46
As Ning Ye sat in the airplane, crossing the twilight zone, flying back to her home country.
The CEO was in hot pursuit from behind.
His gaze was melancholic, burning new energy for this passenger plane every second.
He stared into the distance, as if by doing so he could see the receding figure moving further away from him and their child.
Ultimately, the CEO just patted the child's back and gave a cold, arrogant smile.
This bit of money is nothing.
Running away with the baby.
...
Ning Ye was unaware of the world's richest man's feelings.
Sitting by the window at this moment, absentmindedly watching the drifting clouds sliced by the wings, she hadn't slept soundly on the plane, which brought back many memories of the past.
Actually, returning alone first to solve this problem was also out of her own consideration.
In the past, when she was dating Bian Xun, Ning Ye did not shy away from her poor family background, but she wouldn't talk about the specifics of her family of origin.
Although now she had a complete educational background, worked in a great company, and had a financial foundation to give her confidence, allowing her to speak openly about her parents.
But when she had just started college, she had nothing, and the person she was with had a vastly different family background.
Although Bian Xun's obsessive-compulsive disorder and neuroticism somewhat dissolved his noble aura as a young master of a prominent family.
But whether from their living habits or the intentional or unintentional tones of others, this night-and-day difference was obvious.
A person's effort and hard work can be decided by themselves, so Ning Ye didn't feel inferior, nor did she feel insignificant.
However, where she was born and the environment she grew up in were not for her to decide, and bringing them up was ultimately embarrassing.
The home in Ning Ye's memory was very small; before she was ten, she lived in a semi-basement. The windows of that kind of room were high and narrow, with clutter and water pipes piled up and intertwined. The air hardly circulated, so the smell of alcohol in the house never dissipated, clinging to every piece of old furniture.
Although the adults weren't normal, her home wasn't actually that noisy. Because Wang Xuebing spent whole nights out playing cards, she unexpectedly managed to have plenty of quiet time to study.
It was only when Wang Xuebing returned drunk, holding a cigarette butt, that Ning Cuizhen would start trading insults with him, arguing endlessly. Fortunately, Ning Ye had usually already left for school by then.
Even more fortunately, when Ning Ye was in middle school, Wang Xuebing went on the run because of gambling debts. Fearing it would fall on her, Ning Cuizhen took her, changed their surname, and moved. Although the process was turbulent, she felt her studying environment had improved a bit.
Thus, by sheer luck, amidst all the chaos, she managed to carve out a possibility for her future. After the college entrance examination, she completely changed her life's trajectory.
In the description of the original plot, the family of this scheming, vicious supporting female character were also extreme supporting characters; none of the family members were any good.
Ning Ye temporarily couldn't recall what plot her mother had. In the context of the protagonist being absolutely right, someone as vulgar, rowdy, and aimless as Ning Cuizhen indeed seemed like a classic extreme villain.
But to Ning Ye, half of the possibilities in her life were brought about by her mother.
For example, when she studied at home, Ning Cuizhen wouldn't watch TV, even though her voice when talking on the phone wasn't quiet. For instance, when Wang Xuebing lost money and wanted to take his anger out on someone, the first thing she would do was push Ning Ye into the room and lock it, although sometimes she would forget to unlock the door after getting tired from fighting. Another example was in Ning Cuizhen's hometown, everyone married off their daughters for money, and the bride price would have been at least enough to treat her illness, but when she was diagnosed, she just ran away without a word and never appeared again.
Ning Ye could always faintly feel a little bit of love.
Just as she could always find breathing room to study hard in her crumbling life.
This faint love from her mother was not conspicuous in the past.
It wasn't until Ning Ye unexpectedly became a mother herself that she realized that bit of difficult love, squeezed out of life, had long remained in her veins, infinitely magnified—
And then flowed to her daughter, with whom she shared her blood.
Ning Zhitao grew up in her love, which made Ning Ye incredibly... grateful.
...
The flight landed in Jing City at dusk.
Ning Ye made a phone call as soon as she got off the plane. Jiang Xinghe had been a great help. He had just called to ask and confirmed that the patient was still in the hospital.
Her heart immediately settled down a lot, and she thanked him very sincerely.
Leaving the airport, she took a taxi straight to the Third Hospital. On the way, she repeatedly pondered how Ning Cuizhen had discovered Wang Xuebing's whereabouts and whether she had seen him at the hospital. Ning Ye hadn't seen Wang Xuebing for more than ten years. Why did he suddenly appear?
Judging from the information Taotao usually revealed, her future self was not familiar with the existence of a grandmother, indicating that her mother still disappeared from her life very quickly.
For some reason, first her daughter suddenly appeared in her life, and then her mother, who had disappeared for many years, reappeared. Everything felt like the turning of some gears, giving Ning Ye an inexplicable sense of unease.
During the New Year's Day holiday, the traffic in Jing City wasn't as congested as usual. The taxi reached the hospital at top speed. Ning Ye opened the car door, finding it hard to imagine that just this morning she was in a country eight thousand kilometers away.
Only then did she remember that she hadn't informed the child and Bian Xun after landing.
She looked up at the sign for the inpatient department of the Third People's Hospital right in front of her. She had told them her flight details earlier, so she didn't waste any more time now and hurried inside with large strides.
In Jing City during the holidays, the streets were emptier than usual, but the hospital was even more crowded.
Following the hospital's signs, Ning Ye found the department and the elevator. When the elevator doors finally opened, a surgical stretcher was pushed out with a clatter, and the medical staff and crowded patients inside poured out like water. Ning Ye hastily stepped aside.
Looking up again, the elevator was already full of different patients waiting to go to various floors.
She turned her head; all the other elevators were still moving slowly. She sighed, turned around, and ran toward the stairs.
The gastroenterology department was on the fifth floor. Ning Ye ran until her forehead was sweaty, dampening her hair. She finally found the triage desk and asked the nurse, out of breath, Excuse me, where are the inpatient wards?
Are you a family member?
Yes.
The nurse pointed in a direction without looking up. Visiting hours end in an hour. We close at six.
Ning Ye took a deep breath and hurried over with large strides. This corridor was indeed just like the surveillance photo. Passing by every ward door, there were several patients sitting or lying on beds inside. She remembered the room number, forcing herself to calm down the closer she got to the door.
Now, she was an adult; she even had her own daughter.
She took a step into the inpatient ward she was looking for and looked up. Three unfamiliar faces on the four hospital beds looked at her; only one bed was empty.
Ning Ye walked over to the empty bed and looked at the signatures on several consent forms on the bedside table. Seeing the crooked characters for Ning Cuizhen, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the hospital bed.
Feeling the temperature, the bed was still warm; the person was indeed still around.
Ning Ye looked up and asked the patient next to her, Do you know where Ning Cuizhen went?
The person in the next bed was an older woman. She thought for a moment. She said she was going out to buy a steamed bun?
Ning Ye nodded. She should be back very soon then.
However, after waiting for nearly half an hour, there was still no sign of her.
Ning Ye suddenly felt something was wrong. She rummaged through the bedside table and found that all ID documents were gone. Inside the cabinet, there was only a mineral water bottle used as a toothbrush cup, and on top of it sat an apple with black spots.
A sense of foreboding washed over Ning Ye. Just as she was about to get up, the attending doctor walked in. Where is she?
I do not know.
The doctor, who had a short temper, furrowed his brows. Did we not say she needed to stay for observation for a few more days? Why is she running around?!
Ning Ye pursed her lips. Doctor, how is her condition?
The doctor did not state it explicitly, but his expression said it all.
Ning Ye's voice was slightly dry. Have the surgery fees been paid? I can pay them for her.
Are you Ning Cuizhen's family? Do you have her ID?
...No.
Ning Ye had already figured it out.
Ning Cuizhen had not come back up after going downstairs. She must have seen her on the way just now.
Ning Ye recalled the crowd of people around the surgical stretcher in the elevator; that stubborn woman was probably hiding among them.
Without hesitation, Ning Ye turned and left the inpatient department. She began searching the nearby convenience stores and steamed bun shops, losing track of how long she looked.
In the end, she found nothing.
Her day had been exhausting, stretching from four in the morning in a foreign country to nightfall in Jing City.
She had simply powered through the jet lag, and now she finally sat down slowly on a stone bollard outside the hospital entrance.
It was not actually surprising. Ning Cuizhen had only resurfaced because she spotted Wang Xuebing, so the moment she saw Ning Ye, her first instinct was definitely to run. This was because Wang Xuebing could only find her; he could not find Ning Ye, who had changed her surname and grown up.
If Ning Cuizhen truly wanted to hide, Ning Ye would not be able to find her at all. A nobody vanishing into the dust was like a drop of water falling into a river.
Ning Ye closed her eyes, her mood blending into the night.
With no one at home right now, she temporarily did not know what she should do. A sudden emptiness washed over her.
At this moment, Ning Ye suddenly realized the significance that Taotao's unexpected appearance had brought into her life.
She began to feel certain that upon returning home, a pair of bright eyes would be looking at her with expectation.
She had also grown accustomed to every item having a miniature, sidekick-like version right next to it.
It was only in this moment that she suddenly understood her own desire for a child. She took a deep breath in the night air, her nose feeling cold.
No longer forcing herself to act like a tough adult, she felt a spreading sadness.
The next second, her cheek was gently poked.
The soft, seemingly boneless touch came from a warm, chubby little hand.
Mommy!
Ning Ye opened her eyes to see a pair of round, dark, grape-like eyes looking at her brightly.
Ning Zhitao had followed her dad all the way here, and they only had one destination: Mommy.
Ning Ye was momentarily dazed. As the child's soft hand grasped hers, she suddenly felt detached from the boundless night.
A few steps away, the CEO who had brought the child along was walking over slowly.
He was still wearing a suit and overcoat comparable to royal tailoring. Even after a long-haul flight, his hair was not messy in the slightest, and his expression was noble and extraordinary, though his eyes bore a faint trace of bloodshot fatigue.
It had to be said that when the world's richest man appeared, his innate background music seemed completely out of sync with the rest of the world.
Yet, Ning Ye's mood was suddenly and forcefully pulled into Bian Xun's world.
The CEO, moving at a relative speed that had cost roughly 50 million, brought the Little Grape Ball to her.
On the way, he had been pondering what the matter of deducting money was actually hinting at, but upon seeing her at this moment, he gave up on thinking.
Bian Xun lifted his gaze to look at the hospital, then lowered his eyes to Ning Ye. Did not see her?
...Yeah, Ning Ye replied softly.
Bian Xun nodded. He pulled her up from the stone bollard, his palm wrapping around her freezing hand. I will keep looking.
Ning Ye looked up and saw Bian Xun's serious expression.
His financial resources, material assets, and even Wujiang's current technological prowess all indicated that this was not an empty promise.
He sent the basic information and identification photos to the tech department, instructing them to start gathering data around the Third Hospital. Any clues would be reported to him immediately.
In the past, Ning Ye had not wanted Bian Xun to get involved with her family of origin, but in this moment, she did not decline. ...Thank you.
She knew she did not have a better solution either.
And now, their relationship was far more special than just being ex-boyfriend and girlfriend.
Bian Xun lowered his head and sent a few strings of messages before taking a moment to shoot her a rather dissatisfied glance.
Given their status, why was she saying thank you to him?
Was it not only right for him to help find his mother-in-law?
Ning Ye failed to grasp the underlying meaning of that glance. Her nerves, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed. She wearily stretched her neck and shoulders, feeling the exhaustion hit her a beat late.
Bian Xun quietly looked at her again.
A soft sigh echoed in the corner of his heart.
Noticing this, Ning Ye looked up, the streetlights reflecting in her eyes. Hmm?
Bian Xun held Ning Zhitao with one hand and Ning Ye with the other. His voice was calm and low, offering boundless stability in the night.
You do not need to be so perfect at being both a mother and a daughter.
...
Sitting in Bian Xun's car as they drove toward Xialu Residential Compound, Ning Ye finally felt the reality of being back in the country.
Her mood stabilized slightly, and she slowly began to relax.
The mother and daughter cuddled together in the backseat. After all, they had just taken a long-haul flight back to the country, and both were starting to feel sleepy, their heads nodding off rhythmically.
Bian Xun glanced at them through the rearview mirror a couple of times. Originally, he had wanted to pack them and their luggage straight to his house upon returning, but in the end, he still drove in the direction of Xialu Residential Compound.
Moving in together was only a matter of time anyway.
There was no need to rush it right now.
Ning Ye, holding Taotao, woke up when the car stopped and rubbed her eyes in embarrassment.
Bian Xun drove straight into the compound, parked near the apartment building, then got out and opened the door, carrying down a yawning Ning Zhitao.
Ning Ye nodded and said softly, Then we will just go...
Let us go home!
Ning Zhitao was already holding her dad's hand and leading her mom, walking toward home out of habit.
After spending the past week together as a family of three and returning to the familiar routine of Mom and Dad sleeping in the big bed while Taotao slept in the small bed, Ning Zhitao had completely reverted to her previous lifestyle!
She had always lived together with her mom and dad, had she not?
We still have to practice singing tomorrow! Taotao mumbled as she let out a yawn.
Both adults froze.
Then, the corners of Bian Xun's lips curled up in a half-smile, his cold, dark eyes looking at his daughter with remarkable affability.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhitao was so sleepy she was dazed, completely forgetting that her mother's bed at home was nowhere near as big as the one in the hotel.
At this point, if her dad had put up even a little resistance, the little girl would not have forced the issue.
But a certain someone gladly went with the flow. Feigning weakness in his arm, he allowed himself to be effortlessly pulled into the apartment building by a four-year-old child.
Ning Ye opened her mouth, hesitating to speak.
Her bed was only 1.35 meters wide. How could two adults possibly sleep in it!
But Bian Xun completely ignored this fact, and the three of them went home together just like that.
In the elevator, Bian Xun casually asked her questions while standing by her side.
Do you still sleep on the right side?
Ning Ye covered her forehead.
What time do you usually wake up? Should I set an alarm?
His tone was so familiar, it was as if they were an old married couple.
Ning Ye's cheeks puffed slightly as she tried to keep a calm expression.
"Do you accept sleeping naked?" ...
"Go to work together the day after tomorrow?"
Ning Ye finally covered her ears and escaped through the elevator doors. "Please, stop talking."
The porcelain-white skin behind her ears turned bright red, and the sad atmosphere around her finally completely dissipated.
The CEO's dark eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he clasped his hands behind his back, looking extremely arrogant and confident—
Officially moving in.
This small two-bedroom apartment was more than enough for Ning Ye and Taotao, but if a 1.85-meter adult male was stuffed into this living space, it felt very cramped.
What's more, this person was Bian Xun, the CEO of Wujiang Group, a rising world's richest man, and the legendary entrepreneur the outside world paid the most attention to.
This room can't fit so many people.jpg
Before going to bed, the little one washed up first, curled up and went to sleep.
Ning Ye stood in the two-square-meter bathroom, bending over to scoop water to wash her face. When the man walked by behind her, she was completely stuck between his hips and the sink.
"...Bian Xun!"
She cried out in annoyance, her voice short and soft. Forced to lean against him, her hands braced on both sides of the basin, the slender lines of her back and waist pressed against her pajamas.
Bian Xun lowered his eyes and looked for a moment, his Adam's apple rolling before he silently backed out.
Only after Ning Ye had washed up and laid down did Bian Xun enter the bathroom.
Then, he stayed there for a long time.
Ning Ye realized belatedly that the power of the water heater in this house was not very high, and the hot water storage was a bit slow. Usually, it was just enough for her and Taotao to take a hot shower one after the other. Bian Xun taking a shower right after them...
He must have taken a cold shower, right?
However, the CEO still washed for a long time before entering the bedroom with a slightly cool moisture on him.
This room was not as big as a hotel suite, and the man's presence was even more distinct. When Bian Xun lifted the blanket and lay down, the solid muscles of his thigh directly touched her side.
Under the blanket, it was exceptionally tense.
Well, at least he wasn't completely naked.
Ning Ye still felt a burst of inexplicable nervousness.
She was already very tired at this moment, but due to the sudden cohabitation situation, her brain still maintained a trace of excitement, secretly observing Bian Xun.
After all, this person had entered the house, claimed his status, and completely acted like he was already her husband after the proposal.
The next step wouldn't be him asking her to fulfill her wifely duties, right?
Behind her, an arm that still carried warmth indeed wrapped around her, and the male hormones enveloped her like a mist. Ning Ye's ears twitched, and she subconsciously bit her lip.
However, Bian Xun just hugged her waist from behind, not moving around or touching her randomly.
Bian Xun quietly looked at her soft and beautiful curves, breathing deeply.
Ning Ye felt the breath sweep across the back of her neck, and finally he just patted her gently, his low and magnetic voice sounding out.
"Go to sleep."
...
Ning Ye originally had a string taut, but she unexpectedly fell asleep very quickly.
The sense of security in her subconscious was like a reassuring hug pillow, carrying the soft and sweet smell of cotton candy.
When she fell asleep, Ning Ye's lips also carried a slight smile.
But vaguely, it seemed she had a dream.
This feeling was somewhat familiar. She couldn't remember it in her dream, and it wasn't until she woke up that she suddenly realized that the feeling was just like the first time she dreamed of the plot. She didn't have the sense of substitution of being in it, but rather like she was observing it.
At first, Ning Ye could only see some scattered plots, but for two or three consecutive days, she had dreams every night.
She couldn't help but start feeling faintly uneasy.
That feeling... was like the plot was moving deeper, reaching some kind of climax.
After returning to the country, one could clearly feel the change in Xu Lanyi's popularity on the Chinese internet.
The female lead had indeed completely turned things around. The large number of regional advertisements that had been taken down during the previous storm had been replaced with her new endorsement advertisements. Her interviews were broadcast on TV, showing the radiant look of an international movie queen.
The reason why the tickets for the kindergarten choir competition were so hard to grab this time was because some fans learned that Xu Lanyi might attend, so a large number of them rushed in. Even Old Master Bian had to get tickets secretly.
At this moment, Xu Lanyi was at home teaching Gu Zixun how to perform.
She hired a professional vocal teacher to give Zixun lessons, letting him show vocal abilities far superior to other children of the same age, much better than Ning Ye's daughter.
And this feeling of not having to hide and being able to make the child public made Xu Lanyi feel extremely happy!
For the past few days, she had been frequently dreaming of the foretold plot every night.
She seemed to feel an invisible flow. Every minute and every second, something was developing, moving towards the future that belonged to her.
Whether Bian Xun existed in this future—
It would depend on this choir competition.
...
The night before the choir competition, Ning Ye folded Taotao's performance clothes and sat by the small bed.
The adults' concerns were not felt by the little one, but Ning Ye actually knew very well that Taotao was the starting point of the plot. It was her appearance that made all the plot begin to turn.
"Mom! Will you sit in the first row and watch me tomorrow?" Ning Zhitao excitedly held the edge of the blanket.
"Yes, and I'll even record it with a camera." Ning Ye rubbed her head.
"Sijie and I will sing the high part! Will you be able to hear my voice?" Ning Zhitao was full of expectation.
Ning Ye's lips curled up. "Of course I will!"
The little one got her mother's assurance and then emphasized that tomorrow morning she couldn't eat food because "singing on a full stomach and playing on an empty stomach," and then she fell asleep peacefully.
Ning Ye waited until her breathing was completely steady before standing up. Turning around, she saw Bian Xun had returned.
Bian Xun had been out all day today. At this moment, wrapped in the night, he looked travel-worn as he handed Ning Ye a printed photo.
"Look at this."
Amid the faint anxiety that had lingered for a few days, she first got the clue Bian Xun found.
Wujiang's big data model ran every day. Bian Xun sought support from various data sources and finally found Ning Ye's familiar figure in a corner of the map—
However, it was not her mother, but her father, Wang Xuebing.
What's more coincidental was that the place where Wang Xuebing appeared was a place they were both very familiar with.
—That was outside the Wujiang Group headquarters building.
Wang Xuebing's head was lowered, his expression unclear, but his eyes were obviously looking in the direction of Wujiang.
He found Wujiang?
But this didn't necessarily mean he found out where Ning Ye worked, because she hadn't made any public appearances on online news, and internal employee information wasn't something he could check.
This looked more like he had his eyes on Wujiang... Bian Xun...
Various subtle clues connected, and her brain spun rapidly, finally corresponding to the messy plots in her mind over the past few days.
In the original work, the plot that truly established the father-son relationship between the female lead's son and the male lead Bian Xun—
The description Ning Ye could see was not detailed. At a kindergarten event, Gu Zixun and Ning Zhitao, who had already been taken care of as twins, stood together. Unfortunately, an extreme villain appeared and actually kidnapped Bian Xun's child, wanting to extort money from him!
But because they were not familiar with them, the one they kidnapped was not Bian Xun's biological daughter Ning Zhitao, but Gu Zixun.
The kidnappers would do anything for money. Just when Gu Zixun was paralyzed with fear, Bian Xun swooped in from nowhere to save him, deeply moving the female lead and pushing the plot to its climax.
At this moment, Ning Ye's mind was incredibly clear.
Wasn't that the upcoming choir competition?
Wang Xuebing's appearance was a sign of the plot deepening. Given his gambling addiction, kidnapping a child was absolutely something he was capable of doing.
But Ning Ye's fingertips suddenly trembled as she realized something.
In the original plot, he kidnapped the wrong person because he couldn't tell the two children, who were dressed up as boy-girl twins, apart. But this time that wouldn't happen; Taotao was clearly Bian Xun's child.
He was going to target Taotao!
This was her biological father.
Ning Ye had always been a resilient and calm person, but at this moment, a sudden wave of humiliation and anger welled up in her heart.
Along with it came an unhideable panic in the face of the increasingly frequent plot events.
She clutched the photo tightly. When Bian Xun reached out to hold her hand, she suddenly grabbed him back reflexively, her eyes shimmering with fragmented light.
This was her teammate, the only person who would face these things with her. They were the child's father and mother.
"Bian Xun, there might be danger tomorrow. Wang Xuebing might come to grab Taotao."
"You don't need to care about how I know this. Things like 'plots' might actually exist in this world."
"Wang Xuebing is a man with no bottom line. He does all these things for money, so it's highly likely he'll demand money from you."
"Anyway... anyway..."
As Ning Ye spoke, looking into Bian Xun's perpetually rational dark eyes, her voice gradually trailed off.
She also felt she was being too incoherent. After all, Bian Xun hadn't had those dreams; he could only listen to her account.
It sounded crazy at first listen.
Bian Xun's posture remained unchanged. Standing under the light of their bedroom, tall and calm, he reached out after a long moment and pulled her toward him.
"Let me sort this out. First, you said a 'plot' is going to happen."
Ning Ye nodded, her almond eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"No matter what the plot is, since we know it, we can anticipate the situation and avoid the risks."
His voice was rational and cool, pulling Ning Ye out of her panic over her child getting hurt.
"Second, if there are risks tomorrow, but Taotao cannot give up the competition, I will have the entire security team guard the art center."
Ning Ye blinked. She had forgotten that a man with a net worth of over a hundred million would naturally have bodyguards around him.
"Third, no matter who wants money, as long as it's a problem money can solve, I can solve it."
Bian Xun finished calmly, looking down at her slightly parted lips and her eyes that showed days of poor sleep.
"Fourth—"
Ning Ye asked nervously, "There's a fourth?"
What Bian Xun had just said had already restored her rationality and calmed her down.
Bian Xun lowered his dark eyes and nodded with a serious face.
"Fourth, you are standing too close to me right now."
Ning Ye looked down, only to realize her entire body was pressed against his chest. Suddenly embarrassed, she tried to step back, but his arms were already wrapped tightly around her waist.
She looked up shyly, and the man had already lowered his head, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of her lips.
"You are right in my range."
He would handle it.
Zhao Shijue, morning, understood?
