Chapter 21: The Remaining Lip Color

  Xia Qian Ning held a basket of apples, with several white peonies tucked away on one side. The door was slightly ajar, and she gently pushed it open to reveal a warm and cozy scene: the room was quiet, the curtains were half-drawn, and soft light flowed in, Ling Shui Yao lay on the bed playing with his phone, and Ni Shi Luo was intently peeling an apple.

  Xia Xian Ning stood at the doorway, looking on with a hesitant heart.

  "Hey, pretty girl! Come take a look at that naughty boy?" Nurse Lanlan came to change Ling Shuiyue's dressing and saw Xia Qianqian standing hesitantly at the door of the ward. She recognized Xia Qianqian, as she was the one who drew blood from her the night Ling Shuiyue got injured.

  "Big sister!" Xia Qianqian forced a smile and said.

  "How are you? Is your body still okay?"

  "Uh-huh. Thanks for your concern, sis. I'm fine. Would you mind handing this over to him for me? Thanks, sis!"

  "What's going on? He's already been sent to the hospital, why didn't he go?" Nurse Lanlan said as she pushed open the door of the ward.

  Ling Shuiyue heard the door sound, his eyes glanced at the door, just one glance, and he was stunned. It's Ugly Eight! The ugly eight he had been looking forward to for many days.

  "It seems a bit inconvenient anyway, thank you sister! Sister goodbye!" Xia Xianying put the fruit basket in Lanlan's hand and turned to leave.

  Ling Shuiyue pushed away the nurse and chased after him.

  Although he was injured in the leg, Ling Shuiyue still caught up with Xia Qianying ten meters away. He stood in front of her, not knowing what to say for a while, just standing there foolishly.

  "I have time today, so" Xia Qian Ning looked at him dazedly staring at herself and hastily explained.

  Ling Shuiyue found herself a bit flustered and hastily picked up where Xia Xianying left off: "If you have time, why not go in?"

  "It seems a bit inconvenient"

  "What's inconvenient now? Nishiro" Ling Shuiyue's face began to look a bit better.

  "Without me, you're back to normal today, so I wish you a speedy recovery!" Xia Xianying said, and then thought of going around Ling Shuiyue to leave this place.

  Ling Shui stepped forward and stood in front of Xia Qianying: "How about we go out for a walk?"

  "You're busy, see you later!"

  "Ah——," Ling Shuiyue had a lot to say to Xia Qianying, but his legs felt heavy as lead. He couldn't catch up with her even if he wanted to; how could someone as filthy as him stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her? Every night's longing, every second's waiting, all just to get a glimpse of her, thinking that seeing her would ease the yearning and alleviate the pain in his heart. But was it really so? Would seeing her truly make his heart stop hurting? At this moment, his heart was in such agony. Slowly tearing apart. The pain was clear and lingering, seeping into his bones like silk.

  Ni Shi Luo walked out of the ward and saw Ling Shui Yao staring blankly at Xia Qian Ning's back, so he reached out to support Ling Shui Yao, but Ling Shui Yao dodged.

  Ling Shuiyue remained silent and motionless. He fell onto the bed, continuing to stare at Nie Xi's icy back.

  Ní Shīluò jìng zuò zài chuáng biān, mù guāng luò zài nà ge guǒ lán shàng. Guǒ lán shàng miàn yǒu zhāng xiǎo kǎpiàn, tā qīngqīng zhāi xià, dǎkāi yī

  Wishing you a speedy recovery! - Xia Xian Ning

  What a hypocrite! Pretending to be aloof, when in fact she has a crush on Yaoke. In school, she puts on an air of disdain, as if everything is Yaoke's one-sided infatuation. How noble and helpless she seems. But who would have thought that outside of school, she would try to seduce Yaoke like this? Just now, she must have seen me and felt guilty, so she didn't dare come in. Hmph! Since you know you're guilty, it means you acknowledge Yaoke is mine. You don't have the strength to compete with me, it seems. To think about it, Nishiro couldn't help but laugh out loud - her opponent wasn't as strong as she had imagined.

  ——————&&&——————&&&——————

  Huafang. Ji Sisi and Wang Yutong saw Nie Shiluo coming over.

  "I didn't expect it to be you!" Ji Sisi was very curious about who sent her the message, but she never expected it to be Ni Shiluo.

  "I don't want to show my face, but you guys are always up to no good." Ni Shi Luo didn't want to have any direct dealings with Ji Si Si, but she had no choice. She was new to this school and wasn't familiar with anything. If she wanted to defeat Xia Wen Ning, she could only ask for help from others.

  "So we have a common enemy - Xia Qian Ning!"

  Ní Shīluò glanced at Jī Sīsī: "What you said isn't entirely impossible."

  "Looks like someone has a plan."

  "I'm flattered but don't deserve it. There is a way, however, we just don't have the right person to do it."

  Ji Si Si was very curious: "Tell me about it."

  Nishuo beckoned to Jisi and the two of them huddled together, whispering: "Isn't the monthly exam coming up soon? Haven't you guys thought about cheating on the test?"

  "What's the method?"

  "Cheating."

  Ji Si didn't understand what Ni Shi Luo meant: "Cheating? How can we cheat? Our school is very strict about this, if one subject cheats, all subjects will be zero points. Who dares to do that? Besides, what does cheating have to do with Ugly Eight?" "We're not asking you to cheat, we need to think of a way to make Ugly Eight cheat."

  "How would we know if she cheated or not? If she didn't cheat, could we still hold a knife to her throat and force her to cheat?"

  "Let's hear more of Luo Luo's words," said Wang Yutong, interrupting Ji Sisi.

  "We can frame someone for it."

  "I see, I see, so you're a real expert!" Ji Sisi looked at Ni Shiluo with newfound respect this time.

  "We have to find a way to make the ugly eight cheat, so not only will all subjects be zero points, but she's new here, cheating on her first exam, how can teachers look at her, classmates look at her, and how can she hold her head up in school from now on?"

  "What can we do to make her cheat then?"

  "This is a problem, let's think about it carefully. Three cobblers with their wits combined are equal to Zhuge Liang, there will always be a way, as long as we put our minds to it." Ni Shi Luo looked for Ji Si Si because he wasn't familiar with De Xin and didn't know who the best person was.

  Ji Sisi and Wang Yutong exchanged a smile, and indeed they had the same idea. They both thought of the same person at the same time. Seeing their expressions, Ni Shiluo said: "What? Have you found a suitable candidate?"

  "Hmm. Very suitable." Ji Sisi pressed down on her phone.

  Before long, Li Tong arrived.

  Li Tonggang stood firm, and Ji Sisi got straight to the point: "There's a good thing that only you can do well, will you do it or not?"

  "Let's talk about the pay first."

  "Two hundred yuan."

  "What's going on?"

  "Easy," said Ji Sisi with a smile. "During the monthly exam, you let the proctor think that Chou Baigui was cheating."

  "What? I won't be able to do this. Besides, the exam is arranged by name and I don't know if I'll be in the same room as her. I have to go, I still have homework to write." Li Tong turned around to leave.

  "I've checked, last time the ugly eight's score was eighty-four, you were one hundred and sixteen, you were in the same exam room." This is one of the reasons why Ji Sisi thought of Li Tong.

  "One thousand!" Nils shouted out the price.

  Li hesitated, a thousand yuan was too tempting! No way, if this kind of thing wasn't done well, it would end up being seen as his own cheating.

  " Fifteen hundred!"

  "Lolo!" Ji Si thought, too expensive. Not necessary.

  Li Tong stopped in his tracks. He thought for a moment. Still, it wouldn't work; this deal was too tricky.

  "Li Tong, don't forget our previous deal. The price Lolo gave is already not low. If you don't do it, don't blame me for being ungentlemanly. I will make the last time's matter..." Ji Sisi threatened Li Tong.

  "You" are threatened, Li Tong gritted his teeth: "Three thousand, only three thousand will do. This kind of thing is too risky, if it goes wrong I'll be finished."

  "Alright, 3,000 is 3,000," Nieshilo took out 1,500 yuan from his wallet: "This is the deposit, and after it's done, I'll pay the other half."

  Li Tong took the money and left.

  Li Tong walked away, and Ni Shi Luo also left.

  Ji SiSi watched as Ni ShiLuo's figure disappeared into the distance, her heart bursting with joy. This time, she had truly made a huge profit without spending any money, effort or plotting, and all she had to do was sit back and watch the show.

  ——————&&&——————&&&——————

  Tonight is the party celebrating the 20th anniversary of Liyang Company's founding, and the lights at the Ling family home are especially dazzling.

  Ling Shuiyue stood on the balcony of his bedroom, the cold wind blowing over him, but he didn't feel any chill. Tonight, he had to attend this party and couldn't refuse. He had promised Ling Kangnian that tonight he would be with the Nie family, no matter what the outcome was, from now on, Ling Kangnian wouldn't take the initiative to talk to him about the Nie family again.

  He didn't know what would happen tonight, he only knew that he had to obey them like a puppet tonight. What kind of home is this? It should be, as long as he left, it would be a warm and bright home.

  Ling Wei pushed open the car door and got out with Xia Qianqian.

  Ling Mu knew that Xian Ning was beautiful, but he didn't know she could be this beautiful: delicate lips, skin as tender as jade, eyes like a dream, and a perfect face framed by meticulously groomed black hair that cascaded down to her waist. It made her look even more like a princess who had walked out of an ancient castle.

  The hall entrance, Ling Wei Yi saw Ling Mu Ye standing there: "Mu Ye! You came to pick us up."

  Ling Mu did not answer, at this moment, his eyes only had Xiaoyue.

  Xia Qian Ning was left somewhat at a loss by Ling Mu Ye's gaze. Ling Wei Yi almost couldn't help but laugh out loud, it was really embarrassing, her eyes were wide with mirth. She took Xia Qian Ning's hand and walked to the mask box: "Qian Ning, which mask shall we choose?"

  "Vey aunt, what do you like? Otherwise, this, Egyptian queen, golden hair and white face, matches Vey aunt's cheongsam very well."

  "Okay, let's use the one Xian'er chose."

  Xia Xian chose a Daphne. This Daphne mask is surrounded by green

  Paired with a pale and melancholic face, it's too perfect.

  "Thursday! How about you?"

  Ling Mu heard Ling Wei ask him and casually picked up a mask.

  "Ah! Wei Yi, your hand is here with me. The needle should be handed over to Mu Xiang now. Hurry up." Guan Si Pei stretched out his arm from the side, exuding a strong vinegar smell.

  "Thursday, the thread is handed over to you. Remember to return it intact." Ling Wei Yi let go of Xian Ning's hand and took Spencer's arm, walking towards the hall.

  Ling Mu's heart was filled with joy, and he also stretched out his arm, waiting for Xia Wen to take it. Xia Wen hesitated for a moment before extending her hand.