Chapter Seventy-Four That Year

  "What's going on?" Ning Auntie and Fang Pinmei suddenly disappeared halfway, and Ning Qingmin and others thought they were tired and went back first. When they returned home, no one was there. After calling Ning Mom's phone, they were informed that they were in the hospital. Finally, when everyone came back, they saw Ning Grandma and Ning Mom supporting Ning Qingmin to come in, all with gloomy faces, leaving them stunned.

  "We were halfway up the mountain, why did we end up at the hospital?" Ning's aunt saw that Ning's grandmother and mother looked unhappy, knew it wasn't a simple matter, and hurriedly asked as soon as they came out after washing their faces.

  After Ning's mom finished talking about today's events, Ning's aunt looked at Ning Qingmian who had entered the room to rest and asked in a low voice: "Is Qingmian just going to forgive her dad like that?"

  "It's that easy to forgive him!" Ning's mother shook her head, sighed and said: "When Xiaomin was young, she had a high fever in the middle of the night, and Liu Zhen rushed her to the nearest hospital. The doctor said it was fortunate that they arrived at the hospital on time, otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable. I remember during that period, Xiaomin was very attached to Liu Zhen." After a pause, she continued: "Today, Liu Zhen carried Xiaomin down the mountain and into the hospital, afraid that Xiaomin might fall. I know Xiaomin must have remembered what happened when she was young, and her heart softened for a moment, so she didn't drive Liu Zhen away."

  "Looking at Liu Zhen today, he still wants to acknowledge Xiao Min as his daughter." Ning's mother blinked her eyes, "In the past, he ruthlessly said that Xiao Min was not his daughter. Now he wants to acknowledge her, but it may not be that easy."

  "If he had this heart, it would be pig fat covering his heart. Xiao Min now has her own ideas and is doing her own business, why bother with him?!" Ning's mother said proudly of Ning Qingmin, "These two times we ran into Fang Zhi, we were impulsive too, what's the point of arguing with that fox spirit? It's a loss of face!"

  "You just think about it!" Ning's aunt advised Ning's mother to look forward and not waste her thoughts on hating Liu Zhen and Fang Zhi. Upon hearing this, Ning's mother patted her hand and said: "You're also affecting Xiao Min by getting into conflicts with Fang Zhi and the others. Xiao Min is usually so gentle, but whenever she encounters Fang Zhi and the others, she becomes so flustered. Now that we're in the same city, who knows when we'll run into them again? Every time it's just a big fuss, aren't you afraid of being laughed at? And another thing, with your show on TV, although not many people watch it, there are still some viewers, and as public figures, how can you be so quick to shout and scream, without any image?"

  "You're right!" Ning's mother nodded in agreement, acknowledging that Aunt Ning was telling the truth. In fact, since appearing on TV, Ning's mother had undergone a change of heart and was no longer self-pitying or cursing Liu Zhen's bad luck. Instead, she was working hard to improve herself and had regained some of her former charm.

  "You've been holding on to this for so many years, and you still can't let go of Liu Zhen, right?" Ning's mother saw that Fang Pin had also entered the room, and suddenly asked a question, putting down the cup in her hand: "Back then, it wasn't just Liu Zhen's fault that things turned out like that. If his mother hadn't interfered, you two might not have ended up divorcing."

  "That old woman!" Ning's mother gritted her teeth and said: "Ever since I gave birth to Xiaomin, the old woman has been muttering that the Liu family's incense has been cut off. She secretly instigated Liu Zhen to go outside and find another woman to have a son. Every time Liu Zhen heard this, he just smiled it off. Later, when Fangzhi's affair happened, we hadn't even officially started arguing, but the old woman went to ask for divination on her own. The diviner told her that Fangzhi was pregnant and it must be a boy. When I found out about Fangzhi's affair and things started to blow up, the old woman forced Liu Zhen to divorce me so he could marry Fangzhi and have a grandson. In anger, I retorted with a few words, but the old woman went on a hunger strike. When Liu Zhen mentioned divorce to me, in my anger, I said that Fangzhi's child might not be his, maybe it was someone else's wild seed. Who knew that the old woman would immediately say that Xiaomin was born a month early and must not be Liu Zhen's child? Liu Zhen followed the old woman's words and also said that Xiaomin might not be his. In anger, I hugged Xiaomin and wanted to jump off the building... Later..." As she spoke, tears flowed uncontrollably.

  Niang's aunt brought over a tissue and threw it at Niang's mother, sighing and saying: "Liu Zhen's mother is crazy for a grandson, thinking that Fang Zhi will definitely give birth to a son for her. She's trying to drive you away with all her might! Haha, who knew that Fang Zhi also gave birth to a daughter? I wonder if the old lady has regretted it until her intestines turned green?"

  "What's good about it?" Ning's grandmother chimed in, "At most, Liu Zhen will find another one. With money, who's afraid of not having someone to help him have a son?"

  "There's a mother like that. Let Fangqi worry about it!" Ning's aunt advised Ning's mother. "You're still presentable after dressing up. Why not just find someone to spend the rest of your life with? No need to cling to the past!"

  "Besides, it's easy to say. You didn't want a single penny from Liu Zhen when you divorced him. You'd rather let Xiaomin suffer with you. I just don't understand what you're thinking?" Ning's aunt interrupted, handing over the trash can for Ning's mom to throw away the tissue paper. "Although Liu Zhen's mother said that Xiaomin is not Liu Zhen's child, and that you only stayed with him because of his money, whether or not Xiaomin is Liu Zhen's child, Liu Zhen himself knows best. You don't want his money, but in the end, it's still you who loses out."

  "Mom, don't say that!" Ning's mom burst into tears again. "I was so stubborn back then, just to spite the old lady. I refused a single penny from Liu Zhen and made Xiaomin suffer with me. Now thinking about it, it was really foolish of me. Later on, Liu Zhen sent me money several times, but I returned it all. As for Xiaomin's affairs, I won't tell him anything."

  "Alright. Now Xiaomin has also grown up and can earn her own money, so there's no need to worry." Ning Auntie patted Ning Mom's hand. Hearing the sound from Ning Qingmin's room, she said in a low voice, "You all go in and rest for a while too, don't disturb Xiaomin's sleep."

  Ning's mother stood up. Just in time to hear the phone ringing in the living room. She went over to listen, and her expression changed as she said: "How did you know my home phone number?"

  "When Xiaomin was filling out her medical history, I saw it." Liu Zhen asked cautiously on the side: "Is Xiaomin's eyes still okay?"

  "None of your business!" Ning's mom said irritably and hung up the phone with a "click".

  When the phone rang again, Ning's mother picked up the receiver and said: "Xiao Min's eyes are already blind, you've satisfied your hearts, don't call again."

  "What's wrong with Qingmeng's eyes? I called her cell phone, but it's turned off!" a pleasant voice asked, but it wasn't Liu Zhen's voice.

  "Excuse me, who is this?" Ning's mom heard it wasn't Liu Zhen and became polite. "Xiao Min is resting now, I'll have her call you back when she wakes up."

  "Are you Ning's auntie? I'm Qingmin's classmate, the one who went to your food tasting event last time, Xiao Dongdong." Xiao Yesong smiled and said: "Auntie remembers me, right?"

  "Oh dear! Xiao Min mentioned you before, saying that you're classmates, I thought she was joking, but it's actually true."

  "Auntie, it's not just that we're classmates, I even sang an insert song in a TV series with lyrics written by Qingmian!" Xiaoye Sheng had called Ning Qingmian's phone several times today, but it was always turned off, and he felt anxious, asking: "Why isn't Qingmian answering her phone? Is everything okay?"

  "She's fine, she went out for a bit today and is feeling tired, she's sleeping now!" Ning's mom also didn't feel like explaining much, just saying: "By the way, do you have any urgent matters? You can tell me first, I'll let her know as soon as she wakes up."

  "Hmm, nothing urgent anyway, I'll call her again when I'm free!" Xiao Yesi hung up the phone with a smile.