Ning Guiwan turned around and met Ning Honghua's imposing gaze. She remained silent for a few seconds before a smile suddenly blossomed on her face. Her eyes held an unusual allure, her red lips and white teeth making her appear exceptionally enchanting as she said, "I understand, Dad. Don't worry."
Turning back again, the smile on Ning Guiwan's face instantly vanished.
Stirring up trouble?
Who exactly is stirring up trouble?
"Xiaowan? You're here too." Ning Guiwan had just opened the door to see Ning Rongyue outside, hand raised as if to knock, a blue file folder in her arms.
After a moment of surprise, Ning Rongyue put on a friendly smile. "I have a report here that needs Dad's signature, so I came over."
She seemed very afraid of upsetting Ning Guiwan and spoke cautiously, with a hint of ingratiation, "Are you leaving now?"
Ning Guiwan quietly looked at Ning Rongyue's face. She was wearing makeup, but the burn scar on her left cheek wasn't covered at all. In fact, it seemed even more prominent because the surrounding skin, whitened by makeup, contrasted sharply with it.
Perhaps sensing Ning Guiwan's gaze, Ning Rongyue raised her hand to cover her left cheek, her eyes faintly revealing sadness.
"The doctor said I'm prone to scarring; otherwise, I wouldn't have such an ugly scar. I can't undergo those scar removal surgeries either. But don't worry, Dad brought me some scar treatment medication from abroad, and it's working quite well. Once this scar is healed, no one will say anything bad about you anymore."
"Xiaowan, don't take to heart what was in the newspapers today. We all know you didn't do it on purpose, and I've never blamed you."
There were reporters at the bidding yesterday. Ning Guiwan's team unexpectedly won the contract, so the media naturally reported on it. To make the story more sensational, they also dredged up Ning Guiwan's various misdeeds from four years ago.
"Never blamed me?" Ning Guiwan's voice was cold. "Your ability to twist black and white is still as impressive as ever. You were the one who splashed boiling water on your own face, yet I was made to bear everyone's accusations. What right do you have to blame me?"
Ning Rongyue opened her mouth in surprise but didn't speak, as if she hadn't expected Ning Guiwan to say that.
After a moment of shock, Ning Rongyue turned to look at Ning Honghua, her eyes reddening as she struggled to hold back her grievances. "Dad, I didn't..."
Ning Honghua's expression darkened. "I just told you to avoid stirring up trouble. Now what are you doing?"
"Since the incident, you haven't said a single word of apology. Rongyue has forgiven you, and instead of being grateful, you still say such things! Ning Guiwan, you haven't improved at all in these four years! You're still as unrepentant as ever!"
Ning Honghua's eyes showed some disappointment.
When Ning Guiwan returned this time, her temperament seemed calmer, and he had thought she had improved.
It was all because he had spoiled her in the past!
Facing her father's disappointed eyes, Ning Guiwan suddenly smiled brightly. "Dad, if one day, you see the truth..."
"Dad, don't be angry. Xiaowan is just overtired; she didn't mean it," Ning Rongyue interjected, cutting Ning Guiwan off.
Ning Honghua pinched the bridge of his nose and waved his hand, signaling Ning Guiwan to leave.
Ning Guiwan looked at him for a moment, then turned to leave.
"Xiaowan," Ning Rongyue called out to her again. "Today is Mom's birthday. Come home for dinner tonight."
"No, thank you." Ning Guiwan's red lips curved. "You all enjoy your family reunion."
Back in the office, Ning Guiwan stared at the computer screen, lost in thought.
She, Ning Rongyue, and Ning Qinghan had grown up together as playmates.
Ning Rongyue and Ning Qinghan's birth mother was Yun Shu, and their father was Chen Bingde. One was a nanny for the Ning family, the other Ning Honghua's driver. For as long as Ning Guiwan could remember, this family of four had lived in a small building on the Ning family's villa grounds.
Yun Shu had worked for the Ning family for over twenty years. She was meticulous and considerate in her duties, highly favored by Ning Guiwan's mother, with whom she shared a sister-like bond.
Yet in the end, it was this meticulous and softly spoken nanny who hurt her mother the deepest.
For the nanny to have an affair with the master of the house right under his wife's nose, and to brazenly raise their illegitimate daughter in the family home—this was a fatal blow to any woman.
Ning Guiwan remembered how heartbroken her mother had been back then, and the pain slowly spread through her chest.
Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.
Ning Guiwan blinked, concealed all her emotions, and said, "Come in."
"Manager Ning, here are the documents needed for the meeting later," Assistant Ren Xiaofei said, placing a file on Ning Guiwan's desk. "The meeting will start in fifteen minutes."
Ning Guiwan nodded. "I know."
By the time she left the conference room, it was already dark outside. Ning Guiwan checked the time: past seven.
After a brief tidy-up, she hurried to the villa hotel where she had arranged to meet Quan Yu.
When Ning Guiwan arrived, she immediately noticed a tall figure standing on the Trestle Road in front of the villa.
"Sorry, I'm late."
The night was deep. Quan Yu leaned his tall frame against the railing, enveloped in the hazy lamplight. Hearing her voice, he turned. His thin lips slowly exhaled a plume of white mist, his slightly narrowed eyes holding an indescribable, cold, and bewitching charm.
Quan Yu extinguished his cigarette, looked down at his wristwatch, and spoke indifferently, "It's not too late."
The Trestle Road was not long, and at its end stood a brightly lit villa. Ning Guiwan followed him inside. The luxurious European-style decor made the man resemble a nobleman from the Middle Ages; his every gesture exuded aristocratic elegance and a gentlemanly air.
However, this so-called gentlemanliness was merely an impression given by his back.
When he turned to face her, the aloofness and iciness in his eyes were enough to make anyone shrink back.
After ordering the dishes, Quan Yu instructed the waiter to open a bottle of wine.
"Open two bottles," Ning Guiwan said.
Quan Yu looked over, his gaze probing. Ning Guiwan smiled. "I'm happy today. I'd like to have a couple of drinks too."
After the wine was served, Ning Guiwan raised her glass to Quan Yu. "This is to you. Thank you for the project."
She knew that if Quan Yu had seriously intended to compete with her, she wouldn't have stood a chance of winning. Regardless of whether he pitied her or had yielded to Grandmother Quan's pressure, Ning Guiwan was grateful.
Ning Guiwan finished the glass of wine in one gulp, then poured another.
By the end of the meal, she had drunk an entire bottle.
Such behavior hardly seemed like that of someone celebrating.
"Open another bottle for me," Ning Guiwan instructed the waiter.
The waiter, noting her clearly drunken state, looked towards Quan Yu.
Ning Guiwan slowly propped her elbows on the table, lazily resting her chin on her crossed hands. She tilted her head. Perhaps due to the alcohol, her flame-red lips, curved upwards, held a hint of playful allure.
"I told you to open the wine; why are you looking at him?"
Her slightly drawling tone seemed to question, yet it also carried a hint of flirtation.
Hearing this, the waiter turned back, captivated by Ning Guiwan's bewitching posture.
Quan Yu's gaze focused, landing on Ning Guiwan's suddenly alluring face. After a moment, he said slowly, "You may leave."
The waiter suddenly snapped back to reality and hurried away.
Ning Guiwan frowned with dissatisfaction upon seeing how readily the waiter obeyed Quan Yu.
"You're drunk. You can't drink any more."
As Quan Yu spoke, he took a cigarette from his pack and held it between his fingers.
Ning Guiwan heard this and laughed. "What does it matter if I'm drunk? I'll forget all those troublesome things. There's nothing bad about that."
Quan Yu didn't light the cigarette. He looked at Ning Guiwan, his voice low and cold. "Indulgence leads to trouble. Haven't you learned that lesson enough times?"
Ning Guiwan froze, understanding what Quan Yu meant.
Back then, it was precisely because she was drunk that she had given those scoundrels the opportunity to take her from the bar.