Chapter 95

Perhaps this had been a mistake—hadn’t life already given her a warning? Ever since she arrived here, ever since she became entangled with Xie Shiqing, she had experienced so many unpleasant emotions. Wasn’t that a kind of sign?

Everything she had gone through was warning her to stay away, but she covered her ears, shut her eyes, and insisted on walking straight into it.

She never even looked to see what lay behind the mist—whether it was a flower-covered meadow, or a thorn-strewn chasm.

When the last class ended, she went home. The house was empty and quiet.

Her sorrow was a light sadness, like the faint mist that rose from the mountain forest after rain—hazy and damp.

A strange calm lingered in her chest. Zhong Ning quietly counted all the things that had happened in the past few months. One scene after another surfaced before her eyes, and a kind of unprecedented clarity echoed in her heart.

Parting the fog, it all seemed so simple after all.

Pine Mushroom ran over and licked her fingers, its wet mouth gently holding her wrist.

At night, she slept with the little dog in her arms.

The next day was the weekend. Zhong Ning went to the hospital, arriving at Qi Wan’s office for one last blood draw.

She was already able to control her glands to release pheromones very well now—unlike when she first came, when she had still needed Xie Shiqing’s help.

After sitting in the room for half an hour, Zhong Ning walked out and saw Qi Wan sitting behind her desk in a white coat, wearing glasses, her expression calm and composed.

"Dr. Qi," she said, "this is the last time, right?"

"Yes. The development of the tranquilizer has gone very smoothly. The final product will be ready in a few days," Qi Wan replied. "You won’t need to keep making trips here anymore."

"That’s good," Zhong Ning said. She didn’t say anything else.

She went to another hospital and had another round of tests. Based on the compatibility results, she selected a few suitable inhibitors. Judging from the timing, her heat cycle was approaching soon.

She needed the inhibitors.

After leaving the hospital, Zhong Ning took out her phone and sent a message to Xie Shiqing.

[I need a conversation. Do you really have nothing to say? If you want to separate, or if you have other plans, could you give me an answer before today ends?]

She held the phone, didn’t sleep, turned off the lights, and sat by the window to look at the sky outside.

The autumn night wind carried a chill. Zhong Ning put on another coat, drapping over her shoulder.

She had come to a place with little love—even the wind here was cold.

Time ticked by. The hands of the clock pointed to midnight. A new day began. The time on her phone turned into four zeroes. There was nothing. She had received nothing.

Zhong Ning began to pack her luggage. Everything she had brought with her, along with all the things she had bought, was packed away.

At the break of dawn, the servants in the villa began to move about. She called two of them to help carry her luggage downstairs. The two suitcases were packed full.

They were placed in the back seat of the car. She didn’t call a driver—Zhong Ning could drive herself. She turned the car key and left the Xie Family Villa.

Zhong Ning returned to the Zhong family—the very place she had first seen when she arrived in this world.

The Zhong Lin rose very early. If one judged age based on appearance, then her actual age would be hard to guess.

Zhong Lin's looks weren’t particularly outstanding. She had an extremely sharp pair of eyes, that, when fixed on someone, inevitably made her seem harsh. Yet she had built everything from scratch. In her early days of doing business, she always greeted people with a smile. Even now, her face often carried a smile. Only when she became stern and cold did her unapproachable aura reveal itself without reservation.

And this side of her usually only appeared at home.

If leading by example could be ranked, Zhong Lin would undoubtedly take first place.

In every setting, one must wear the proper face—that was the valuable maxim she personally passed down to her descendants.

When Zhong Ning arrived, she was practicing tai chi in the garden, saying that with age, one must focus more on health.

"Why have you come back?"

Zhong Ning looked up at her. Her mother was still fully focused on her routine, her movements smooth.

"I want to be the heir and take over the Zhong family."

"You?" Zhong Lin suddenly laughed. She said calmly, "You came here just to say that?"

"I’m your daughter. Don’t I have the right to compete?" Zhong Ning said.

Zhong Lin slowly finished her set, casting her a glance. "Go on."

"I’ve made a lot of foolish choices before, but I don’t think I was wrong—just used the wrong methods," Zhong Ning said in the same calm tone. "I’m not stupid. I meet the basic qualifications."

"Zhong Zinuan hasn’t met your standards either, has she?"

This time, Zhong Lin finally stopped and gave her a proper look.

She didn’t hide her surprise. Putting on such an attitude was deliberate—meant as a kind of feedback for Zhong Ning.

"Explain in detail. How did you reach that conclusion?"

"My engagement with Xie Shiqing—you're pleased with it. It boosts my odds," Zhong Ning said. "If you were satisfied with Zhong Zinuan, she would have been the one chosen for the engagement."

"The way I used to be showed no real ability or competence, yet you still haven’t announced to the public that Zhong Zinuan is the next successor."

"Did you come up with all this yourself, or did someone tell you?" Zhong Lin asked.

"I figured it out on my own."

Her attitude was laid out plainly—it actually wasn’t that hard to guess. The original body and Zhong Zinuan had always been in a competitive relationship, and neither had received the final seal of approval.

Otherwise, Zhong Zinuan wouldn’t have kept targeting her.

But privately, Zhong Ning felt that Zhong Zinuan had chosen the wrong approach—she had taken the wrong path.

If scheming and manipulation could be ranked, Zhong Zinuan would undoubtedly be number one. But why hadn’t her mother made the final decision about the heir? With her level of discernment, she could definitely see through those petty tricks.

She hadn’t done it—was it because she didn’t like them, or didn’t approve?

For a corporation as large as the Zhong family’s, genuine talent and ability in a successor mattered far more than scheming skills.

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