CHAPTER 44: 044: PEOPLE’S HEARTS CHANGE EASILY

On the rest of the journey, Ning Guiwan did not speak again, only mentioning the name of Tianchi Group when Ren Yong asked where she was headed.

About half an hour later, the car slowly stopped at the steps in front of Tianchi Group’s entrance.

Ning Guiwan looked at Quan Yu indifferently and said goodbye before pushing the car door open to get out.

Quan Yu leaned back, casually resting against the seat. He turned his head to watch her hurried pace through the dark tinted glass, a light laugh escaping him. In that moment, a different kind of light twinkled in his cool, glassy eyes, showing a hint of relaxed pleasure.

Ning Guiwan entered the lobby of Tianchi Group, just as Ning Rongyue and Ning Honghua were walking over from the direction of the elevators.

Assistants and secretaries followed behind them. Ning Rongyue was looking at Ning Honghua and saying something, while Ning Honghua, with his head slightly turned to listen, nodded in agreement from time to time. His lips curved into a refined and accommodating smile.

Indeed, a perfect scene of fatherly affection and filial devotion.

Ning Guiwan’s steps faltered for a moment, but in the next instant, she resumed her pace. Her face broke into a smile, brimming with radiance and a subtle arrogance.

"Dad," she greeted first.

When Ning Honghua looked her way, his smile vanished. His expression turned serious and displeased, markedly different from how he had been with Ning Rongyue.

"Why have you only just arrived at the company?" he frowned.

The entire company belonged to Ning Honghua, so it was very easy for him to know whether Ning Guiwan had come to the office. In fact, he didn’t even need to ask; someone would have already delivered the news of her absence to him.

Ning Guiwan glanced at Ning Rongyue before saying, "Grandma Quan has been hospitalized."

Ning Honghua’s expression softened slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on Ning Guiwan. "The old lady isn’t in serious trouble, is she?"

"She’ll be discharged after resting for a couple of days," Ning Guiwan replied truthfully.

"Hmm," Ning Honghua nodded. He paused for a moment before adding, "Grandma Quan cares for you. Be sure to be filial to her."

Upon hearing this, Ning Guiwan smirked. Her eyes, fixed on Ning Honghua, shone with an almost excessive brightness. "I naturally treat those who care for me well."

Ning Honghua watched her.

The atmosphere grew quiet.

Ning Honghua looked at his daughter, who stood a meter away from him, yet it felt as though they were separated by vast distances. The little girl who used to cling to him, innocent and pure, was gone.

After watching Ning Guiwan for a while, he looked away but did not immediately walk off, merely standing quietly in place.

However, the silence did not last long. Ning Rongyue spoke up, her voice gentle, "Dad, the representative from Weiya Technology has been waiting for us. Let’s not keep them waiting too long."

Ning Honghua seemed somewhat out of sorts and didn’t respond to Ning Rongyue immediately. After a moment, he slowly came to his senses. He glanced at Ning Guiwan again, said nothing, and walked past her.

"Xiaowan, we’ll go ahead then," Ning Rongyue said, giving Ning Guiwan a smile before following Ning Honghua. "Weiya Technology has been our client for a long time. It isn’t good to keep them waiting."

The smile Ning Guiwan had maintained gradually faded as the father and daughter disappeared behind the glass doors.

She suddenly recalled a bitter saying: The best things in the world are not sturdy; the human heart changes, fragile as glass. Four years ago, she had already come to deeply understand that the human heart was the least reliable thing of all.

At half-past five in the evening, Ning Guiwan rose from the conference table, just in time to receive a call from Lai Yang.

"Xiaowan, I’m hurt..." Lai Yang’s voice carried a whine, sounding miserable.

Ning Guiwan’s heart tightened. "Where are you now?" she quickly asked.

「Twenty minutes later」

Ning Guiwan arrived at a major hospital less than three kilometers from Tianchi Group. The rush-hour traffic had been terrible, so she had run there.

"Xiaowan..." Lai Yang sat on a chair in the treatment room, her left knee exposed from beneath her skirt. A patch of skin was scraped off.

A nurse was preparing to treat her wound.

Seeing the injury wasn’t too severe, the tightness in Ning Guiwan’s chest eased. She slowed her rapid breathing and poked Lai Yang above the knee, her tone unsympathetic. "What happened?"

Lai Yang, tears on her face, looked pitiful. "It was all because of that mistress!"

Ning Guiwan was taken aback for a moment before asking, "You fought with Ning Qinghan?"

"Who would fight with someone like her!" Lai Yang wiped her tears, sniffled, and said, "I was driving past this hospital and accidentally saw her with Quan Xiangru here, being all lovey-dovey. It just infuriated me..."

"So you rushed up to yell at her, and then she pushed you, causing you to fall and end up like this?" Ning Guiwan finished Lai Yang’s sentence, as if she had witnessed it all.

Lai Yang’s eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know... AHH!" she whispered, then cried out as the cotton swab touched her wound during disinfection. The pain turned her face ghastly pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Seeing Lai Yang in such a pitiful and frail state, Ning Guiwan felt her heart soften and wrapped her arms around her.