Cherish your life—start with the little things.
Su Ning had long since made a clean getaway from the Northeast. The subsequent arrangements for putting penicillin on the battlefield and everything else had been handed over to Lin Sen. Once things were on the right track, Assistant Lin had left as well.
There was no helping it.
Knowing perfectly well that she was a piece of succulent meat, yet foolishly staying on someone else’s turf—wasn’t that just tempting people to make a mistake?
As a wise and conscientious person, how could Su Ning possibly do such a thing? She casually continued traveling around for a while, before the publicity campaign to clear penicillin’s name began.
Then she returned to Beiping.
This was the “home base” where she had the greatest control.
“Ding! The host has been detected acting without conscience despite her wealth. Major plot character Huo Xiang despises her intensely. Reward…”
The next reward notification followed immediately.
This time, however, it came from Guan Jixing and Mu Wan. Combined, their rewards were actually on par with Huo Xiang’s.
Su Ning: …What???
What was going on?
When had she even interacted with this pair of true lovers lately?
Why were they making up so much drama on their own?
“These two don’t think normally. Maybe while they were pouring their hearts out to each other, they suddenly remembered how you persecuted them, and burst into tears. Perhaps life outside hasn’t been going well, so they’ve started blaming you—the person who made them leave their homeland.”
The system didn’t take it seriously. It assumed it was merely a coincidence.
“But I still feel like something’s wrong.”
Su Ning’s brows drew together like two caterpillars.
She felt terribly uneasy, as though a chill had seeped into her heart. It was like looking into one of those old-fashioned rural outhouses: everything appeared pale and bloated, while a half-transparent worm at the front slowly wriggled closer, its body arching as it crawled toward you. The sight was so disgusting it made her scalp prickle.
That was how she described it to the system.
The system: …
It did not want to hear this!
There was no information to go on, and in the end they couldn’t reach any conclusion. All they could do was deal with problems as they arose.
All of this sounded like it had taken a long time, but to outsiders, it merely looked as though Su Ning had spaced out for a few seconds. Zhenzhu, who had been speaking with her, naturally paused and adjusted the flowers in the vase, removing a few here and adding a few there.
After only a few movements, the arrangement looked even more natural and harmonious in both form and color.
“Beautiful.”
Those three simple words brought a bright smile to the girl’s face. Her eyes curved into crescent moons as she happily explained the ideas and thought process behind her arrangement.
It was an autumn afternoon, and the sunlight was warm and drowsy.
Listening to the girl’s sweet, unhurried voice was enough to make anyone sleepy.
Su Ning blinked, feeling drowsy. Sleep was certainly one of life’s greatest luxuries, but too much of a good thing was bad. If she slept too much during the day, her nighttime sleep would suffer.
After all, this was her own body.
She couldn’t let her schedule fall into chaos.
“Zhenzhu.”
The girl looked up in confusion. Replaying what she had just said in her mind, she wondered whether she had made a mistake.
Her teacher had said she was talented, but who knew whether that had merely been polite praise? Besides, she hadn’t been learning for very long.
She felt a little frustrated.
The chance to speak with her older cousin alone was rare, and she treasured every moment of it. She wanted each encounter to be perfect, yet now she had made a mistake. What if her older cousin decided she was insincere and merely showing off?
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, accompanied by countless unwilling regrets.
Su Ning had no idea that Zhenzhu had imagined so much in such a short time.
With a smile, she invited her, “Would you like to go see a movie with me?”
She had been in the Republic of China period for so long, yet she had never watched a movie from this era. She absolutely had to experience it.
“Sure.”
In an instant, the gloom vanished, and Su Zhenzhu happily agreed.
……
Although many people still didn’t even know what a movie was at this time, Beiping, once the capital, already had more than a dozen cinemas.
Depending on their facilities and target clientele, ticket prices varied considerably.
Naturally, Su Ning went to the best one. As it happened, the owner of this recently opened cinema was a member of the Su clan.
Because the cinema had a comfortable environment and attentive service—and, most importantly, could obtain the latest films from abroad—it was both fashionable and upscale.
It had become an instant sensation.
Since the owner’s surname was Su, people from all walks of life were willing to show him some respect. No one demanded protection money or caused trouble, and foreign silver dollars flowed into his pockets like water. Life was going smoothly.
When he heard that Su Ning was coming to watch a movie at his cinema, he practically jumped higher than a rabbit. His face flushed with excitement as he repeatedly issued orders:
“Get everyone in here to clean! Wipe away every speck of dust. Anyone who slacks off can get down on the floor and lick it clean!”
“Understand?”
“Understood!”
That still wasn’t enough. All the customers inside the cinema were cleared out as well. Most people understood from the commotion that some important figure was arriving. They were too busy guessing who it might be to complain.
But there were always a few people who had to make a scene.
“What do you mean, kicking us out halfway through the movie? Are you looking down on us?”
“Do you even need to ask? They’re disgusted by us. They think we’re getting in the way of their business, so they’re deliberately humiliating us.”
“They’re acting like this before we’ve even entered. Third Uncle, your family is going to have quite a show on its hands from now on.”
“What a disgrace to the family.”
At that, an old man glared and struck his cane against the ground. The young man supporting him also looked displeased, pressing his lips together as he stared at the young woman across from them.
The woman wore an embarrassed expression and tugged at the sleeve of Su Jian—the owner of the cinema.
“That’s right. I do look down on you.”
Su Jian gave a cold laugh.
As soon as the words fell, the entire theater fell silent. Everyone stood frozen in shock.
“You claim to be a family of scholars and officials, but you conduct yourselves with even less shame than country bumpkins. My sister’s engagement with your family hasn’t even been settled, yet all of you have come running over—this aunt, that uncle, second grand-uncle, seventh aunt, and who knows who else. You want to eat for free, drink for free, and watch movies for free. Calling you impoverished would be giving you too much credit.”
After humiliating them, he immediately turned around and ordered his men to throw them out.
The cinema staff had also had enough of this group, so they worked with exceptional enthusiasm.
After everyone had been driven away, the woman called out, “Brother?”
“I’ve looked into them. That family has already gone bankrupt; they’re just maintaining appearances in public. The man himself has some ability, but he’s devoted to his family. Even if we helped him become successful, he probably wouldn’t remember our kindness. He might even turn around and bite us.”
“What a shame.”
Su Jian nodded regretfully. It really was a shame. He had spent quite a while choosing someone. Then he remembered something and perked up as he told his sister that Su Ning was coming.
“Really?” the woman asked excitedly.
After receiving confirmation, she became just as thrilled. She personally directed the staff as they cleaned. Then, after thinking for a moment, she gave someone a few instructions and said matter-of-factly to her brother:
“That family spent quite a lot eating and drinking for free. Since the marriage is off, we need to get that money back.”
“Good thing you remembered. I nearly forgot.”
Su Jian sounded pleased.
Before long, Su Ning and Su Zhenzhu arrived. He followed them around enthusiastically, introducing the place.
“We’ve just finished cleaning everything. It’s spotless. The tables and sofas were purchased only moments ago—all brand-new. No one else has sat on them, I guarantee it. Whatever films other cinemas have, we have too. And whatever they don’t have, we have as well. It all depends on which one you’d like to watch.”
Su Ning glanced around casually and nodded.
“Not bad.”
Su Jian’s face lit up with delight. Hearing those words made all his frantic preparations worthwhile.
More than worthwhile!
As if he didn’t know. The lowlife at the cinema near the embassy had been saying behind his back that he was using someone else’s influence to make himself look important. Su Ning probably didn’t even know the man existed.
The next time he heard it, he would go up and give that lowlife a couple of slaps across the face.
…………
In the end, they chose a domestic film.
It was in black and white. Fortunately, it wasn’t a silent movie, so Su Ning could still sit through it. The film told the story of a famous opera singer, Red Peony, whose marriage had ended in misery. As for the plot itself, all she could say was… well, it was very much in keeping with the times.
Overall, it was quite interesting.
When she returned home after the movie, someone came to tell her that there was a phone call for her.
