Chapter 100

Suddenly receiving this answer, Zhong Ning wasn’t particularly surprised. It was as if, before her thoughts could even fully gather, her brain had already silently recorded everything—storing both the logical and illogical parts—waiting for the moment she would sort through and make sense of it all.

"She has psychological trauma?"

Qi Wan: "Of course she does!"

The specific cause of the illness could no longer be verified.

Perhaps it was caused by Pheromone Imbalance Disorder—where the physiological trauma affected the psychological—but the car accident that took Madam Xie’s life was also a major trigger. Since then, Xie Shiqing’s mental state has been extremely unstable. She had, in fact, never truly recovered.

It was only after she began living with Zhong Ning that her pheromones gradually stabilized, and being in a healthy environment, she slowly stopped taking medication.

Because those medicines were also a type of poison to the body.

Until yesterday, everything had actually been fine.

She had still been clear-headed enough to scheme a self-sacrificial plan. But that morning, when Zhong Ning hung up the phone and refused contact, her mental state completely broke down. During the few hours on the plane without any comfort, the illness relapsed.

Xie Shiqing clutched her hand tightly and refused to let go no matter what, as if the moment she loosened her grip, Zhong Ning would run away.

Zhong Ning had no choice but to message the assistant on WeChat to come help.

The assistant arrived at lightning speed. She hadn’t gone far—just waited on a bench outside.

She had worked with Xie Shiqing for many years and was well aware of her boss’s mental issues, but there was nothing she could say or do to dissuade her. At a time like this, if she didn’t follow her wishes and let her see Zhong Ning, it would only cause Xie Shiqing even more distress.

Together, the two of them wheeled her into the underground garage, ready to take Xie Shiqing home.

Zhong Ning carried her—now physically unwell—into the car and got in beside her. The assistant started the car and drove off immediately, even thoughtfully raising the privacy partition.

Xie Shiqing was still murmuring endlessly, repeating “I love you,” “I was wrong,” “Don’t leave me,” over and over again, clinging to her without any regard.

Seeing her like this, Zhong Ning couldn’t hold back her tears either. She didn’t know if it was a complaint or something else, and muttered, “What are you doing, seriously... you’re the one who gave me the cold shoulder, and now you pull something like this.”

Once they left the café, Xie Shiqing’s sobs grew a little louder, though still soft. She was deliberately trying to keep her voice low, forcing herself to lower the volume.

Only those who are loved have the right to cry loudly.

This line suddenly flashed through Zhong Ning’s mind.

Crying was a way to express discomfort, to draw others’ attention and seek comfort—one of the most fundamental instincts of being human.

Infants who received attention would instinctively cry out to attract their mother’s notice, in order to secure a more comfortable environment for survival.

But what if no one came after they cried? Then that innate instinct would gradually yield to learned experience. When no one responded, they would eventually stop crying.

Because they’d come to understand that crying was useless—worse, it might even invite scolding or verbal abuse. Tears, then, became a bad thing.

And when the tears simply couldn’t be held back—when physiological tears inevitably welled up—they would cry quietly, silently, secretly. Hiding the tears, letting only themselves see them.

Zhong Ning felt an ache in her heart. Clearly, it was she who had been hurt in the cold war, and yet out of responsibility, she had decided to face Zhong Zinuan, to put aside her own ideal life for the time being.

She had already begun to consider ending their relationship with a proper and peaceful closure.

But not only had Xie Shiqing been hurt, now she was crying and begging her, to the point that her illness had relapsed from the emotional strain. What made it worse was that Zhong Ning hadn’t even known Xie Shiqing had a psychological condition.

It made her feel deeply guilty—as if she were an unqualified girlfriend who didn’t even know the person she loved carried emotional trauma.

But with Xie Shiqing like this, she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Her feelings hadn’t cooled, and her heart couldn’t pretend to be indifferent.

With a long sigh, Zhong Ning carefully avoided Xie Shiqing’s injured areas, gently pulled her into her arms, let her lean on her shoulder, and softly comforted her, “It’s okay now, it’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

“Take a breath, Shiqing, alright? Let me wipe your tears.”

Her movements were even gentler than her voice. She slowly placed her hand on Xie Shiqing’s back, patting lightly, again and again. She took the initiative to release a small amount of her pheromones, allowing the scent of pomelo blossoms to spread through the car, trying to stabilize Xie Shiqing’s emotions.

“It’s okay now, Shiqing, it’s okay.” She repeated these words softly in Xie Shiqing’s ear again and again.

Now that they were so close, she could clearly smell the medicinal scent on Xie Shiqing. Her hair was messy, and her thin wrists clung tightly to Zhong Ning’s arm like a drowning person grabbing the last brittle branch.

She rarely appeared this unkempt. Because of her strong sense of pride, Xie Shiqing always dressed immaculately whenever she stepped outside—every strand of hair perfectly in place. At home, she had a personal makeup artist responsible for her appearance, making sure she looked absolutely appropriate at all times.

No one would ever guess she had an eye condition.

She rarely went out. Going out was troublesome, and perhaps inconvenient in many ways. But Xie Shiqing never said anything. Whatever thoughts she had, she always kept them to herself.

Outsiders only ever saw her most proud and glamorous side.

Yet now, she had completely abandoned all of that—wearing a hospital gown, not even wearing shoes, utterly unconcerned with how she looked.

A woman who was once so high and unreachable had stopped caring about anything.

Zhong Ning’s heart trembled. She couldn’t bring herself to say a single harsh word. She couldn’t even speak of breaking up.

How could she possibly hit Xie Shiqing with that kind of blow at a moment like this?

As soon as they returned to the Xie family, the butler came out to greet them. Her eternally calm expression had finally shifted, urgency radiating from her whole being.

“Hurry and take Shiqing to her room!”

A servant followed behind her, carrying a medical kit. As the saying goes, prolonged illness makes the patient—or those around them—more medically knowledgeable. The butler could be counted among them. Just one look at Xie Shiqing’s condition, and she immediately pulled out the appropriate medication from the kit and called for someone to bring a glass of warm water.

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