Warm sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the cozy room. The pink decor and Mickey Mouse ornaments everywhere suggested it was a young girl's bedroom.
However, this room, so imbued with girlish charm, was now filled with an unpleasant stench of alcohol. Inside the gauze curtains of the European-style princess bed, a young man was fast asleep. This man was Chen Yang, who had consumed nearly three jin (approximately 1.5 kg) of strong liquor the previous night.
Ning Qiaoqian had cared for Chen Yang all night. Fortunately, Chen Yang wasn't restless after drinking too much; aside from waking up a few times to vomit, he slept most of the time. Ning Qiaoqian, on the other hand, hadn't slept a wink. Whenever Chen Yang made a sound, she would fetch a basin, a towel, and constantly pat his back. After vomiting, Chen Yang would fall back asleep, while Ning Qiaoqian, enduring nausea, had to clean up the vomit.
She was busy until dawn, when Chen Yang finally calmed down, his stomach almost empty, and fell into a deep sleep on Ning Qiaoqian's bed.
Overcome with drowsiness, Ning Qiaoqian leaned against the headboard, propping her head up with her hands and falling asleep.
A ray of sunlight shone through the gauze curtains onto Chen Yang's face. In his sleep, Chen Yang's brow furrowed slightly, and he stirred gently. Ning Qiaoqian, a light sleeper, was immediately startled awake and sat up abruptly.
However, after sitting for several hours, her legs were numb. Caught off guard, Ning Qiaoqian cried out and fell onto Chen Yang.
Chen Yang, still groggy, was fully awakened by Ning Qiaoqian's weight.
Chen Yang opened his eyes and saw Ning Qiaoqian's pretty face so close to his. Even though Ning Qiaoqian was beautiful, Chen Yang was still startled when he opened his eyes. He instinctively pulled the blanket to his chest and exclaimed in surprise:
"Sister Qian! What...what are you doing?"
Ning Qiaoqian frantically sat up.
"What kind of tone is that? I took care of him all night, and he acts like I'm plotting something against him when he wakes up..." Ning Qiaoqian felt a surge of annoyance and was about to explode in anger when she saw Chen Yang gasp and frown. She quickly asked,
"Little Yang, what's wrong?"
Chen Yang frowned and replied,
"My head hurts so much..."
Chen Yang wasn't faking it. He woke up with a splitting headache from his hangover, his head feeling like it was filled with mush, and even the slightest movement made it feel shaky.
Ning Qiaoqian quickly opened the thermos by the bedside, poured out a bowl of hangover soup she had prepared, and handed it to Chen Yang, saying,
"Here, drink this hangover soup first! You drank so much last night, no wonder your head hurts this morning! It's all his fault..."
Seeing Chen Yang's discomfort, Ning Qiaoqian couldn't help but start blaming Ning Kuncheng again. However, after last night's events, Ning Qiaoqian's resentment had lessened considerably; she could see that her father genuinely admired Chen Yang.
Chen Yang sat up and gulped down the hangover soup in a few mouthfuls.
Just as he was about to get out of bed, Chen Yang suddenly felt a chill. He then realized he was naked. He cried out in surprise and quickly shrank back under the covers. After a moment, he hesitantly lifted a corner of the blanket, glanced around nervously, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief: his underwear was still on! Chen Yang chuckled awkwardly and asked,
"Sister Qian, what's wrong with my clothes?"
Seeing Chen Yang's behavior, Ning Qiaoqian was immediately annoyed and said irritably,
"You threw up all over yourself last night, how could I not take your clothes off? You're not afraid of getting dirty, but I'm worried about my bed!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Chen Yang said with a forced smile, "Well... I didn't do anything beastly when I was drunk, did I..."
"Dream on!" Ning Qiaoqian rolled her eyes, turned around, grabbed a set of clothes, and handed them to Chen Yang, saying, "Hurry up and change into these clothes, Uncle Hua had someone buy them last night!"
Chen Yang wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, then stretched out a hand from under the covers to take the clothes, and chuckled awkwardly,
"Sister Qian, um... shouldn't you leave a moment?"
"Come on! It's not like I haven't seen it before..." Ning Qiaoqian pouted, suddenly remembering the alluring scene in the car on Gushan Mountain that night, and her pretty face flushed. After thinking for a moment, Ning Qiaoqian turned her body slightly to the side, turning her face away.
Chen Yang quickly got out of bed and dressed in a few quick movements. Uncle Hua had prepared a light blue Adidas tracksuit; presumably, in a rush, there weren't many particularly expensive clothes available.
As Chen Yang tidied his clothes, he observed the room's furnishings and couldn't help but laugh, saying,
"Sister Qian, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I really wouldn't have believed your room was decorated like this..."
Chen Yang found it increasingly amusing. In his memory, Ning Qiaoqian dressed boldly and sexily, favoring black tight leather jackets and leather miniskirts, and liking punk style and various studded accessories. Unexpectedly, her bedroom was a pink Mickey Mouse theme, with a white European-style princess bed and gauze curtains, and Ning Qiaoqian's cute pale yellow pajamas—completely overturning Chen Yang's image of Ning Qiaoqian. "Say that again!" Ning Qiaoqian turned around angrily and pinched Chen Yang's ear hard, saying, "You little brat, you're getting cocky! Believe me or not, I'll rip your ear off and drink it with my wine!"
Chen Yang quickly tilted his head, begging for mercy, but his thieving eyes darted inside Ning Qiaoqian's loose neckline, immediately recalling the scene in the sports car that day, and a wave of lust washed over him.
Ning Qiaoqian noticed Chen Yang's burning gaze, her pretty face inexplicably flushing red. She released her grip on Chen Yang's ear, subtly tugged at her collar, and gave him a sharp, piercing look before asking, word by word:
"Little Yang... what are you looking at?"
"Huh?"
Chen Yang snapped out of his daze, quickly averting his gaze, scratching his head awkwardly, and chuckling sheepishly:
"Hehe, nothing..."
Ning Qiaoqian stared at Chen Yang. When she saw his flushed face and uncomfortable expression, her previously tense, feigned reproachful expression melt away, replaced by a bright, cheerful demeanor.
"Sister Qian, now you can tell me what happened, right?" After a while of playful banter, Chen Yang sat down in a chair and asked seriously.
Ning Qiaoqian glanced at the haggard Chen Yang, remembering how he had driven over 200 kilometers from Rongcheng the day before because of a strange phone call from her, almost losing his life in the process. A wave of emotion washed over her. She sighed, sat down beside Chen Yang, and began to recount the whole story.
When Ning Qiaoqian was six years old, Ning Kuncheng, though not yet the powerful figure he was now, had already carved out a considerable territory in Xiamen, naturally making some enemies along the way. One day, her mother fell ill, and Ning Kuncheng drove them to the hospital. While her mother was receiving an IV drip, Ning Kuncheng received a call. A friend who had helped him during his downfall was in trouble in Xiamen. Without hesitation, Ning Kuncheng left his sick wife and young daughter to help.
After her IV drip finished, her mother waited for Ning Kuncheng at the hospital entrance with Ning Qiaoqian. Young Ning Qiaoqian cried for cotton candy, so her mother, despite her illness, went across the street to buy her some. Just after crossing the street, they encountered one of Ning Kuncheng's sworn enemies in the underworld. The two factions had clashed repeatedly over territory, forging an unbreakable feud. Upon seeing Ning Qiaoqian's mother, this man went berserk, pulling out a knife and chasing after her.
Young Ning Qiaoqian witnessed her mother being brutally hacked to death by her father's enemy from across the street, until she collapsed in a pool of blood. If a kind passerby hadn't covered her mouth, she would likely have been killed by the bloodthirsty enemy.
Although Ning Kuncheng launched a furious revenge, it was too late; his wife had already passed away. From that moment on, Ning Qiaoqian harbored resentment towards her father, believing he was indirectly responsible for her mother's death.
As she grew older, Ning Qiaoqian, lacking maternal love, became increasingly rebellious. Although she knew her father was deeply troubled by her mother's death and constantly blamed himself, and that Ning Kuncheng had remained single for over twenty years, Ning Qiaoqian couldn't forgive him. Every time she saw Ning Kuncheng, she was reminded of the scene of her mother helplessly collapsing in a pool of blood that day.
Those scenes had become the shadows of Ning Qiaoqian's childhood.
Because of his guilt, Ning Kuncheng doted on his daughter excessively, granting her almost every wish. There was only one thing he consistently insisted on: Ning Qiaoqian's marriage. Years ago, Ning Kuncheng had promised his old friend Xing Jianbiao, with whom he had worked for many years, that he would marry his daughter to Xing Jianbiao's son, Xing Shuming. Ning Kuncheng always kept his word, so regardless of whether Ning Qiaoqian had feelings for Xing Shuming, he unilaterally arranged their engagement.
In a fit of anger, Ning Qiaoqian secretly ran away to Rongcheng and became a bartender. Ning Kuncheng could have easily taken Ning Qiaoqian back to Xiamen by force, but the thought of his deceased wife softened his heart. Left with no other choice, he contacted his friends in Rongcheng's underworld and also sent Acheng and another man to Rongcheng to secretly protect Ning Qiaoqian.
Thus, the engagement was postponed indefinitely.
Recently, Ning Kuncheng was approached by his brother-in-law, who had long since severed ties with him because of his wife's death. It turned out that Ning Qiaoqian's cousin had gotten into trouble. The cousin ran a small restaurant in a suburban county of Xiamen. One day, a few thugs came to eat, got drunk, and refused to pay. The cousin, whose business was small, naturally objected, and the drunken thugs started punching and kicking him. In the ensuing chaos, the cousin pulled out a fruit knife he was carrying and wildly swung it. In the process, one of the thugs had his carotid artery severed and died instantly.
At most, it would have been considered excessive self-defense, but the petty thug's family had connections in the government, so the prosecution directly charged him with intentional homicide, and the court quickly sentenced him to death in the first instance. The uncle, an honest and simple farmer, had exhausted all other options and had no choice but to shamelessly approach Ning Kuncheng.
Ning Kuncheng was very polite to his brother-in-law, whom he hadn't seen for over a decade, and readily agreed to help, only mentioning that Ning Qiaoqian had been away from home for two years and hoping he could persuade her to return.
Thus, the scene unfolded that night on Gushan Mountain, where Uncle Hua personally brought Ning Qiaoqian's uncle to Rongcheng to bring her back.
After returning home, Ning Kuncheng brought up the old issue again, demanding that Ning Qiaoqian get engaged to Xing Shuming, otherwise he wouldn't get involved in his cousin's affairs. Left with no other choice, Ning Qiaoqian claimed she already had a boyfriend and threatened to go on a hunger strike.
After two days of stalemate, a helpless Ning Kuncheng had no choice but to compromise, but he did so on condition: Ning Qiaoqian's boyfriend had to pass his test before he could approve of him. Therefore, he ordered Ning Qiaoqian to bring her boyfriend to Xiamen Island immediately.
Seeing that this expedient explanation was about to be exposed, Ning Qiaoqian immediately thought of Chen Yang and hurriedly called him.
"You know what happened next," Ning Qiaoqian said sincerely, looking at Chen Yang. "Chen Yang, thank you so much!"
"Hey! Don't be so polite," Chen Yang said nonchalantly. "It's good that I helped. I was afraid of delaying your business!"
Just then, his phone, which was on the bedside table, suddenly vibrated rapidly. Chen Yang quickly got up and went to the bedside.