Tang Mi laughed: "Why do you care if someone else's husband is handsome or not?"
"Of course I have to care. I need to know if he's worthy of our Lord Ni," Hua Zheng said with a snort, her tone extremely serious.
Hua Zheng genuinely liked Ni Jingxi's appearance, and it was only after meeting Ni Jingxi that she realized there really were people in real life who looked like female celebrities.
Moreover, Ni Jingxi has an eye-catching figure, with a slender frame, making her appear both thin and tall.
Hua Zheng felt that if she had half the looks of Ni Jingxi, she would be incredibly arrogant.
Tang Mi chuckled again, and said meaningfully, "You'll understand when you see it for yourself."
Hua Zheng looked at Ni Jingxi with eager eyes, "Lady Ni, when will you introduce your husband to us?"
Looking at her excited eyes, Ni Jingxi felt a little reluctant to let her go.
If this girl knew the truth...
*
Before going to work in the afternoon, Ni Jingxi received a call from Huo Shenyan. Since she recovered from her injury and returned to work, he would call her during his lunch break.
Early winter in Shanghai had a touch of desolation, but the afternoon sun was still warm.
Ni Jingxi leaned against the railing of the newspaper office's small balcony, her phone pressed against her ear, the other end of the line his deep, sexy voice.
"Is there anything you'd like to eat tonight?" Huo Shenyan asked her.
Suddenly, Ni Jingxi said, "My colleagues saw my wedding ring today."
Huo Shenyan was slightly taken aback. He had been sitting in a chair, but now he leaned back comfortably and slowly turned around to face the glass window. Outside was the most prosperous area of Shanghai, with towering buildings everywhere.
Cities built of reinforced concrete seem to mold people into such hard, copper-like bodies.
But when he heard her words, his whole being, including his heart, softened.
Ni Jingxi knew he was listening to her, so she continued in a low voice, "I told her that I don't have a boyfriend, but I have a husband."
The usually aloof man's brows and eyes softened into a faint smile; if anyone had seen it, they would have been utterly astonished.
Until he said in a hoarse voice, "Stars."
At that moment, he wished he could announce to the whole world that he was her husband.
Author's Note:
Shen Yan's inner monologue at this moment: Don't stop me, I'm going to announce to the whole world, Xingxing! Is! My! Wife!!!
It's almost impossible to stop Mr. Huo from showing off.
Chapter 39
Before leaving get off work, Ni Jingxi made a special trip to the restroom. The scabs on her face had fallen off, leaving only one faint red mark. However, to avoid being noticed, she had put on makeup today.
Her skin is exceptionally fair; it's the kind of skin that makes her look two shades lighter than others even when using the same foundation.
Ni Jingxi planned to visit her grandmother that evening. Earlier, Huo Shenyan had asked someone to take her grandmother out for a walk, under the pretext that he wanted the old lady to relax.
Grandma really did visit a lot of places this time, and when I called her after I got back, her voice was full of joy.
Today happens to be Friday, so Ni Jingxi decided to go visit her grandmother.
To her surprise, just as she came out, she saw Lin Qinglang walking in from outside. Lin Qinglang hadn't been at the newspaper office for the week she'd been back at work; apparently, something had happened at home, and he'd taken a week off.
“You?” Ni Jingxi looked at his disheveled appearance and could hardly believe that this was the same handsome and sunny young man from before.
Ni Jingxi frowned; "What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Lin Qinglang reached up and touched the back of his head.
Ni Jingxi wasn't the type to pry into other people's privacy. She had only heard Hua Zheng mention casually that he had taken leave.
"If there's anything you need, you can tell me."
Ni Jingxi had already turned around to leave, but at the last second, she turned back and said this.
A slight smile appeared on Lin Qinglang's face.
Ni Jingxi is truly cold on the outside but warm on the inside. This reminded him of the time when she used to tutor him. She always seemed aloof and would never chat with him about everyday things during class.
Sometimes when he wanted to chat with her casually, she would tell him very seriously that she charged 300 yuan per class, and if he talked to her for even one more word, he would miss out on learning one more knowledge point.
Lin Qinglang never cared about money. He immediately scoffed and took out three hundred yuan from his pocket, indicating that he wanted to talk to her for forty-five minutes.
"How about we talk for forty-five minutes? Is that okay?" Lin Qinglang's expression finally relaxed a bit.
Ni Jingxi: "That works too."
Her voice was calm, yet resolute.
She never developed any romantic feelings for Lin Qinglang. To her, he was just a student she met during her part-time job. Although his family was wealthy, he had a very good personality. When she tutored him, although he seemed to dislike studying, he never caused her any trouble.
After receiving her affirmation, Lin Qinglang smiled with satisfaction.
He then said in a low voice, "I'm here today to resign."
Ni Jingxi was taken aback, but not surprised. It would have been surprising if someone from his family background had come to work for the Shanghai People's Daily; now that he was leaving Ni Jingxi, it felt like it was the right thing to do.
Ni Jingxi smiled gently: "Then I wish you a bright future."
"A bright future?" Lin Qinglang repeated the words, then suddenly chuckled.
He said, "If I told you I was going to Syria, would you still wish me a bright future?"
Ni Jingxi was stunned, clearly taken aback by his words.
"You're going to Syria?" Ni Jingxi was still a little incredulous.
Lin Qinglang found her expression quite amusing and nodded: "Not just Syria, it should be somewhere in the Middle East."
Ni Jingxi didn't know what to say.
Lin Qinglang chuckled softly, "It's not just you who dreams of becoming an outstanding journalist; so am I. Actually, I've always wanted to be a war correspondent, but unfortunately, my mother's health has always been poor. When I graduated, she cried and begged me to return to China."
No parent would want their child to face that danger.
In fact, news channels broadcast reports on the wars in the Middle East or Africa every day, and in recent years, there have been frequent incidents of peacekeeping soldiers sacrificing their lives.
Anyone who sees this news will feel sorry for them and think they are great and worthy of respect.
But if it were to happen to their own child, they would absolutely refuse.
“You are now…” Ni Jingxi looked at his absent-minded appearance and had a bad feeling.
Lin Qinglang wore a bleak expression: "Now no one can stop me anymore."
Ni Jingxi's expression was solemn, but she didn't know how to comfort him. Finally, she whispered, "Please accept my condolences."
Lin Qinglang was an intern. He came over, told the HR department, handed over his work, and then left. But before leaving, he walked over to Ni Jingxi.
"I don't know when I'll be back in China this time. I'm adding you on WeChat this time, you won't object, will you?" Lin Qinglang looked at her and chuckled.
Ni Jingxi took out her phone and added him on WeChat without saying anything.
After Lin Qinglang added you on WeChat, he said, "I added you on WeChat not for any other reason than in case I run into your father over there."
Ni Jingxi froze for a moment.
This happened when she first became Lin Qinglang's teacher. Lin Qinglang laughed at her, saying that no girl loved money so much. Ni Jingxi whispered that she needed money.
As a result, Lin Qinglang kept asking her why she needed money for half the class period.
Ni Jingxi finally told him, after he pressed her for an answer until she was completely fed up, that her father had disappeared in Israel and that she was now a grandmother who needed to support her.
I never expected that Lin Qinglang would still remember this after so many years.
Ni Jingxi said very solemnly, "Thank you."
In fact, ever since she married Huo Shenyan, Huo Shenyan had been sending people to search for her father. So much time had passed, yet no good news had come; even Huo Shenyan couldn't find him.
It is estimated that only...
Ni Jingxi never dared to have this thought, but after so many years of fruitless searching, it still kept popping up uncontrollably.
*
Because of Lin Qinglang's matter, Ni Jingxi's complexion was not good when she arrived at the nursing home. Even though she forced a smile when she entered, her grandmother still noticed it in the end.
"Is something unpleasant happening at work?" the old lady asked softly, observing her expression.
Ni Jingxi shook her head: "No."
Grandma didn't believe her and whispered, "You're not usually like this."
Ni Jingxi smiled and asked in return, "What should I look like?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than her grandmother reached out and tugged at the corner of her mouth, making a smiling face: "Smile, Jingxi looks prettier when she smiles."
Ni Jingxi was genuinely amused by her grandmother.
"Who taught you?" Ni Jingxi asked softly.
Grandma chuckled and said, "It's the nurse who took me out last time. When we took pictures, she would pull the corners of my mouth like this, saying that I look pretty when I smile."
Ni Jingxi actually laughed this time.
She asked, "Did you enjoy your trip last time?"
"I was so happy! We even took a boat ride!" The old lady spoke of her trip with the joy of a child, talking incessantly to Ni Jingxi.
Seeing how happy she was, Ni Jingxi said happily, "In that case, how about we arrange for you to go out again next spring?"
As the weather gets colder, it's not suitable for the elderly to go out.
If Grandma likes it that much, she can arrange one next spring. If she has time off then, she can go with Grandma.
But upon hearing this, Grandma immediately shook her head: "I'm not going, I'm not going."
"Why?" Ni Jingxi asked, somewhat puzzled.
Grandma glared at her, "That's too much money."
This time, she was accompanied not only by a doctor and two nurses, but also two bodyguards. The doctor would take her blood pressure and perform some basic tests every morning, while the two bodyguards were responsible for her transportation.
This time, when boarding the ship, one bodyguard carried my grandmother aboard, while another carried her wheelchair.