Chapter 53

Yan Ning wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids were heavy. When she tried to open them, everything was still dark.

“Ningning? Ningning?” A gentle yet anxious voice echoed in her ears, repeatedly resounding.

Yan Ning furrowed her brows, trying to respond to him.

When the desire to respond reached its peak, the darkness behind her could no longer hold her back. She opened her eyes.

This time, it wasn’t a dream. She had finally shaken off the clouded consciousness. The first thing her eyes saw was an unfamiliar ceiling above her.

Sensing someone beside her, her gaze shifted downward, and she saw Lu Fengfeng, who was leaning over her, his expression filled with anxiety.

“Feng… Feng.” Her throat was dry and hoarse, but seeing him made her feel at ease.

Seeing her awake, Lu Fengfeng relaxed. “You’re awake. How do you feel? Is anything hurting?”

Yan Ning shook her head.

Tang Minrou glanced at the boy who had suddenly barged in. Her face darkened. “Who are you? How did you find this place? What’s your relationship with our Ningning?”

Lu Fengfeng raised his head and looked at her. The woman had a beautiful face, with four or five similarities to Yan Ning.

He could probably guess who she was, and was about to speak when—

Tang Chengtian suddenly appeared at the door. The always composed and gentlemanly eldest son of the Tang family was wearing only a shirt, with his jacket clutched in his hand, creased with many wrinkles.

One hand rested on the doorframe, breathing heavily. His gaze fell on Yan Ning in the bed, and seeing that she didn’t seem to be seriously injured, his tense mood finally relaxed.

As soon as Tang Minrou saw Tang Chengtian, she reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her entire body bristling. “What are you doing here?”

Tang Chengtian was unfazed. “I came to see my niece.”

Tang Minrou scoffed. “Hah, there is no niece of Tang Chengtian here. Please leave.”

Yan Ning propped herself up with Lu Fengfeng’s help and looked at Tang Minrou with icy, sharp eyes. Her hoarse, weak voice carried no warmth. “Mom, what do you want to do to me?”

Tang Minrou, already in a bad mood after seeing Tang Chengtian, had no patience left for Yan Ning. “What are you talking about? You’re sick, can’t even get out of bed, and your mom brings you to the hospital. What could I possibly do to you?”

Yan Ning scanned the room. It was indeed a hospital room. Behind Tang Minrou, there was a doctor in a white coat.

After Lu Fengfeng and Tang Chengtian barged in, the doctor had been lowering his head, organizing some documents. Feeling Yan Ning’s gaze, he looked up at her, his eyes trembling slightly, revealing a hint of unease.

“Mom, I’ve always found it strange. If you don’t like me, why did you go all the way to Xinghua Village to bring me back? Today, I finally understand. Everything was for Yan An, wasn’t it?”

At the time, she was delirious, hearing Tang Minrou talking to someone about something, with only a few words like “heart,” “condition,” and “rejection reaction,” but she didn’t comprehend it.

Now that she was fully awake, it was easy to understand.

Yan An had a heart problem, and Tang Minrou had planned from the beginning to give Yan An her heart.

That’s why the Yan family never announced her return, because from the start, they never intended for her to live with them for long.

As for why they waited so long to take action, she had also heard the reason.

At first, Tang Minrou only heard about the possibility of a heart transplant. As long as someone was willing to donate and the body didn’t reject it, the chances of success were about fifty percent.

But if there was a blood relation, the chances of success would increase to eighty percent.

To improve the success rate, Tang Minrou set her sights on her.

The parental love she had longed for never existed from the beginning.

It was all a scheme.

But because they had searched for so long and couldn’t find her, Tang Minrou was almost ready to give up and had already begun contacting other donors.

Then, Yan Ning suddenly appeared in B City, and Tang Minrou got her blood, recontacting the doctor.

The doctor tested Yan Ning’s blood and found something unusual, saying they needed to observe it further.

After Tang Minrou brought Yan Ning back, she didn’t act immediately.

It wasn’t until recently, when the doctor said that after testing, Yan Ning’s body showed no issues. At the same time, Yan An’s body suddenly became abnormally weak.

Tang Minrou didn’t want to wait any longer.

Yesterday, she first convinced Yan Ning to come to the hospital to visit Yan An, and then conveniently took her for a check-up.

Yan Ning had already been cautious enough but didn’t expect that the needle for drawing blood had been coated with something.

Hearing Yan Ning’s blunt question, Tang Minrou froze for a moment. “Ningning, what are you talking about? Why can’t I understand?”

“Mom, I know everything. You don’t need to hide it anymore. But I’m sorry, I won’t give my heart to Yan An. After today, I will leave the Yan family. Just pretend you never found me.” Yan Ning supported herself with Lu Fengfeng’s hand, preparing to get out of bed.

Tang Minrou took two steps forward and pressed down on Yan Ning: “You little brat, what are you saying? You just caught a cold, and I brought you to the hospital. What’s this talk about heart transplants and leaving the Yan family? Are you trying to rip my heart out?”

As she spoke, Tang Minrou’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and tears began to fall, as if she felt embarrassed. She quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth to prevent the sobs from escaping.

On the outside, she was crying, but inside, she was filled with intense hatred for Yan Ning.

This girl, even before she was born, had made her life difficult, and now she was making her lose face in front of others.

Yan Ning looked at her indifferently. She would no longer be deceived by such pretenses. She could no longer act soft and compliant in front of Tang Minrou, so she stopped forcing herself to do so.

At this moment, her feelings of affection for her family were completely shattered by reality.

Her master had been right—there was no such thing as fairness in this world.

If you show others a bit of respect, you might not receive warmth in return. Instead, because you didn’t give enough, you might just provoke their hatred.

Yan Ning lowered her head, originally planning to sever ties with the Yan family right then and there, but seeing Tang Minrou’s expression, she realized that her mother wouldn’t give up so easily.

So, it would be more troublesome. She would need to spend more time and solve everything in one go.

She slightly turned her body, as if she had listened to Tang Minrou’s words, but her tone was cold: “So it was just a misunderstanding, Mom. How is my condition? Doctor, do I need to be hospitalized?”

The person sitting on the side, who had been trying to minimize their presence, was suddenly called upon and stood up in surprise: “Uh, it’s just a cold, but since you have a fever, it’s better to get an IV to bring the fever down faster.”

“I don’t want an IV. Just give me some medicine,” Yan Ning said. She wouldn’t stay in the hospital when she knew there was a risk. After saying this, she supported herself with Lu Fengfeng’s hand and stood up, heading for the door.

“Ningning, Ningning, where are you going?” Tang Minrou chased her to the door.

“I’m feeling a bit suffocated, so I’ll go for a walk downstairs. Mom, please bring me the medicine, I’ll wait for you down there.”

Tang Minrou looked at Yan Ning’s back, irritated beyond measure. She reached out to grab her, but suddenly, a chilling aura struck her.

The boy who had been quietly sitting beside Yan Ning since she woke up, never saying a word, turned and glanced at her.

Despite being just a young boy, it was only a glance, but it felt like a wave of cold washed over her. She shivered and didn’t dare make another sound.

When Yan Ning and Lu Fengfeng had walked far enough, Tang Chengtian finally spoke, his tone not as gentle as usual: “Tang Minrou, is what Ningning said true?”

“What if it is? What if it isn’t? Either way, it’s none of your business,” Tang Minrou shifted her gaze to Tang Chengtian, her eyes filled with a hatred so intense it seemed tangible.

Tang Chengtian was also irritated by her behavior. With no younger generation around, he no longer bothered to maintain his composure: “You were just like this back then, always feeling like everyone owed you something. When Father didn’t let you marry Yan Zhengjun, it was because he didn’t think highly of his character. You insisted it was because our family couldn’t stand to see you happy. How have you been living these years? If things were so great, why would you even entertain such thoughts? Sacrificing one daughter’s life to save another?”

Tang Minrou was hit where it hurt. She suddenly shoved Tang Chengtian hard: “Stay out of it! Whether I’m doing well or not has nothing to do with the Tang family! And as for Yan Ning, she’s my flesh and blood. Whatever I want her to do, she has to do it!”

“Heh. Well, let me make this clear: If you dare to touch Yan Ning, I’ll bring all those things you’ve done in secret to Yan Zhengjun’s attention,” Tang Chengtian lost all patience with Tang Minrou.

All these years, his sister hadn’t changed one bit. She was still the same, only interested in men, using the same old methods.

“You—” Tang Minrou’s eyes flashed with hesitation as past memories resurfaced.

All the emotions of her life had been poured into Yan Zhengjun. In order to become the one woman he could never forget, she had indeed done many things.

—

Lu Fengfeng helped Yan Ning into the elevator and down to the first floor. Guessing she probably hadn’t eaten since morning, he took her to a noodle shop next to the hospital.

The two of them ordered noodles and sat across from each other.

Lu Fengfeng poured a cup of hot tea and placed it beside her, his eyes filled with concern: “Drink some water, it’ll make you feel better.”

“How did you find me?” Yan Ning’s face was pale as she took the cup from his hand and took a small sip.

“I saw the message you sent me and figured you might be at the hospital. Fortunately, I got here quickly.” Lu Fengfeng wrapped her cold hand in his, “I’m sorry, I’m still late. You had to go through that kind of memory.”

“It’s okay, you arrived just in time. I’m really happy you came to find me,” Yan Ning looked at him, a mist rising in her eyes, but her heart felt truly happy.

If Tang Minrou really intended to take her heart, the suppressor would have been damaged by now. Her mental strength would have exploded, and the scene would have been much worse than this.

This was the first time someone had truly stopped her from acting on her murderous intent at such a crucial moment.

“After this, I might do something a bit excessive to them.” Yan Ning looked at Lu Fengfeng, trying to smile, but tears fell from her eyes.

She hadn’t been expecting much.

But her heart still ached faintly.

Lu Fengfeng took a square checkered handkerchief out of his pocket and gently wiped away her tears, his voice steady: “Ningning, you don’t have to force yourself. Everything they owe you, I’ll help you get it back.”

“Huh?” She didn’t quite understand what he meant.

He lowered his gaze slightly, concealing the emotions in his eyes: “I originally wanted to wait until later to tell you. Saying this now, under these circumstances, might be inappropriate. Can you give me some time and listen to what I have to say next?”