"Huh, that's lucky," Xue Ning mused. There was a niggling feeling at the back of her mind, didn't Sun Haowei also fall ill? Was he the man in question? But if he was, wouldn't her parents just straight up tell her the truth?
Then it must have been some other old man that croaked. Old rich coots were always plagued with health problems thanks to their decadent lifestyles, it wouldn't be surprising if more men croaked at the same time!
Also, she wouldn't be shocked if Sun Tianwei had made some of these men drop dead after his takeover. He was someone willing to get rid of his competition at all cost.
"Please don't resent us," Tai Cheng pleaded. "Mom and Dad had our reasons to keep this a secret from you. We just wanted to lead a normal, peaceful life after all the upheaval we used to endure."
How could Xue Ning hold onto her anger after that? She felt all the indignant rage leech from her at the beseeching look on her father's face.
"I don't hate the both of you, but I don't understand one thing," Xue Ning said. "How could we still be so poor to begin with if you worked for a rich man? And for such… activities too? Was your past employer a cheapskate?"
"Well, starting a restaurant does cost money, and one has to also save for retirement." Yue Niang said dryly. "Most importantly, raising children was more expensive than we realised. If we wanted to be rich, we would be childless."
And it wasn't as though Yue Niang could touch her inheritance; she lost all rights to it the moment she decided to run off with Li Tai Cheng instead of marrying Sun Haowei like her family wanted.
As such, there was no point in telling her daughter that. Why bother bringing up the past when it wasn't useful?
"...Good point," Xue Ning said, deflating. If her parents had sense, they should have aborted her the moment they got news of her presence. They already had a son, anything else (like Xue Ning) was an added expense. It was practically unheard of for families to have more than one child, especially if the first-born was a boy!
Sure, her parents never said anything as cruel as that, but the townspeople never failed to make backhanded comments to Xue Ning when she was old enough to understand the meaning behind sweetened words.
("Oh.. you have a younger daughter? You must really love children!"
"You're really keeping her? I see, I see, well, they say daughters are more filial anyway."
"Girl, make sure to treat your parents well! They must really want you. Make sure you grow up and become beautiful! You need to marry rich!")
Xue Ning blinked back the tears that threatened to form as she recalled past memories. She glared hotly at the fluorescent light, willing it to burn all her tears away. Even if they were her parents, she still felt embarrassed to cry in front of them as an adult!
Li Tai Cheng saw this and patted her head. His dear daughter was too stubborn for her own good.
"We would still have chosen to have you, to keep you, no matter the cost." Tai Cheng said gently. "You and your brother are the greatest blessings we have received." Xue Ning's lower lip wobbled at his words, and the tears she was trying so hard to keep at bay were now rolling down her cheeks.
"Even if both of you did cause my blood pressure to skyrocket occasionally." Her mother chimed in, wiping away her tears with her thumbs. "But then again, that's part of having kids."
"Mom… Dad…" Xue Ning let out a garbled sound.
"Stop crying already. What if your boyfriend sees this and thinks we're scolding you?" Her mother complained, a soft smile on her face. "That man would fight us on your behalf, and lose terribly. We'd beat the shit out of him!"
"True." Xue Ning said, hastily wiping her ears on her shirt sleeve. Jingwei wasn't a bad fighter, he had the strength of a healthy young man in his prime, but he wasn't a match for her hitmen parents. She took a deep breath and collected herself.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
"Good, now go and pack your things if necessary. We're leaving as soon as Ming Guang comes back with the luggages."
======
"Xue Ning! Look! There are sheep!" Jingwei exclaimed the moment he saw Xue Ning emerge from the house with a duffle bag in her hand.
"Oh I'll get that for you," he said as he quickly took it from her, slinging it around his back in one easy motion. He took a closer look at her and saw her swollen eyes. "Is everything okay? How did the talk go?"
"Well enough," Xue Ning shrugged. "I'm alright. And did you say something about sheep?"
"You can see for yourself," Jingwei said cheerfully, "I'll escort you."
Xue Ning didn't need an escort, but she let Jingwei help her up the truck, only to accidentally step on something soft when she was distracted by all the bleating around her.
"Ouch!" A familiar voice screamed in pain, but it was muffled by the wool. "Save me!"
"Sorry!" Xue Ning hastily moved away, wincing as she saw that she stepped on a human hand. She looked down, prepared to apologise, and met eyes with a sheep.
Wait, that wasn't right. The sheep stared up at her and bleated platively.
"No, keep her on. Finally there's a girl that likes you," Jingwei whistled cheerfully, escorting Xue Ning to a corner that was least congregated with the sheep. The other two kidnappers were also there, idly cuddling with the sheep.
Which meant…
"Is that Wei Yan under the sheep?" Xue Ning asked in surprise.
"Yes. It was love at first sight for the sheep." Jingwei said cheerfully. "I couldn't bear to break apart such a fervent love, so I've decided to help her achieve her dreams."
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