Chapter 322 - I Don’t Have a Niece!
During dismissal time, Tao arrived at the Institute to pick Wen Xinya up in the afternoon. After being told that her grandfather wanted her to be home for dinner tonight, she had no choice but to call Si Yiyan and inform him that she wouldn’t be able to make it tonight.
Upon returning to the Wen Family home, Wen Xinya discovered that there was no one at home. She reckoned that her grandmother must have gone out for mahjong while her grandfather was probably in the study. Not wishing to disturb him, she decided to return to her own room and do some revision and assignments.
After doing so for a while, Wen Xinya picked up the jewelry design sketches left behind by the Zhou Family ancestors and perused them carefully. Having studied jewelry design before, it was rather easy for her to pick the skills up.
Mrs. Wang informed her to go downstairs for dinner at half-past six.
Wen Xinya packed up before making her way to the living room. As soon as she stepped foot inside, she caught sight of Wen Haowen and Ning Shuqian sitting by the dining table and speaking to Old Mr. Wen.
Wen Xinya put on a smile and walked towards them. “Father, Aunt Ning, you guys are back!”
Ning Shuqian stared at her with an inexplicable expression.
“Aunt Ning, is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like this?” Wen Xinya asked, having noticed every change in Ning Shuqian’s expressions. Turns out I made the right guess. Ning Shuqian had indeed instigated Shen Mengting to look me up in school. Shen Mengting must have been able to escape the security guards with the help of Xia Ruya who’s a committee member of the Student Union.
Ning Shuqian’s heart skipped a beat and she was overwhelmed with an ominous feeling. She answered, “Nothing much, I just felt that you’ve changed a lot throughout the long period of time that we didn’t see each other. Hence, I couldn’t help myself and took a few more glances at you.”
Ning Shuwian had contacted Shen Mengting after hearing that she had been released from rehab. Upon discovering that the latter seemed to have become deranged, she decided to provoke her and coerce her into harming Wen Xinya by badmouthing Wen Xinya, in a bid to get Shen Mengting riled up.
Just like she had expected, she received a call earlier today from Xia Ruya who informed her that Shen Mengting had gone to the Institute to look for Wen Xinya. Ning Shuqian was well aware of how greatly Shen Mengting resented Wen Xinya and thus, she thought that Shen Mengting would definitely rip Wen Xinya into shreds even if she did not kill her. Hence, she was extremely astonished to see that Wen Xinya was unscathed.
Wen Xinya nodded and pretended to be enlightened. She exclaimed, “Ah, I see! Aunt Ning, I read an article on the newspapers previously and it seems that Shen Mengting is your niece.”
Ning Shuqian’s face stiffened and could no longer maintain her composure. However, she tried to conceal her displeasure with all her might and forced a smile. “Xinya, don’t spout any nonsense. I’m my mother’s only child. How could I possibly have a niece? I don’t have a niece!” She then turned to look at Wen Haowen with a look of melancholy.
Simmering with anger, a sullen expression formed on Wen Haowen’s face and he glared at Wen Xinya menacingly. He rebuked. “Children shouldn’t be spouting nonsense. Don’t you understand that you shouldn’t be making any false accusations?”
Greatly taken aback, Wen Xinya shivered and explained fearfully, “I… I just happened to run into Shen Mengting in school today and she even brought a knife in with her secretly. She almost injured me. Fortunately, I kept my guard up after noticing that she seemed to be mentally unsound. Otherwise, I would have died.”
Ning Shuqian’s face grew increasingly sullen. She did not expect that Wen Xinya would reveal the incident to the rest of the Wen Family and put her in a spot.
Given that the matter about Ning Shuqian rendering aid to Shen Mengting and the latter’s mother had already been reported on the news, there was no way she could deny being associated with them. Old Mr. Wen would definitely put the blame on her.
Old Mr. Wen grew flustered and asked worriedly, “Xinya, is that true? Did she injure you?”
Wen Xinya frantically shook her head and answered, “Grandpa, I’m alright. I’ve learned combat defense skills before. Shen Mengting is not my match. Don’t worry.”
Still feeling rather worried, Old Mr. Wen said, “Hasn’t Shen Mengting already been expelled from your school? How did she manage to sneak in? How could the security guards be so careless as to let her into the school compound? Not to mention, she even had a weapon with her. This can’t do. I must call the Dean of Lan Feng Institute later and reflect this to him.”
Wen Xinya shook her head again and said, “I don’t know how she managed to sneak in. I happened to be taking a stroll in a quiet spot where humans were scarce. Well, I enjoy peace and tranquility. Yet, she actually knew that I was there.”
Intrigued by Wen Xinya’s words, Old Mr. Wen went into deep thought. He felt that there couldn’t possibly be such a coincidence and that it must have been a deliberate arrangement. An austere expression formed on his face and he exclaimed, “That Shen Mengting is really wicked. I’m going to call the police and teach her a lesson!”
Wen Xinya hurriedly stopped him and said, “Grandpa, don’t do that! Shen Mengting was just released from drug rehab and seems rather pitiful. Since she’s acquainted with Aunt Ning, I think Aunt Ning should render her some help. After all, we were once classmates. I don’t wish to see her in such a sorry plight, either.”
Upon hearing Wen Xinya’s words, Ning Shuqian hurriedly explained, “Xinya, what are you talking about? There’s nothing much between me and Shen Mengting. I only helped her previously on the account that her mother and I were friends.”
Staring at Ning Shuqian in bewilderment, Wen Xinya asked, “Aunt Ning, does that mean that you don’t plan to help her anymore from now on?”
Seeing that Wen Haowen was present as well, Ning Shuqian nodded firmly and said, “That goes without saying. I’ve already done my best to help her previously.”
Wen Xinya exclaimed coldly, “Aunt Ning, how could you be so unkind and unsympathetic!?! After all, Shen Mengting’s mother used to be a close friend of yours. Now that she has sunk into depression and her daughter has been led astray, how could you leave them in the lurch? Since you’ve decided to help them, you should go all the way. Aren’t you driving them to desperation by giving them hope and crushing them again?”
Old Mr. Wen did not give any comment about Wen Xinya’s words. However, he clearly agreed with Wen Xinya’s stand about helping others all the way. Now that the matter had already been exposed by the media, others would simply take it that Ning Shuqian was still in contact with her old flame if she were to stop helping them all of a sudden.
Appearing awkward and embarrassed, Ning Shuqian was at a loss for words. She was indignant and exasperated to have received a lecture from Wen Xinya whom she could not stand.
Although Wen Haowen had chosen to forgive Ning Shuqian and forgo the incident, he still felt frustrated and displeased after being reminded of it again. He chided. “You insensible child, don’t jump to conclusions and spout such nonsense. Your Aunt Ning was just helping them out of kindness and goodwill. She’s not obligated to help them in the first place. How can you say that she’s being unsympathetic? Besides, Shen Mengting used the money that your Aunt Ning gave her to buy drugs and got herself addicted to them. People like her don’t deserve to be helped at all.”
Wen Xinya’s eyes widened in shock and said, “But Yuya and Shen Mengting are still cousins, after all. They’re related by blood. Even if Aunt Ning doesn’t wish to, she should still help Shen Mengting on the account that she’s Yuya’s cousin.”