Read Novel Full Chapter 53.1 – A Harbor Called Home (I)
Chapter 53.1 – A Harbor Called Home (I)
With Fan Xiuzhi taken away by plainclothes officers, the Ning family’s birthday banquet came to an abrupt end. While Ning Shaoyun was seeing Zhu Yuanhai and the others off, Ning Shaobai went upstairs and pushed open the study door. His grandfather was on the phone, giving orders to their agents in Hainan and instructing them to sell off all the land. After hanging up, the old man seemed completely drained, leaning wearily against the armchair.
Seeing his older grandson, Old Master Ning asked numbly, “Why are you still here?”
Ning Shaobai placed a folder down. “Your real birthday gift,” he said softly. “Sorry for ruining your celebration.”
Old Master Ning let out a cold laugh. “You were ruthless when doing it. Why bother with this show now? Do you really think of me as your grandfather?”
“No matter what, you did protect and raise us when we were young,” Ning Shaobai said calmly. “There are principles that must never be broken, but ruining your celebration was indeed my fault. Take care, Grandpa.”
Long after he left, Old Master Ning sighed and eventually picked up the folder. Inside were methods for cleaning up the mess left by Fan Xiuzhi, along with the original production lines of their company that had been sold off during her aggressive expansion.
With these, although their family business would shrink significantly, Ning Shaoyang still had a chance of starting over. If he managed the business steadily, perhaps it would even be possible to regain their former glory.
Looking through the window at Ning Shaoyun and Ning Shaobai’s figures by the gate, Old Master Ning closed his eyes in regret. If he had treated them fairly back then, would everything have turned out differently?
…
As the police car disappeared from view, Ning Shaoyun remained tense. “She can’t escape now, right?”
“Don’t worry, it’s all over.” Ning Shaobai put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat. “With so many witnesses, even the Fan family can’t save her.”
Ning Shaoyun exhaled slowly. “Yeah, it’s all over. Let’s go home. I miss Chenchen.”
Rong Xin went to get the car, and Ning Shaobai’s gaze fell on Xia Mian, who was rubbing her ear repeatedly. “What’s wrong?”
“My ear hurts…” Xia Mian touched her ear again instinctively, causing her to wince with pain.
“Let me see.” Ning Shaobai reached out and moved her hand aside, finding that her earlobe, pinched by the ear cuff, had become so red and swollen. The clip was embedded in the flesh, making it difficult to remove.
Ning Shaoyun also saw it and exclaimed, “Oh no, what happened? I didn’t even notice.”
‘No wonder, we all have been tense all day!’ Xia Mian thought to herself. Even she hadn’t noticed the pain until now.
Seeing she was reaching for her ear again, Ning Shaobai moved her hand away, then leaned in to examine it more closely. “Seems like an allergy.”
“Tsk,” he swatted Xia Mian’s restless hand away. “Stop touching it!”
“It hurts!” she complained.
Rong Xin pulled up in front of them. “Sister, sit in the front.” Ning Shaobai told Ning Shaoyun and then turned to Xia Mian. “Get in the car.”
“Don’t touch. I’ll take the cuffs off in a moment,” he warned her.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but the more he said not to touch it, the more Xia Mian became conscious of the pain. Wouldn’t it be fine to just take it off?
But Ning Shaobai was a bit scary today, so she didn’t quite dare push him.
Just as Xia Mian was growing frustrated, Ning Shaobai finally returned with a small first-aid kit from the trunk.
“You’re not going to bleed it out, are you?” Xia Mian’s eyes widened in horror.
Rong Xin chuckled as he started the car, “Yeah, it’s that bad. Brother Bai might have to perform surgery. There’s a full set of scalpels in that box.”
Xia Mian instinctively covered her ear again. Ning Shaobai shot her a look. “Behave a bit!” He quickly pulled out an alcohol swab to sanitize his hands and said to her, “Come closer. I’ll take it off.”
That’s when Xia Mian realized he was simply being meticulous as a doctor. She grinned sheepishly and leaned in. “Hurry, hurry, it really hurts.”
As soon as he touched her earlobe, she cried out, “…be gentler! It so damn hurts…”
“You’re afraid of pain?” Ning Shaobai said, exasperated. “It didn’t swell up all at once. Why do you start whining only now?”
Despite his words, his movement was noticeably gentler.
Xia Mian stiffened her neck, not daring to move. “With all the tension today, I didn’t have the mind to think about anything else.”
She felt the cool touch of Ning Shaobai’s fingers and held her breath, bracing for pain. But there was none—just a sudden sense of relief as the ear cuff came off.
“No wonder you’re such an excellent Dr. Ning. Amazing!” She turned to look at him admiringly.
“Other side.” Ning Shaobai ignored her.
“Oh.” Xia Mian twisted around in her seat. “How am I supposed to do that? My neck doesn’t turn 180 degrees.”
Rong Xin, who was driving up front, burst out laughing at her comment and offered a suggestion, “Why don’t you just lie on his lap? No need to twist around like that—much more convenient for him, too.”
“Genius!” Xia Mian looked over, seeking approval from the person in charge. “Can I?”
Ning Shaobai refused flatly, “No.”
“Got it!” Xia Mian completely ignored his opinion and, with unrelenting momentum, dropped her head straight onto his lap. The freshly unpierced earlobe rubbed against his pants, causing her to yelp in pain.
Ning Shaobai’s thighs took the brunt of the impact, and he gritted his teeth in annoyance. “Serves you right!”
Xia Mian, feeling victorious, chuckled without remorse. “I’m counting on you, Dr. Ning.”
Ning Shaobai rolled his eyes, but Xia Mian noticed that the grim air around him had mostly faded—he was back to being the usual Ning Shaobai.
Indeed, this position was quite convenient. His movements were much quicker than before.
After a while, he held her head up with clear disdain and pushed it away. “Done.”
Seeing the two pretty ear cuffs in his hand, Xia Mian said with a twinge of regret, “They were really pretty. Too bad I can’t wear them.”
“Guess I’ll need to get my ears pierced for real.”
But when she recalled the crude ear-piercing methods of this era, Xia Mian figured she probably wouldn’t have the courage anytime soon.
Ning Shaobai glanced at her two red, swollen earlobes, speechless.
As the car turned into the alley, Rong Xin suddenly burst out laughing again. “Sister Yun, aren’t those your kids over there?”
Ning Shaoyun couldn’t help but chuckle, “Yes.”
At that moment, the spiked armor she had worn all day was finally cast aside, and she returned to being the gentle and elegant Ning Shaoyun.
Curious, Xia Mian leaned over to take a look—and burst into laughter, too. “Hahaha, their play has been getting more and more creative!”
In the days before Ultraman and Marvel heroes were popular, all kids dreamed of being martial arts heroes. At the gate of their houses, Mao Huizhu, Chenchen, and Xiao Feng each had a blue plaid bedsheet draped over their shoulders—someone had probably torn a single sheet into pieces for them.
Mao Huizhu had two pigtails sticking up with strips of fabric tied to them as ribbons. Chenchen had a similar setup, with a red waistband tied around his forehead from who-knows-where.
Each of them wielded a bamboo stick as a sword, swinging them with wild energy, making their own sound effects while shaking their heads hard to show off the ‘ribbons’ and ‘headbands’ during their fight for the title of martial arts alliance leader.
As for Xiao Feng…
The little guy had once again been reduced to their prop. A crooked headband was tied around his head, clearly cut from the same cloth as Chenchen’s, and the ribbon on his tuft matched Huizhu’s exactly. He leaned on a bamboo stick, the lone spectator of the martial arts tournament, watching the two masters duel.
When the car approached, Xiao Feng reacted first. His eyes lit up, and he ran over with his tiny legs. “Auntie!”