A slap came.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Mother Ning's expression changed visibly. In the end, her face was filled with resentment as she roared angrily.
"How can Su Su be related to that animal?! He can forget about getting involved with her for the rest of his life!"
The room fell silent.
"…"
Mother Ning realized belatedly that she had actually slapped Ning Qing!
Her eyes flickered and her mouth fell open. There was nowhere to put that hand.
"Qing… Qing."
Her face hurt, but Ning Qing smiled and said sadly, "You can't pretend anymore, right?"
This gentleness and love were just an illusion in the end.
Mother Ning was at a loss and flustered.
"Qing Qing, I didn't do it on purpose. I mean…"
Ning Qing stepped back in rejection and avoided her hand. Mother Ning's hands froze in midair.
She closed her eyes and took deep breaths again and again.
"I understand."
She was calm and almost cold.
Mother Ning panicked, but she did not know how to explain. A pleading expression appeared on her gentle and refined face. "Qing Qing, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to."
Ning Qing clenched her fists tightly and forced herself to calm down.
When she opened her eyes again, the light in them had completely dissipated, replaced by numbness and coldness.
"It's okay. Take care of yourself and Dad. I'll go back first."
Ning Qing bypassed Mother Ning and ran out.
She ignored the shouts behind her and rushed out of the Ning family like a ferocious beast escaping from a flood.
In the taxi, Ning Qing's heart ached when she thought of Mother Ning's judgment of Nian Lie.
Beast.
If he had not done anything overboard, why would her mother scold him with those words?
Her mother's rejection of him was not fake.
She even felt hate.
He clearly did not catch her parents' eye, but they still married her to this "beast."
Ning Qing smiled bitterly. Her chest was stifled and painful.
Her sad gaze was fixed on the car window. The scenery by the roadside flashed past quickly, and she could not see anything.
The taxi drove for about half an hour before the driver said, "Miss, it's almost noon. It's easy to get stuck in traffic ahead. Why don't you get off here?"
Ning Qing looked over in a daze. A few seconds later, she agreed and paid before getting out of the car.
In a daze, she closed the car door and turned around, but her feet tripped on the stairs and she fell to her knees.
"Ah."
The pain in her knees made Ning Qing's eyes overflow with tears.
"Hey, let me see who this is. It's broad daylight. Why are you kneeling on the street?"
A female voice exploded above her, filled with schadenfreude and deliberate mockery.
Ning Qing clenched her fists and looked up.
The slightly bright sunlight pierced Ning Qing's eyes. She could not help but narrow her eyes and look at the woman in gorgeous clothes in front of her.
It was Su Yinuo.
This daughter of the Su family, who was loved by thousands, was her husband, Nian Lie's childhood sweetheart.
She had learned before that the Su family and the Nian family were family friends. Su Yinuo's grandfather wanted to marry her to Nian Lie, but unfortunately, Nian Lie married herself, and the marriage agreement was dropped.
She also knew that this Eldest Young Lady had loved Nian Lie since she was young. She knew that after Nian Lie married her, he had fought with the Nian family many times and ended up in a farce.
At this moment, she was looking at her with disdain and disgust.
Su Yinuo looked at Ning Qing's face and covered her mouth. Surprise appeared on her exquisitely made-up face. "Oh, I knew it. I thought you looked like Ning Qing. I didn't expect it to be really you!"
Ning Qing did not want to respond to such lousy acting.
Su Yinuo suddenly leaned down and said with concern, "Are you unhappy? Did you quarrel with Brother Lie? Don't kneel on the ground anymore. Come, I'll help you up."
Ning Qing shook off her hand and looked at her coldly. "Don't pretend in front of me. Disgusting."
Su Yinuo retracted her hand, feeling extremely aggrieved.
"Sister, why are you saying that about me? I'm just concerned about you."
Ning Qing sneered and was about to mock her when a familiar cold voice interrupted.
"How long are you going to kneel on the ground for?"