Chapter 185

Zhong Ning finished the bowl of rice with unprecedented speed, filling her stomach. She reached out her hand, and Xie Shiqing put down her chopsticks, lowered her head, unzipped her backpack, and took out a blue folder from inside.

Zhong Ning pretended not to see the water stains dripping on it and took it without a word before walking off.

She walked quickly all the way to the car, drove who knew how far, and only then let out a heavy sigh, pulling over to the side of the road, her lips pressed into a line.

After a while, she turned on her phone, opened the map app, and searched for the way home.

The next day, she went to Fengcheng University, bringing gifts to visit her counselor, the principal, and a few professors who had taught her before. They weren’t expensive things, just some imported specialty souvenirs.

"All rested?" The principal placed the gift box on the desk and looked at her with a smile.

"I’ll be back next semester for classes." Zhong Ning gave a small nod.

"Be someone grounded and steady," the principal said kindly. "You eat a meal one bite at a time, walk a road one step at a time. You’re still young. Don’t rush, and don’t set limits on yourself."

"Got it." Zhong Ning appeared to take the advice to heart.

"Don’t forget to catch up on your lessons. There’s a quiz at the start of the semester," the principal reminded her again.

Zhong Ning had indeed forgotten about that. But her grades had always been excellent—she was among the top three. She hadn’t forgotten the material either, and planned to review the key points again before school started.

By Wednesday, the scheduled time to take the high-speed rail to Shancheng, Zhong Ning arrived at the station, only to see Xie Shiqing standing at the entrance.

For a moment, a mix of complicated emotions overwhelmed the shock of seeing her current appearance.

Zhong Ning said, "I remember asking Ms. Xue to have someone else take over."

Xie Shiqing spoke cautiously but honestly. "She did switch, but I reassigned that person elsewhere and even bribed her with a red envelope to let me take this opportunity instead."

"Ning Ning, do you still love me?"

Zhong Ning raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Then do you hate me?"

"No."

Xie Shiqing said, "Since you neither love nor hate me, then I’m just a stranger—same as anyone else. Miss Zhong can treat me like any other colleague from the foundation."

She said solemnly, "My name is Jingjing."

Ning Ning and Jingjing—what a match. It sounded like a pair meant to be.

After a pause, Xie Shiqing added, "In the spirit of honesty, I’ll tell the truth. Even if you switched out a hundred people, in the end, the one who shows up would still be me."

Zhong Ning actually laughed in exasperation.

This was called honesty?

It was shameless persistence, plain and simple!

And it left her without a single counterattack.

"I can always switch to another foundation," Zhong Ning said.

"Other foundations are all about putting on a show. Only Lanheng is genuinely doing charity work—you’d never go to theirs." Xie Shiqing looked innocent.

She had already cried, and her heart couldn't break any further.

Giving up was simply not an option.

Zhong Ning had the misfortune of being entangled with someone as obsessive as her. Xie Shiqing did feel a little guilty, but she absolutely had no regrets.

She was determined to win Zhong Ning back, no matter what.

Xie Shiqing brushed her freshly permed woolly curls. "See? I’m nothing like before. Miss Zhong, I’m Jingjing, your colleague for this trip."

"Let’s go get our tickets checked."

She dragged her suitcase along, completely at ease.

It left Zhong Ning speechless.

Xie Shiqing had indeed undergone quite a transformation—her waist-length hair had been permed into thick lamb-like curls, tied into two fluffy pigtails. Two cherries dangled from the hair ties like soft little cakes. Her bangs were curly too, making her look much younger.

She wore a pair of black-framed glasses, a cute blue camisole embroidered with sheep, a light yellow silk long skirt, and white sneakers on her feet.

Call that Xie Shiqing?

She looked more like a college girl dragged out of campus!

Even her lipstick was a soft, glossy pink—like peach jelly... the kind that looked delicious.

Zhong Ning’s gaze shifted away from her lips.

"Miss Zhong, Sister Zhong?" Xie Shiqing turned her head and winked at her. "Why aren’t you walking?"

Zhong Ning finally couldn’t take it anymore. "What did you just call me?!"

Xie Shiqing replied, "Sister Zhong, what’s wrong?"

Zhong Ning shuddered hard. She grabbed Xie Shiqing’s arm and pulled her to a quieter corner by the wall, gritting her teeth. "Xie Shiqing! Enough playing around. What exactly do you want?"

"I want to pursue you." Xie Shiqing said softly. "Ning Ning, I love you. I want to be with you. I want to pursue you."

"Can’t I pursue you?"

Zhong Ning took a deep breath and said slowly, "We already broke up."

"Which means you’re single. I’m single too. We’re a perfect match. Isn’t it perfectly normal for single people to go after each other?"

Zhong Ning let out a laugh of disbelief. "Fine. You want to pursue me, huh, Jingjing," she enunciated each word, "do you really think I don’t have a temper?"

She let out a cold snort. "Let’s go then, get our tickets checked."

Zhong Ning grabbed her suitcase and headed straight for security. Since Xie Shiqing wanted to play, she’d play along. She had a belly full of anger that needed an outlet anyway.

Xie Shiqing watched her stormy figure walk away, a bitter and dazed expression appearing on her face.

How could she not have a temper? Zhong Ning had the worst temper of anyone she knew. But what could she do? Even if she was angry, that was fine—as long as she was still willing to talk to her, even scold her, Xie Shiqing would gladly take it.

Pushing up her glasses, she quickly followed. "Has Sister Zhong ever taken the high-speed rail before? We’ve got two sleeper tickets. We’ll be on it overnight."

Zhong Ning closed her eyes and said in a low voice, "There’s still time to switch to a flight."

Xie Shiqing bit her lip. "But plane tickets aren’t reimbursed. Only train tickets are."

Alright, she was really addicted to the act now.

A pampered lady who only traveled in private cars or on private jets, now insisting on squeezing into a high-speed train—let’s see who ends up suffering for it.