do you think?”
[I think what? What else can I even say!!!]
[All I can say is! May you have a hundred years of happiness together!!!]
Yet the kiss ended after only the lightest taste. Ning Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a moment’s thought, he understood what Ning Shuo meant-
It was Saturday now, but Ning Shuo still remembered what had happened on Monday, when Ning Wang had tried to bluff his way through.
Ning Wang could not help laughing. In a sense, this did count as punishment, but more than that, it was actually a reward.
A reward used as bait. A reward meant to make Ning Wang think things through and stop sacrificing himself at the drop of a hat.
Ning Shuo reached out, turned on the light switch beside Ning Wang, then got up and went to work on problems, drifting away as lightly as though he had not taken so much as a single cloud with him.
Yun Cai reached out, trying to take Ning Shuo by the wrist, but he dodged without leaving a trace.
Ning Wang was starting to regret taking matters into his own hands. He thought he must have been out of his mind to believe he could possibly hide it from Ning Shuo.
He imagined it for a moment. If Ning Shuo had drawn the Murderer role this round, then with Ning Shuo’s old-fox nature-his health was poor, so his IQ was just a bit higher than everyone else’s-he might really have been able to fool Ning Wang.
Yes. Ning Wang was certain that if Ning Shuo were the Murderer this round, he would have made the exact same choice.
He could even picture the way Ning Shuo would tell everyone he was the Murderer, then casually offer up a false condition for killing.
That had been what Ning Wang originally wanted to do too, but he felt Ning Shuo understood him too well. Maybe what he needed was to do the opposite.
-and then he got caught anyway.
Ning Wang thought bitterly that if his luck had been just a little better and Ning Shuo had matched into the Murderer role, then right now Ning Shuo would probably be the one trying to coax him.
But on second thought, Ning Wang felt that was wrong. If Ning Shuo really were the Murderer, he wouldn’t even have the chance to throw a tantrum now.
At that thought, Ning Wang silently sat down beside Ning Shuo and quietly watched him work through the questions.
The side profile behind those glasses looked exactly the same as his own. Ning Wang couldn’t help tilting his head, almost pressing it to the tabletop as he stared at Ning Shuo’s face.
My brother really is good-looking, he thought.
When Xie Ning focused seriously on something, he could, if he wanted to, almost completely ignore all outside distractions.
Ning Wang knew Ning Shuo was in that state right now, so he stared at him without the slightest restraint.
Only after finishing an entire set of questions did Ning Shuo say coldly, “What did you come to find me for?”
The sudden coldness caught Ning Wang off guard. Then he abruptly heard an abnormal sound.
That sound… was like the sticky, viscous sensation of a filthy lump of blood and flesh being forced into some narrow crack.
Ning Wang didn’t look at the gap beneath the door where the strange noise was coming from. Instead, he said in a sloppy, careless tone, “Brother, it doesn’t matter how much you study. Your mom is useless, and Dad won’t leave the shares to you two.”
Ning Shuo said coldly, “Study a little law.”
“What?”
“According to the law, when a couple divorces, their jointly owned property is divided. Also, as a legitimate child, I can inherit Dad’s shares as well.”
Although he had sidestepped the main issue and couldn’t actually bluff Ning Wang, Ning Wang would cooperate with Ning Shuo’s cool, composed act to fool Wen Nuan.
At the very least, his character setting still included the title of “top three in the entire school.”
Ning Wang immediately flew into a rage. “I’ll definitely make your parents get divorced!”
He stormed toward the door in a flustered fury. The dense, wet gurgling noises lasted only a few seconds, vanishing completely the instant Ning Wang opened the door.
As Ning Wang stepped out, he imperceptibly ground his foot against the threshold.
A little slippery.
He slammed the door shut with a bang. The moment it closed, the hand hidden behind his back made a gesture.
Seeing the gesture, Ning Shuo sighed. He might as well get ready to pull an all-nighter.
—
It was almost dawn by the time Ning Shuo finally dozed off for a short while. Less than two hours later, Wen Nuan woke him up again. “Hurry up and get up for breakfast. Saves you from saying I’m starving you again.”
At the dining table, Jiang Shixian, Madame Sang, and Ning Wang were all present. Five breakfasts had been set out, clearly by special instruction.
Ning Wang said with a beaming smile, “Didn’t you always pride yourself on being so diligent with your studies, Brother? How come you’re getting up so late?”
The smile on his face, all “we brothers get along so well,” made it seem as if Jiang Shixian and Wen Nuan hadn’t seen the two of them at each other’s throats last night at all.