“Wait a minute, Dongli. You’ve misunderstood.”
Upon hearing the word “mother,” Ning Wanciu fell into a state of panic.
She had never expected that the matter she had hidden so well would be revealed to Ning Dongli in this manner.
That day, Ning Dongli had only heard her conversation with their mother. She hadn’t heard what their mother had actually done.
But now, it was obvious that Ning Dongli knew.
However, after lifting her head, Ning Wanciu didn’t see any sadness on Ning Dongli’s face.
On the contrary, she was still smiling.
“Really, Sis. You really underestimate me too much, don’t you?”
Ning Dongli opened her mouth softly with a smile. She looked as if she didn’t care about their mother’s matters at all.
“That phone call the other day, I could guess the general idea~ It must be because Mother has her eyes on the Lin family’s power. The reason she wants me to go back to school is probably the same, right?
I know~ I understand Mother way too well~”
Ning Dongli slowly shook her head.
“I understood it even earlier than you did, Sis~”
Although Ning Dongli’s face showed no negative emotions resembling sadness, Ning Wanciu was completely stunned as she looked at her.
Yet, Ning Wanciu felt incredibly sad.
At some point, Ning Dongli had already accepted that their home was not a safe haven.
Ning Wanciu stayed silent. She didn’t know what to say.
At the same time, boundless anger burned in her heart.
From Ning Dongli’s retelling, she had already seen through what Lin Hao wanted to do.
He wanted to use bullying and family pressure to isolate her younger sister and make her throw herself into his arms.
No matter what status Lin Hao and the Lin family held, Ning Wanciu could no longer endure it.
“Sis, your expression looks really scary~”
Ning Dongli’s tone was relaxed. She looked completely unconcerned and even reminded Ning Wanciu.
“Huh? Does it?”
Ning Wanciu showed a smile, but it looked extremely forced.
“Alright, Sis. Since the matter is already resolved, don’t make that kind of face~”
Ning Dongli shook her head calmly.
“Lin Hao and those people don’t matter to me anymore.
Besides, I won’t actually listen to Mother and go back to school or anything. They can’t hurt me at all~”
As she spoke, she patted her chest.
But she seemed to have patted a little too hard and accidentally coughed.
Cough cough cough cough!
“Dongli! You dummy, be careful!”
“Cough cough.. Hehehe~”
Ning Dongli gave a silly laugh.
What she wanted to express was very simple. Their mother’s actions couldn’t influence her choices.
The only ones she cared about were Ning Wanciu and An Yu.
“I just didn’t want to lie to you, Sis. I really was scared just now. I felt like I was about to break. I even thought about going back to my room and never coming out again, you know?”
Listening to Ning Dongli’s words, Ning Wanciu couldn’t suppress her anger any longer.
But she could hear that Ning Dongli still had more to say…
So she waited in silence.
Seeing that, Ning Dongli smiled lightly and spoke. “But you know, An Yu saved me.
Even though she’s a bit shorter than me, she stood in front of me without any hesitation. Right in front of those trash, she calmly and steadily comforted me.”
An Yu was sleeping soundly. Ning Dongli secretly glanced at An Yu and found that she was sleeping very peacefully on Ning Wanciu’s lap. She smiled and continued to look into Ning Wanciu’s eyes.
She stopped mid-sentence, took a deep breath, and there was no jealousy in her eyes at all. Ning Dongli’s face was full of seriousness.
So, Sis, you know. It’s like mustering up the courage…
“I like An Yu.”
Ning Dongli’s voice wasn’t loud, but it resounded through Ning Wanciu’s heart like a thunderclap.
Ning Wanciu stared in shock at Ning Dongli’s smiling face. She had never imagined that her younger sister would be so bold as to say it out loud directly.
It wasn’t the kind of liking one had for a friend. It was the kind that made you want to hug, hold hands, and kiss.
It seemed as if she wanted to block off any escape route for Ning Wanciu. Ning Dongli continued speaking with a smile.
Sure enough, after hearing Ning Dongli’s words, Ning Wanciu became even more at a loss.
“I’ve fallen for An Yu… I… I don’t know when it started either. It just suddenly happened…”
Ning Dongli shook her head and continued speaking to herself.
“There’s no helping it. With someone like An Yu, it’s hard not to like her, isn’t it?”
She smiled and asked Ning Wanciu in return. That look in her eyes made Ning Wanciu feel a pang of panic.
“So, Sis, what are you going to do about it?”
“What… what am I going to do…”
Ning Wanciu lowered her head. Her gaze dodged about, and she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
She felt as if Ning Dongli had discovered something. She wanted to say that Ning Dongli’s feelings for An Yu had nothing to do with her, but she just couldn’t get the words out.
Seeing that Ning Wanciu still seemed to want to escape, Ning Dongli slowly walked forward. She bent down slightly and leaned close to Ning Wanciu’s ear.
“Sis… do you still want to escape?”
“I…”
“Don’t say it.”
Before Ning Wanciu could speak, Ning Dongli immediately stopped her.
She didn’t want to hear any of those lies.
At the same time, a wave of displeasure rose in her heart.
“Sis, if you keep being like this, I won’t show any mercy.”
Ning Dongli’s voice turned extremely serious.
“You can escape. You can refuse to face reality. But I won’t!
I’ve already escaped for a very long time. But today, I understand. No matter how much you run, the things you have to face will have to be faced sooner or later.
So I said it directly. I like An Yu.
You can keep escaping if you want, Sis.”
Ning Dongli’s voice paused for a moment. After a brief silence, she continued,
“But I’m going to take action.
There’s only one An Yu! Even if you have the advantage, if you keep running away, you’ll only be handing the opportunity to me. Or do you think that because An Yu sees you as someone special, you won’t lose no matter what?”
Ning Wanciu was startled and instinctively wanted to refute.
“Dongli, I don’t have—”
“Hmph. Don’t look down on me, Sis…
If you do nothing, then I’ll do everything!”
After finishing her last sentence, Ning Dongli straightened up. She puffed out her cheeks in anger and turned her head away, no longer looking at Ning Wanciu.
“Think about it carefully! Hmph… Let’s leave it at that for today, you dummy older sister.”
Ning Dongli ran off in a huff. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into her own room.
She closed the door behind her, leaving Ning Wanciu staring in a daze.
“Dongli.”
Ning Wanciu blankly looked at the tightly shut door. In the end, she couldn’t say anything.
She lowered her head and gazed at the sleeping An Yu. Her eyes were full of bitterness.
Ning Wanciu had long noticed that Ning Dongli liked An Yu. But she had never expected that her own younger sister would confront her so directly at a time like this.
Somewhat at a loss, Ning Wanciu gently stroked An Yu’s hair. Her heart was filled with confusion.
Ning Dongli’s confession made it difficult for her to continue avoiding the issue.
In the end, what should she do?