Chapter 177

Could she do more?

Zhong Ning silently pondered this question in her heart. Could she help more people?

It was a subtle, almost indescribable feeling—seeing faces once numb and burdened with sorrow light up with hope and anticipation. That fleeting sense of fulfillment was more precious than anything else.

She still had plenty of money in hand, even more than before. The videos and tips from viewers brought her steady income, enough for her to do something meaningful with it.

After some thought, Zhong Ning decided to return home.

She had left in the spring, and by the time she came back, it was already autumn.

The plane landed in Fengcheng. The city hadn’t changed much since the day she left. Michelle came back with her. The bodyguard had resigned from her company job to become Zhong Ning’s full-time assistant. Without middlemen taking a cut, her salary was actually higher than before.

When the two women and one dog came out of the terminal, Zhong Ning immediately spotted a few close friends waiting outside.

It was still the same familiar group.

Her face broke into a bright smile. She walked up, spread her arms, and hugged each of them in turn. “Did you miss me?”

Fu Nanshuang rolled her eyes. “You had all your fun abroad, and now you finally remember we exist?”

Zhong Ning laughed heartily. “I brought gifts, real ones! Didn’t you see those three big suitcases? One of them is full of the local specialties I bought.”

Zheng Xuan eagerly grabbed one of the suitcases to pull along. “Come on, come on, let’s go to my place. It’s spacious, and we can have a proper gathering tonight.”

Though they hadn’t seen each other for more than half a year, their friendship hadn’t grown distant. Zhong Ning had stayed in touch all along, even sharing her new account with them right after she registered it.

It was just that international shipping from over there had been a hassle, so she’d decided to save everything up and bring it back herself.

As for Michelle, everyone was already familiar with her. Whether in videos or private group chats, Zhong Ning had mentioned her often. Even during video calls, Michelle had answered for her several times. Everyone was used to her by now, and since they were all fluent in both languages, communication wasn’t an issue.

At Zheng Xuan’s small villa, while they discussed what to order for dinner, Zhong Ning opened one of the big suitcases. “This one’s for Nanshuang, this one’s for Sister Xuan, and this one’s for you two lovebirds. The rest are things I thought looked nice—whoever wants something, just take it. I’m not assigning them.”

“Sure, so we have to fight over your gifts now? Why couldn’t you just buy four of everything?”

Zhong Ning spread her hands. “I wanted to, but the suitcases couldn’t fit them all.”

They all crouched around the suitcase, picking and choosing among the items. While Fu Nanshuang was browsing takeout menus on her phone, she nudged Zhong Ning with her shoulder and lowered her voice. “I didn’t expect you to come back so soon. You really surprised me.”

“Figured it out?”

Zhong Ning smiled faintly. “Everyone has their unlucky moments. I stopped caring long ago.”

Chapter 64

She had truly let it go.

How vast was this world, after all? Each person was nothing but a tiny speck of dust amid countless horizons. Why should she grieve over one single person?

Fu Nanshuang asked, “You two never contacted each other again?”

Zhong Ning shook her head. “No.”

Fu Nanshuang cautiously observed her expression. Seeing that Zhong Ning’s slightly tanned face remained calm and composed, as if she truly did not care, Fu Nanshuang hesitated for quite a while, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

Zhong Ning noticed her looking as if a fishbone was stuck in her throat—uncomfortable and struggling to speak—and couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s wrong with you? Just say it. I don’t mind.”

“Xie Shiqing’s eyes have healed. It was just recently.”

As soon as Fu Nanshuang said that, she immediately looked at Zhong Ning. She saw her pause for a brief second before her smile returned unchanged. Zhong Ning said calmly, “That’s good. Congratulations to her.”

That kind of reaction could be read as either caring or not caring at all. Even Fu Nanshuang couldn’t tell for sure.

Just then, the group that had been excitedly sorting through the gifts suddenly gathered around again. Zheng Xuan met Fu Nanshuang’s eyes, and the two exchanged a look. Zheng Xuan leaned over and said, “What are you guys ordering? My stomach’s been acting up lately, so no spicy food for me. Make sure you write that down in the note.”

Several heads crowded together. Fu Nanshuang leaned back and handed her phone over. “Ugh, you all choose. Stop crowding me! You’re gonna crush me flat!”

Zhong Ning sat to the side, smiling with curved eyes. She ordered several cups of milk tea, then turned to Michelle and said, “This is the one I’ve been wanting you to try. You’ll know once you drink it—it tastes completely different from what we’ve had before.”

Michelle laughed and replied, “Then I really have to see how good this milk tea is—and finally try what real Chinese food tastes like.”

The food delivery arrived quickly, coming in batches. Every delivery rider carried large, heavy bags that looked like weights as they rode the elevator up.

The whole place was lively and noisy. If it weren’t a detached villa, the neighbors would probably have filed complaints already.

Pine Mushroom couldn’t stand the noisy group of chattering women and retreated into a room to sleep early.

Everyone stayed over that night, though unlike Zhong Ning, they weren’t as free—each had to get up early for work the next day.

Zhong Ning slept until she woke up naturally. After lazing in bed for a while, she finally got up under Pine Mushroom’s impatient whining and took it out for a walk.

There was a park nearby—North Lake Park. She strolled leisurely with the leash in hand, introducing the roadside facilities to Michelle as they walked, including things like self-driving taxis.

She hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. After walking just a short distance, her stomach felt empty. There were food stalls in the park, so Zhong Ning ordered a deluxe grilled cold noodle and three starch sausages, enough for everyone to share.

The autumn sun was still bright, but the northern breeze carried a coolness with it. Fengcheng never lacked wind; it blew away the trace of heat, leaving only a comfortable warmth.

The leash had been handed to Michelle. Zhong Ning held the grilled noodles in one hand, using a skewer to pick up a piece of sausage and pop it into her mouth.

She lifted her gaze casually—and all of a sudden, her breath caught.

It was someone she knew all too well.

Xie Shiqing.

Dressed in a white outfit, light and soft as spun gauze, her hair—black as crow feathers—was lifted by the wind, flowing like an ink river across a painter’s canvas.