Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Unity Lock, United in Heart Forever
Shen Ningning laughed so hard her little body shook.
Before Mo Lingwei’s expression could darken, she took the initiative and placed the Unity Lock in his palm.
"Here, for you! This cost me a lot of silver. I don’t even know how many loquat candies I’d have to sell to afford it!"
Mo Lingwei raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that so? Let me see."
When he took a closer look and realized it was a Unity Lock, his expression suddenly froze.
Carved on the back were the words: Forever Bound as One.
Mo Lingwei: ...
"Why are you giving this to me?"
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes, confused. "I thought you’d like it!"
She remembered the tone of the woman she had overheard the other day.
She immediately mimicked it, asking, "My dear brother, don’t you like it?"
Mo Lingwei clamped a hand over her mouth.
Shen Ningning: Mmph? Mmph?
And for some reason, the tips of the noble Crown Prince’s ears turned a suspicious shade of red.
Trailing behind them, Chen Shaobei quickly asked, "Your Highness, what are you two talking about? Why did you suddenly stop laughing?"
’Weren’t the two of them just laughing back and forth a moment ago?’
Mo Lingwei looked back, his icy, dark eyes seeming to hold a sort of flustered pride.
"Don’t ask," he rebuked.
Mo Lingwei let go of Shen Ningning.
He said in a low voice, "It’s probably too early for you to give me this. It’s not the right time."
Shen Ningning grew even more confused.
"Why not?"
"Do you see the four words on it, ’Forever Bound as One’? Do you know what they mean?"
"I do! I even asked the mad scholar about it. He said it means two people’s hearts are connected forever."
As she spoke, the little girl poked her own heart with a small hand, then pressed it against Mo Lingwei’s chest.
She even added sound effects. "Like this, SWOOSH—BAM! There, they’re connected."
Mo Lingwei’s sharp eyes stared at her small, milky-white hand.
Suddenly, a low chuckle escaped his thin lips, but he quickly failed to hold it in and burst into loud laughter.
"You little dummy."
"What’s wrong? Why are you calling me dumb again?"
"That phrase isn’t used to describe... Forget it. As long as you like it."
"Then what about the gift? Don’t you like it, Brother?"
Mo Lingwei didn’t answer.
’I must have bought the wrong thing.’ His reaction had been strange ever since he saw the Unity Lock.
Seeing that he wasn’t answering, she hurriedly tried to snatch it back with her small hands.
"Then give it back. I’ll buy you a different one." ’This cost 300 taels, after all.’
’If I return it, I should be able to get a lot of my money back.’
’If I’d known he wouldn’t like it, I would have just bought a piece of Jade.’
To her surprise, Mo Lingwei took the chance to stuff the Unity Lock inside his robes.
He held Shen Ningning in place with his right hand, gripped the reins with his left, and with a light kick to the horse’s belly, galloped forward.
Chen Shaobei was startled. "Your Highness?!"
Mo Lingwei had already disappeared into the distance with Shen Ningning.
Grandma Qin smiled kindly. "My apologies for the trouble, Little General Chen."
"Not at all, esteemed madam. It’s what I ought to do," Chen Shaobei said, quickly cupping his fists.
Shen Ningning felt the horse was running too fast. Her little bottom hurt from all the bouncing!
The hot wind rushing toward them messed up her dark hair.
It was at this moment that Mo Lingwei suddenly said, "I like it."
"Huh?" The little girl didn’t immediately understand.
"I said I like the gift. Thank you," Mo Lingwei said, looking straight ahead, his tone casual.
But in his sharp eyes, the perennial, dark frost seemed to have finally been pierced by a ray of sunlight.
He would probably never forget this day.
The fields were scorched and cracked by the sun, but he was galloping down a small path with Shen Ningning.
The world around them was being roasted by the scorching sun, yet his own world felt as if it were being showered by a spring rain.
...
After returning from Xitai Village, Shen Ningning’s life went on as usual.
Whenever people in Xiangyun Village saw her, they would hurriedly ask if she had found her parents.
But the little girl would just smile sweetly and say, "It’s not certain yet! Crown Prince Brother went to help me investigate!"
The last time they parted, Mo Lingwei said he would look into it and told Shen Ningning not to act rashly.
So, the little girl didn’t ask about it again. For the next two days, aside from tilling the soil for the Cloud Tree and making ice in the Immortal Realm, she spent the rest of her time studying with the mad scholar.
She had learned a great deal without even realizing it. Not only was she a quick learner, but she also had an excellent, photographic memory.
The mad scholar was also happy to teach her and became more cooperative about applying medicine to his eyes.
「Two days later.」
It also happened to be the day Shen Ningning was supposed to go to her private school.
She hadn’t been for a while because she was recovering from her injuries.
Grandma Qin had prepared a lot of food for her in advance.
However, just as she reached the foot of Wolf Mountain, she saw the couple, Wu Cui and Qian Siniang, waiting at the village entrance with Wu Zuchang.
Shen Ningning suddenly remembered she had promised them she would visit every two days.
But the timing was unfortunate today.
"Uncle Wu, Aunt Wu, I forgot to tell you! I have to go to my private school today," the little girl said, walking over to greet them.
The moment Qian Siniang saw her, she broke into a happy smile.
"That’s alright, Ningning. We’ll take you! We have an ox cart, so it’s convenient to go anywhere!"
Just as she finished speaking, Chen Ye emerged from the village, driving Shen Ningning’s horse-drawn carriage.
A tall, strong horse and the serious-faced Chen Ye left the couple staring in astonishment.
Only Wu Zuchang was still clapping his hands with a silly grin. "A horse! Such a tall horse!"
Shen Ningning giggled sweetly. "Aunt Wu, don’t trouble yourselves. I have my own carriage. It’s fine if Brother Chen takes me."
Wu Cui was clearly a bit flustered. "Ningning, we didn’t realize... that you came from such a well-off family."
The little girl didn’t explain much, only saying that the hour for school was approaching and she had to leave.
Qian Siniang quickly handed her an oil-paper package she had brought.
"I made some steamed buns, child. Take them to eat at school."
Shen Ningning glanced at it silently.
She set down her own food box, opened the lid, and took out a plate of crystal shrimp dumplings.
She had originally planned to share them with her classmates at school, but she saw that Qian Siniang and Wu Cui were also sweating profusely.
The little girl generously offered them over. "Why don’t you have mine? Grandma prepared a lot of food for me."
The Wu couple was stunned once again.
They had heard rumors about Shen Ningning, the Little Wolf Girl, being able to earn money, but they never imagined she was this successful.
Wu Zuchang unceremoniously reached out, grabbed a shrimp dumpling, and ate it.
"Yummy, so yummy! The girl is so nice..." He started drooling again with a silly smile.
Shen Ningning climbed into the carriage, ready to leave.
Wu Cui and his wife felt too embarrassed to stop her any longer and just said they would see her next time.
But after the carriage had traveled some distance, Chen Ye suddenly spoke to those inside. "Miss, that child from the Wu family is chasing us."
Shen Ningning lifted the curtain and looked behind the carriage.
Wu Zuchang was chasing the carriage, shouting "Girl!" at the top of his lungs, but the carriage was too fast for him to catch up.
But he didn’t give up. He kept shouting as he ran, and when he fell, he would immediately get back up, as if he were afraid of losing Shen Ningning.
Wu Cui and Qian Siniang were desperately chasing him from behind, but they couldn’t even run as fast as he could.
Shen Ningning pursed her small lips. "Stop the carriage."
Wu Zuchang caught up to the carriage, panting heavily. "G-Girl, where are you going? There are lots of bad people outside!"
"I’m going to school. There are no bad people there."
After she spoke, she looked at him. "Brother Zuchang, do you want to come see?"
Wu Zuchang immediately clapped his hands. "Yes, yes!"
Shen Ningning had Chen Ye pull him onto the carriage.
Wu Cui and his wife had caught up. "Zuchang, you can’t go with her! Don’t cause trouble for the little sister!"
Wu Zuchang shrank into a corner of the carriage, terrified he would be dragged off.
He muttered, "I wanna go. I wanna follow the girl."
Shen Ningning had already made up her mind.
Her round eyes were dark and moist, and her voice was sweet and docile. "Uncle Wu, Aunt Wu, you can rest assured and let Brother Zuchang come with me."
"I study at a private school in Guangyang County. You can come pick him up in the evening. The school is very safe, please don’t worry."
’Wu Zuchang isn’t guarded around people. He might know something, so I plan to find a chance to ask him.’
The Wu couple exchanged a look. In the end, it was Qian Siniang who nodded. "Well... alright then. We’ll wait at the school gate in the evening."
"Ningning, your Brother Zuchang has a bit of a childish temper. You have to watch him and don’t let him throw a tantrum."
The little girl nodded. "Okay."
As the carriage departed, Wu Zuchang’s happy voice could be heard. "Girl, let’s play, let’s go play!"
After they left, Wu Cui said worriedly, "Is it really okay for our son to go with her? Nothing bad will happen, right?"
