Chapter 18

Ning Song was crying terribly hard, tears falling in a rustling stream.

Her little face was covered in tear tracks. With just one glance, anyone could tell she was devastated to the extreme.

Only after things had reached this point did Ning Song feel afraid and regretful.

She liked Pei Hanying very much, so she was also truly terrified that Pei Hanying would be disappointed in her.

Pei Hanying was hugged from behind. Listening to the continuous sobbing beside her ear, she turned her head and looked at the little villain.

Looking at Ning Song’s tear-blurred eyes, Pei Hanying pressed her lips into a straight line. Her inner guess confirmed, she asked, “So you took a cold shower because you wanted to get even sicker, so you could stay at our house a little longer?”

Ning Song nodded with tears in her eyes. She said in a low voice, “Wuwu… I-I won’t dare do it again. I’ll leave right now. Yingying, don’t hate me, okay?”

As she spoke, she seemed certain that she would not be forgiven, yet she was still afraid of being hated. The hands that had originally been wrapped around Pei Hanying’s waist slowly loosened, waiting for her hands to be brushed away.

Pei Hanying listened to the little villain’s whimpering words, and for a moment, she did not know what she felt inside.

A sour, swollen feeling spread through her heart, gradually expanding from a soybean-sized point.

She could not tell exactly what kind of emotion it was. Pity, helplessness, or perhaps even more feelings that could not be named precisely filled her heart.

Clearly, Ning Song was only a child of a little over five. Most children at this age were innocent, delicate, and willful, but Ning Song was completely different from them.

Ning Song always behaved like a little adult—steady, silent, and sensible. No matter what kind of difficulty she encountered, she never used tears to solve the problem.

Children held in the palm were always a little spoiled, while Ning Song, who was not cared about, was like a seed forced to ripen too early. She had grown into one thin little stalk, incomparably frail, silently growing, not knowing when she might be snapped by a sudden gust of wind.

She looked so pitiful.

Pei Hanying felt that she was so pitiful.

A child like this, if she was disciplined and guided properly, would she really still turn dark in the future?

Probably not, right?

There were far too many uncertain factors in a future more than ten years away. If she looked at it rationally, then making a major decision based only on the intense pity and heartache she felt right now was not wise.

But Ning Song’s tears were magical. Every drop that [read the original at bailiantales.com]fell made Pei Hanying’s heart tighten along with it, filling her with an unbearable sourness.

Only then did Pei Hanying realize that at this moment, it seemed she could not be rational.

She took Ning Song’s hands away from her waist and stepped back one or two steps.

After turning around, she looked at Ning Song and met those wet, reddened eyes. Under her gaze, Ning Song bit her lip and swallowed down those tiny, broken sounds.

Ning Song looked at Pei Hanying’s dark eyes. She could not see through the emotions in them, but she could understand the action of Pei Hanying moving her hands away.

Pei Hanying did not like being touched by her, so she truly was hated now.

It seemed the only outcome she was facing now was being driven out by Pei Hanying.

Ning Song did not know whether she regretted it or not. Before Pei Hanying’s words of dismissal fell, she even thought it over carefully.

But the answer was no.

If she had another chance to do it again, she would probably still choose to do this. She would only do it more secretly and not let Pei Hanying discover her actions.

She wanted to stay in the Pei family.

She wanted to very, very much.

But now, everything was only a luxury.

She was about to be driven out by Yingying.

Ning Song looked at Pei Hanying, her tears silent as they fell drop by drop.

Seeing her so pitiful, Pei Hanying sighed softly in her heart.

Why was Ning Song an exception for her? Actually, she could not really give a precise answer either.

The only thing she could be certain of was that when she saw Ning Song sad and hurt, Pei Hanying would feel heartache.

Someone like Pei Hanying, who had spent years soaked in a cold and indifferent human world, was actually still capable of feeling heartache for someone else.

She knew perfectly well that there might be many troubles in the future, and that she might need to invest even more time and energy into Ning Song.

But for once, Pei Hanying was not afraid of trouble.

This time, she did not wipe away the tears at the corners of Ning Song’s eyes.

Only, standing a few steps away, Pei Hanying looked at Ning Song. After a moment of silence, she said softly,

“Ning Song.”

Hearing her call her name, Ning Song’s heart sank. She waited to hear the words that would drive her away.

It seemed her tears had nearly dried up, yet her heart was still aching. Even breathing had become a little difficult.

Before Pei Hanying could speak, Ning Song could not bear the words she might hear from her mouth in a moment, so she spoke first.

“Yingying, I’ll leave your house by myself. I’m sorry…”

The words Pei Hanying had been about to say were suddenly interrupted. Her brows furrowed, and she looked at Ning Song with some confusion.

She pursed her lips. Looking at Ning Song’s emotions, which had clearly sunk even lower, she asked, “When did I tell you to leave?”

“Ning Song, I wanted to ask you if you’re willing to stay in the Pei family all the time.”

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

A full minute passed, and Ning Song still did not speak.

She only stared at Pei Hanying with a pair of jade-green eyes, her tears frozen at the corners, looking straight at her in a daze.

She looked a little silly.

Pei Hanying asked, “Why aren’t you answering? You don’t want to?”

She clearly knew Ning Song could not possibly not want to stay in the Pei family. Otherwise, she would not have been foolish enough to take a cold shower and worsen her illness.

But seeing the little villain’s dazed look right now, Pei Hanying really wanted to tease her.

Hearing Pei Hanying’s words fall beside her ear again, Ning Song finally reacted.

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked at Pei Hanying cautiously, asking very, very softly,

“Yingying, are you joking?”

Her little appearance looked pitiful to death.

Pei Hanying was inexplicably struck by her cuteness.

She answered, “I’m not joking. Ning Song, I actually quite like you, so I’m asking very seriously whether you want to stay in the Pei family and live with me.”

Even now, Ning Song still felt as if she were dreaming.

Her whole body felt weightless and dizzy, unable to find any center or direction.

She said softly, “Am I dreaming?”

A second later, she rushed in front of Pei Hanying and hugged her tightly.

Without giving an exact answer, Ning Song only said, “But my father won’t agree.”

When mentioning Ning Cheng, Ning Song’s body tensed for an instant.

After reacting and feeling joy, once she thought of that man’s existence, Ning Song was instantly drowned by enormous panic and helplessness again.

Ning Cheng could not possibly be willing to let Ning Song stay in the Pei family. He needed Ning Song at home to cook and wash clothes for him, serve him tea and water, and then use her as a punching bag to vent his emotions.

But deep inside, she was still happy.

Because Yingying had said she liked her.

She had not been hated.

Hearing this, Pei Hanying frowned without showing it.

“You don’t need to worry about Ning Cheng. I’ll have Mommy send someone to handle it.”

She pinched the back of Ning Song’s neck, lifting her like a kitten, then asked,

“So the most important thing is, do you want to stay?”

Ning Song let out a whimper, and her tears uncontrollably fell again, making her look exactly like a little crybaby.

She said, “I do. I really do…”

Especially, especially much.