Chapter 127

When her mother was pregnant with her, she had never suffered even once; none of the usual pregnancy discomforts appeared, and the delivery went so smoothly it was almost unbelievable.

After Zhong Ning was born, the formula she drank was the best available on the market at the time, and a maternity nanny was hired to take care of her. All her needs were attended to promptly.

When she grew a little older and began learning to speak, she slowly started receiving education from her family.

Her parents were not the type to spoil their children. Pampering and spoiling were two different concepts. Little Zhong Ning had all the traits of an infant—very self-centered, very domineering, and sometimes even bullying her elder sister, snatching her sister’s things.

But as parents, they neither took sides nor indulged her blindly. Instead, they taught her to express her own thoughts and needs, and then fulfilled the reasonable ones.

Zhong Ning gradually came to understand that tears were not solutions, and that good communication and expression could get her what she wanted more effectively than unreasonable crying.

She also learned that her sister was not a rival, but family. Her sister loved her, and she should love her sister in return.

When she had just learned to walk, the family adopted a dog. It happened during a trip to the supermarket, when she discovered a stray puppy.

The puppy’s leg was broken, and it whimpered softly. Zhong Ning could not take another step forward. Her mother asked if she wanted to keep it.

She did not understand what keeping a pet meant, but she knew about blood. Once, when her sister secretly cooked, she had cut her finger and bled a lot, and everyone in the family had panicked.

From then on, Zhong Ning knew that red liquid was a bad thing.

She said, “Little dog, red, red is bad.”

So the supermarket trip that day ended at a different destination—a pet hospital. Her mother wrapped the puppy in her clothes. When their two pairs of dark eyes met, the puppy licked her finger.

How strange. Little Zhong Ning called out, saying the dog wanted to eat her.

Her mother laughed and said, “This is licking. A dog licks you because it likes you. This is how dogs express affection. Just like I like you, so I kiss you. Kissing is how family expresses love.”

The little Zhong Ning only half understood, but the puppy was very cute. She thought for a moment and wanted to bend down to lick the puppy back, but was quickly stopped by her sharp-eyed mother.

From then on, the little dog Xiangxiang became a member of their family.

Xiangxiang was a mixed-breed dog, with no obvious breed traits. Its fur was somewhat long and white.

With Xiangxiang around, little Zhong Ning learned about care and responsibility.

Xiangxiang was most attached to her, so she was assigned the task of refilling Xiangxiang’s food. Sometimes she forgot, and Xiangxiang would go hungry and whimper. From that day on, she understood what guilt was, and what it meant to be punctual.

They would also celebrate Xiangxiang’s birthday together, take Xiangxiang on trips, and everyone in the family would receive a gift from each other, regardless of its value or size. Even Xiangxiang would bring her favorite flowers and leaves to give to each family member.

Zhong Ning’s good fortune was something she was born with, but her ability to love was something nurtured over time.

The way an environment shapes a person was truly magical.

She and Xie Shiqing were two extremes.

Even after Zhong Ning grew up, went to school, and met many different people—some poor, some rich—she never thought the former were shabby or crude just because they didn’t know much about big-city facilities, nor did she think the latter were superior or privileged.

She was spiritually rich, never lacking in anything from childhood to adulthood, and the love she received overflowed. She was neither self-abasing nor arrogant.

She did not need to declare sovereignty or prove how outstanding she was, because it was fine for her not to be outstanding. She did not have to achieve what the world saw as success. It did not matter—there was no extra burden or expectation on her shoulders, only the wish that she would grow up healthy.

Wasn’t caring too much about others’ opinions also a form of inferiority?

Xie Shiqing’s pride was just such a twisted thing.

She tried desperately to prove she was unbreakable, to prove she was above others. But wasn’t her high self-esteem just another kind of inferiority?

Resting her cheek on her hand, Zhong Ning tapped her own face lightly, showing a thoughtful expression.

Perhaps, she could try using everything she had experienced as a reference method.

Since her parents had raised her into who she was now, there was no reason the same method wouldn’t work on Xie Shiqing, right?

Zhong Ning’s eyes lit up, as if two stars had fallen into them. She quickly flipped through the psychology book at hand, intending to see what the book said.

Blindly copying was not advisable. Even with a method, she needed to heed the advice of professionals.

Soon she was deeply immersed in her reading, and only when noon came and hunger struck did she reluctantly lift her head from the book.

Picking up her phone, she saw that Xie Shiqing was already awake and had sent her several messages.

The newest one was at the top.

[Sorry, Ning Ning, please talk to me, I’m begging you]

Zhong Ning stared and saw that her unread messages were 99+.

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Xie Shiqing had truly slept well last night—it was the best sleep she had had in recent days. No dreams, no convulsions. Zhong Ning was like an angel, with all suffering and illness avoiding her and circling far away.

Just being next to her allowed one to briefly share in that light, carefree time.

She had expected Zhong Ning might wake, but not so suddenly, and certainly not that she would be so heartless as to just leave her behind.

Unbelievable!

She was an omega in heat, and Zhong Ning was a 100% compatibility match alpha. How could an alpha have that kind of willpower? Xie Shiqing had clearly felt that Zhong Ning was moved too—she had definitely been affected.

And yet she had pulled away without hesitation.

This made Xie Shiqing lose a great deal of confidence in her own charm.

She instinctively lunged forward, only to fall to the ground. The pain pulled her out of her state of anxious panic.

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