Chapter 30

Hearing his question, Xia Qingning hesitated for a moment, not answering directly, but throwing a counter-question back at him:

“If I said I was framed, would you believe me?”

In the darkness, Lu Jingzhe didn’t speak, but his silence was already his answer.

Xia Qingning didn’t blame him for not trusting her. On the contrary, she understood him.

Trust is built on mutual understanding.

But neither she nor the original body was familiar with Lu Jingzhe now. How could she talk about understanding, about trust, with someone she hadn’t even met a few times, someone she wasn’t familiar with at all?

He had already done a lot by helping her so much today.

She believed that it wouldn’t be long before she could put the evidence in front of him. Wouldn’t that be more convincing than talking with her mouth now?

“Sleep.” Lu Jingzhe didn’t pursue the answer to the question anymore, but something in his heart had already loosened. In the darkness, he softly instructed, “Don’t go over there, just sleep in the middle.”

“Mm.” Xia Qingning nodded, not saying anything more.

The next day, Xia Qingning woke up a little earlier than yesterday. After washing up by the water basin, she returned to her room and started to tie her hair. She had made many hair ties yesterday, and they came in handy today.

She picked a long one, put it around her neck, then wrapped it up from both sides of her ears, crossed it at the top of her head, tucked it back into her ears, and then divided the hair on both sides into two strands, braiding it with the hair tie into a three-strand braid.

Lu Jingzhe had just opened his eyes when he saw Xia Qingning quietly braiding her hair at the table. Her white fingers moved up and down, and she was done in no time.

The blue floral hair tie, weaving through her black hair, looked fresh and elegant. Her small face was made even more delicate and beautiful, and in the morning sun, every strand of her hair seemed to be glowing, beautiful beyond compare.

“You’re awake.” Xia Qingning noticed that Lu Jingzhe was awake and turned to look at him, asking, “Did I wake you up?”

Her voice was soft and sweet, sounding extremely pleasant, as if it were plucking at the heartstrings.

Lu Jingzhe forced himself to remain calm and responded, “No.”

“You slept late yesterday. Sleep a little longer. I’m going to work.” Xia Qingning finished and stood up, took her bag and went out, closing the door for him.

As soon as she came out, she ran into He Shanshan, who had just gotten up. She had a messy bun and was yawning as she walked out of her room. When she saw the beautiful Xia Qingning, she snorted with envy from her nose, then slammed the door shut.

Wasn’t this blatant envy turning into hatred? Xia Qingning didn’t bother with her and walked out with a light step.

She couldn’t ride a bike yet, and this time was the peak of the morning rush hour. There were so many vehicles, even if she learned to ride now, she would need to practice for a while before she dared to ride on the road. So, she decided to take Wu Xiaodong’s car.

When she reached the gate of the courtyard, Wu Xiaodong was already standing there, holding his bike, waiting for her. When he saw her, he quickly asked, “Qingning Jie, are you still taking my car?”

“Yes.” Xia Qingning nodded and sat in the back seat.

“But I heard that Jingzhe Ge bought you a Phoenix yesterday. Aren’t you riding it?” Wu Xiaodong asked curiously as he pedaled.

“Mm, he did.” Xia Qingning said frankly, “But I can’t ride.”

“You can’t ride a bike?” Wu Xiaodong looked surprised.

“Mm, I never learned.” Xia Qingning said.

In the real world, her family had a driver, and she was always driven around. When she turned 18, her family bought her a car, so it was normal that she couldn’t ride.

As for the original body, she didn’t have a bike to ride, so she naturally didn’t learn either.

“It’s okay. You can take my car first, and then learn when you have time.” Wu Xiaodong comforted her, then continued, “Qingning Jie, I think you were really amazing yesterday. I’ve never seen you so… so…” Wu Xiaodong couldn’t find the words to describe it, so he said, “Oh, well, you were just really amazing.”

Xia Qingning smiled and said, “Didn’t I say yesterday that I’m not afraid of them anymore?”

Wu Xiaodong nodded in agreement, then suddenly laughed and said, “Qingning Jie, I’ve noticed that you’ve changed since Jingzhe Ge came back. Yesterday, I saw him stand up for you, scolding Shanshan and her mom. It was so satisfying.”

He suddenly looked worried, “But Jingzhe Ge’s leave will be over soon. When he leaves, you…”

This younger brother really thought ahead for her. The popsicle yesterday wasn’t in vain. Xia Qingning looked confident and assured, “It’s okay. I’ll always be this amazing.”

After these days, she no longer had the uneasiness and fear she had when she first came here. If Lu Jingzhe really didn’t take her with him when he went back to the army, she could still find a way to live a good life.

“Mm, it’s okay. We’re here too. We’ll always be on Qingning Jie’s side.” Wu Xiaodong assured her.

The two of them chatted in the car, and the car quickly drove away.

He Shanshan, who had returned to her room after washing up, sat in front of the mirror and had been braiding her hair for half a day. She also wanted to braid her hair as beautifully as Xia Qingning, but she didn’t know what was wrong. No matter how she did it, it didn’t look right. It was either messy or stiff.

The more she did it, the more frustrated she became. The more frustrated she became, the worse she did it. Her black face looked even blacker.

Wang Mingfang, who was about to go out with her granddaughter, saw that she was still in her room and asked in surprise, “Shanshan, why aren’t you at work yet? It’s already so late.”

“What’s the rush? I’m leaving soon.” He Shanshan was in a bad mood and didn’t have a good tone.

At this time, the little granddaughter standing next to Wang Mingfang tilted her head and looked at He Shanshan. Her big, round eyes turned and turned, and she suddenly said in a childish voice, “Little aunt ugly, little aunt pretty.”

The “little aunt” she was referring to was Xia Qingning.

He Shanshan, who was already in a bad mood, immediately stood up and shouted at the little girl, “You little brat, you’re a burden. Who do you think is ugly! If you talk nonsense again, I’ll break your mouth.”

The little girl was frightened by her disheveled appearance and fierce look. She burst into tears.

Wang Mingfang, who was eager to have a grandson, didn’t pay much attention to this granddaughter. When the child cried too loudly, she was unhappy and shouted, “Stop crying. I told you not to talk nonsense.”

Then she told He Shanshan to go to work quickly, picked up the little girl and walked out.

He Shanshan returned to her room and threw the comb on the table with a “bang.” She was both angry and envious. Why was everything going against her?

Since Lu Jingzhe came back, Xia Qingning had become a different person. She had completely gotten on top of her, and Lu Jingzhe was always protecting her.

She found it strange. Didn’t Lu Jingzhe hate Xia Qingning before? Could it be that he liked her because she became beautiful!

She wasn’t any worse than her. Xia Qingning was just whiter than her. Besides, she was so healthy, and Xia Qingning was always sick. She probably wouldn’t be able to have children in the future. How could she compare to her?

Thinking about this, He Shanshan secretly vowed that she would buy that red Dacron dress tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, she would go on a blind date. Her mom had said that the man was handsome and his family was very rich. This time, she couldn’t miss.

Thinking about this, she quickly combed her hair, the same as before, two stiff braids.

She found a yellow shirt to wear and quickly walked out the door.

When she reached the courtyard, she was about to ride her bike, but when she turned her head, she saw the brand-new bike that Lu Jingzhe had bought for Xia Qingning. The black body of the bike shone brightly in the sun, looking extremely stylish.

Xia Qingning didn’t ride it to work!

Oh, He Shanshan realized, that stinky girl couldn’t ride a bike. She couldn’t help but walk towards the bike.

The “Phoenix” logo, the leather seat, the shiny chain, this was the dream bike of every girl in this era.

Looking at her own broken second-hand bike, then looking at this brand-new 26-inch Phoenix, He Shanshan’s jealousy, which had just subsided, came back again. Why did that stinky girl Xia Qingning have such a handsome man, and he even bought her such a good bike?

Then she noticed that the bike wasn’t locked. Such a stylish bike, it was such a waste to leave it here without riding it.

Her eyes rolled. If she rode it away now and rode it back early in the afternoon, wouldn’t it be discovered?

After a moment, she got on the bike. The silver-white, shiny handlebars, the comfortable seat, even the bell sound was crisp.

He Shanshan felt like everyone on the street was looking at her. She was simply dazzling.

When Lu Jingzhe got up and washed up, he found that the bike was gone. He couldn’t help but smile slightly.

He didn’t know why, but when he saw her sitting in the back seat of that little boy’s car, holding his clothes, he felt uncomfortable.

So, he turned around and bought a bike. Now, she wouldn’t have to take anyone else’s car anymore.

He didn’t know that Xia Qingning was currently sitting in Wu Xiaodong’s car, and the bike he had specifically bought for Xia Qingning had been ridden away by He Shanshan.