Chapter 60
Xie Shiqing: “...Hm?”
Zhong Ning sat up and reached for the lamp by the bedside, pressing the switch. The dim yellow light flickered on softly, illuminating the room.
She turned around, her lips opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.
Normally, when the light was on, she was very careful with her kisses and bites—loosening her hold at the first sign of blood. But this time, in the dark, she had gotten carried away, and now Xie Shiqing’s skin didn’t look too great.
“Let’s… let’s not do the massage for now.” Zhong Ning’s face was red as she mumbled, “Do you have any ointment for removing hickeys? I just… on your body…”
She stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.
Xie Shiqing lay there lazily. “No need. Just leave it.”
She wasn’t going out tomorrow anyway. Her arrangements had wrapped up, and now all that was left was to watch the show unfold.
“I really want a shower,” she said, but didn’t move. She pulled Zhong Ning’s fingers over and began to squeeze each knuckle one by one. The sticky sensation still lingered on them.
Zhong Ning blinked. “Should I carry you to the bathroom?”
Xie Shiqing’s lips curved into a smile—her lips were dewy and a bit swollen. Zhong Ning wanted to look away, yet couldn’t help but stare.
She smiled and said, “Thank you, Ning Ning. You’re so good to me.”
A small sliver of her bright red tongue flickered in and out between her lips and teeth.
Zhong Ning could hear the sound of her own heartbeat, and thought joyfully: I really love her.
She even said it out loud while carrying her in her arms.
“I really love you, Shiqing,” she said, gleefully, as if it were the greatest blessing in the world. “It’s like I’ll never be able to leave you for the rest of my life.”
“I love you too.” Xie Shiqing smiled gently and kissed her on the lips.
But she didn’t say anything about staying the night.
After changing the bedsheets, Zhong Ning returned to her room, reluctant to leave.
The next day, Xie Shiqing didn’t go out. Zhong Ning let out a sigh of relief—she had really been worried that the obvious hickeys would be seen by everyone.
But she herself had to go out.
Fengcheng University started the semester a bit earlier to make time for the freshman military training. So she only had three days of free time left.
Fu Nanshuang was two years ahead of her and would be starting her third year. Since students could register in advance, she invited Zhong Ning out, saying she wanted to show her around the campus beforehand.
The original Zhong Ning had enrolled in the Business Administration program—same as Fu Nanshuang. The two arranged to meet at the school gate. Fu Nanshuang had dyed her hair again, changing the previous wine-red ombré to a pinkish white. At first glance, Zhong Ning thought someone was doing cosplay and started guessing which character it could be. Only when the person turned around did she realize it was Fu Nanshuang.
The latter flipped her hair and teased, “Your eyeballs are about to fall out. Once we finish registration, wanna go dye your hair too?”
Zhong Ning replied, “Sure!”
She had been thinking about dyeing her hair in a bright, cheerful color too—maybe pink or yellow. Something vibrant and lively, like her current mood.
There was a row of registration tables set up at the school entrance, but Fu Nanshuang didn’t immediately take her over. Instead, she hesitated for a moment and said, “Zhong Zinuan is over there too. She’s in the student council and has to help with welcoming the new students these days.”
Zhong Ning asked, “Aren’t you in the student council too?”
Fu Nanshuang replied, “That’s why I came to pick you up. Pretty much everyone in our circle that you know—either joined the student council or became presidents and vice presidents of other clubs. Only a few who don’t like to compete ended up just being regular members.”
“What about you? Any clubs you’re thinking of joining?”
“Student council.” Zhong Ning answered without hesitation.
If she wanted to compete with Zhong Zinuan for the position of Zhong family heir, then she had to present herself as driven and dependable—and not just act the part, but truly become a capable person. She needed to network with people from all walks of life. Falling behind didn’t matter; it wasn’t too late to start now.
“Good.” Fu Nanshuang nodded, her expression full of comfort, emotion, and even a bit of maternal pride.
Zhong Ning got goosebumps under her gaze.
“But Zhong Zinuan is over there.” She said with frustration, “At that banquet, she deliberately provoked me again. Now just seeing her makes me angry, and I don’t even know what to do.”
She truly couldn’t come up with a strategy that could be used against Zhong Zinuan at the moment.
She was troubled by her lack of ideas, but Fu Nanshuang assumed it was because her best friend now had to compete for the heir position and could no longer act the way she used to—just go up and punch her.
A qualified family heir must never lay a hand on someone in public.
Fu Nanshuang’s eyes lit up. “That’s easy.”
She leaned in and whispered a few words in Zhong Ning’s ear.
Zhong Ning: ?
Zhong Ning asked, “Will that really work?”
Fu Nanshuang crossed her arms and scoffed, “Why wouldn’t it? Isn’t she the one who cares most about her image? This’ll absolutely disgust her.”
She strode ahead with her head held high, and Zhong Ning followed behind. Though she tried to move naturally, for some reason, her every gesture carried a faint sense of guilt.
Fu Nanshuang thought she was just holding back her anger too hard. She tugged at Zhong Ning’s sleeve and whispered, “You’d better hold it in and not throw a punch. Just act it out!”
Upon hearing that, Zhong Ning quickly recalled everything from the engagement banquet—the lawless arrogance of Zhong Zinuan, the bullying of Xie Shiqing, and the memories she had dreamed about that night. Her fury swelled up all at once, and she too lifted her chin and walked forward confidently.
She was the one who had been wronged. Why should she feel guilty?
This wasn’t doing something bad—it was eliminating harm for the good of others!
Didn’t the ancestors say it? Repay resentment with honesty. That’s right. What she was about to do was entirely justified.
The two of them walked over to where Zhong Zinuan was—not stopping at the front of the table, but circling behind it directly.
“Zhong Zinuan!” Fu Nanshuang called out cheerfully as she leaned in close. “Little Ning is here to register today. Get her signed in.”
Zhong Ning stood beside her, suppressing the discomfort in her heart, and called out, “Sis.”
Zhong Zinuan had been sitting comfortably in her chair, but the moment she saw the two of them, irritation flared in her chest. After years of interacting with them, she honestly couldn’t tell whether it was Fu Nanshuang or Zhong Ning who annoyed her more.
Fu Nanshuang’s mouth, in particular, was simply intolerable.
Though they were both in the student council, she had targeted her plenty of times—always with some long-winded justification, arguments that sounded so logical and well-founded that it was impossible to find fault with them. It disgusted her to no end.