Chapter 194

Chapter 194

Zhong Ning scrolled through the ordering interface on her phone.

 "Then eight-treasure porridge."

 She ordered seafood porridge for herself, along with some pancakes and cold side dishes.

"...Aren't you sitting a bit too close?"

 She was practically leaning over half her body, nearly resting her head on Zhong Ning's shoulder.

"I'm feeling a little weak, it's normal during a heat period." Xie Shiqing bit her moist red lower lip, lifted her eyelashes slightly, and looked up with a timid expression. "Is Ning-jiejie feeling annoyed?"

Zhong Ning closed her eyes in restraint and grabbed a sofa cushion, stuffing it behind her back.

 "You can lean against the sofa."

"But I want to be closer to Ning-jiejie."

Zhong Ning said,

 "...Jingjing, you do remember that we’ve only just met and we’re coworkers, right?"

Xie Shiqing cupped her cheeks and looked very innocent.

 "But I fell in love with Ning-jiejie at first sight and want to pursue her. It’s only human to want to be close to someone you like, I’m no exception."

Before Zhong Ning could respond, she went on,

 "Jingjing fell in love with Ning-jiejie at first sight. As for me, I loved Ning Ning but couldn’t have her, and now I want to get her back. No matter how I look at it, I just can’t control the urge to be close to her."

She really started acting up the moment she got slightly better.

And Xie Shiqing was very good at maintaining the right distance—though she sat close, the two of them never actually had any real physical contact.

Zhong Ning really wanted to say, "Can you sit a little farther away?" But when she thought about last night's misunderstanding and the hurtful things she had said, the words got stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out.

Forget it.

She gave up and thought,

 If she wants to lean over, let her.

 Just take it as an apology.

Breakfast was delivered quickly. Zhong Ning thanked the server and brought the food containers over herself, opening them one by one and placing them on the table.

"Time to eat."

This time, she remembered not to serve food for her.

She handed over the bag with utensils and sat down without helping her unpack it.

Xie Shiqing slowly tore open the packaging herself, without feeling the least bit disappointed.

If she were to be upset over something so trivial, then she might as well not live at all.

Unless she truly couldn’t hold it back, or unless it could be used—turned into a way to win Zhong Ning back—then all feelings of sadness were unnecessary. Every single moment spent with Zhong Ning was invaluable and couldn’t be wasted on self-pity.

Lancheng was quite a beautiful city, steeped in history.

If Fengcheng was a purely modern metropolis, filled with a sense of technology and time, then Lancheng was brimming with rich culture and historical splendor.

It was a grand, ancient, and picturesque city.

"Do you want to go out for a walk?" Xie Shiqing asked.

"Aren’t you still in heat, and having an allergic reaction? Why go out instead of resting properly in the hotel," Zhong Ning replied blandly.

"I’ve never been here before, and I really want to visit the museum," Xie Shiqing said softly. "When I was little, my mother never let me run around. Not because she was worried about my safety, but because she scheduled all my after-school time for lessons. For a while, under her influence, I also believed that things like this were just useless entertainment, not worth seeing."

"Later, when I could arrange my own time, I no longer had the conditions or the mindset to see them."

"I kind of want to win some sympathy saying this, but it’s also the truth."

She turned her eyes slightly, looking over with a gaze that held no feigned playfulness, only a deep melancholy—like a vast marsh hidden in a shadowy forest.

"During the time you weren’t around, I learned a lot. I also tried to feel, to search for meaning in life and in myself."

"Fulfilling childhood wishes is a part of that too."

Xie Shiqing opened the memo app on her phone and leaned it slightly toward Zhong Ning.

"These are all the things I’ve done."

Zhong Ning lowered her head to look.

Many items had already been crossed off.

Included on the list were things like “binge-watch SpongeBob SquarePants,” “eat a whole tub of Meibao assorted ice cream,” “ride a carousel,” “fly a kite,” and “lie on a grassy lawn.” Each item had a corresponding photo beneath it.

There were also many unfinished ones, such as “smash a piano,” “visit the Lancheng National History Museum,” “get soaked in the rain,” “have a huge argument with a dog”...

Zhong Ning raised an eyebrow. The others were whatever, but what was up with that last one?

"You want to argue with a dog?"

Xie Shiqing answered with a straight face,

"When I was a kid, I attended a banquet at the Zhu family’s house. They had several Tibetan mastiffs that barked at me nonstop. I was so frightened I got seriously ill, and on top of that, my mother scolded me, saying I lacked courage."

Zhong Ning was silent for a moment. She didn’t want to comment on such misguided parenting. She was honestly at a loss for words.

"Are those dogs still around?"

"No idea," Xie Shiqing said, letting out a light laugh.

"Not long after I joined the company, I started targeting their family. The Zhu family went bankrupt years ago and moved out of the villa district. I have no idea how they’re doing now."

Zhong Ning: "……"

As expected of her.

"There are actually a lot of things on this list that I don’t really want to do," Xie Shiqing said. "Like that one—smashing the piano."

"I don’t exactly hate playing the piano. What I hated was my mother’s control and commands. I resented her, yet I also longed to become someone like her—someone whose word was law."

"When I first started learning, I didn’t like it at all. But gradually, I came to enjoy it. Still, I wasn’t happy deep down, because it wasn’t something I chose willingly." Xie Shiqing’s gaze was calm.

"I couldn’t hate my mother, so I could only hate the piano."

"The piano didn’t do anything wrong."

Zhong Ning echoed her,

"The piano isn’t at fault."

"And you like it."

Xie Shiqing looked into her eyes and suddenly smiled.

"Does this count as making peace with the past?"

"It counts," Zhong Ning replied.

"Shall we go to the museum?" Xie Shiqing asked again.

"Is your body up for it?" Zhong Ning was still a bit hesitant. "You’ll probably have to walk for quite a while."

"I’m not made of paper, you know. I’m not that fragile."

Xie Shiqing smiled brightly and said nonchalantly,

"Besides, plenty of people go through heat periods. It’s not like everyone takes a few days off work every single time."