Chapter Fifteen: He Mingyuan Comes Seeking Reconciliation

The two of them had just been talking at the dormitory entrance, and many people had seen them.

“Ning Lebao and her brother have such a good relationship. I wish I had a brother too.”

“Come on, not every sibling pair gets along like that. My brother and I fight all the time.”

“You don’t even need to look at others—just look at Ning Huaizhi and Ning Pengyi. They’re blood-related siblings, yet they get along like enemies.”

“By the way, do you believe Ning Huaizhi or Ning Lebao?”

“If you mean the things on the forum, I can only tell you I don’t believe them either. The grudges in wealthy families are complicated, especially since these two were switched at birth. It’s best to stay neutral and not take sides. Their world has nothing to do with us ordinary people.”

...

Maybe because of her earlier warning, Ning Lebao hadn’t bothered her recently. Aside from seeing her in the dorm when sleeping, they barely interacted otherwise, which pleased Ning Huaizhi greatly.

She didn’t have much time to pay attention to Ning Lebao anymore.

With her finances a bit tight, besides attending classes, Ning Huaizhi worked part-time in the cafeteria and the library.

The school’s work-study program included other jobs too, like cleaning, but Ning Huaizhi preferred these two.

Working in the cafeteria solved her lunch and dinner without extra expense, and organizing books in the library gave her some leisure to read and enrich herself.

Although life was tiring, Ning Huaizhi was quite content.

Still, the amount she could save was minimal.

She felt troubled.

This endless cycle of part-time jobs was not what she wanted.

She wanted to do something else; continuing like this wouldn’t work.

The door opened, and Zhou Jiajia returned just then.

Zhou Jiajia came from a poor family and also needed to work part-time.

Since Ning Huaizhi worked on campus, Zhou Jiajia preferred seeking jobs off campus.

Off-campus wages were generally higher but more expensive to get to.

Usually, Zhou Jiajia returned looking drained from work, but today she seemed excited.

“Huaizhi, I found a great job. You’ve been thinking about finding a new one, right? Why don’t you come with me to check it out?”

“What kind of job?”

Seeing Zhou Jiajia so enthusiastic, Ning Huaizhi grew curious.

“There’s a golf course in the suburbs that just opened this summer. They’re hiring caddies now. Besides the base salary, we can earn tips. The monthly pay is quite decent—much better than what we have now. What do you think? Want to give it a try?”

Caddies?

The job sounded good, but...

“The requirements for caddies aren’t low. We’re just part-timers; the chances of being selected are slim.”

“Oh, come on, just try. Tomorrow’s the weekend anyway. Let’s take a day off to go see. If it works out, we get a new job; if not, it’s just a day out. Staying cooped up in school all day—I’m afraid you’ll get bored to death.”

“And I really want to see it, but I’m scared to go alone. Huaizhi, just come with me.”

Zhou Jiajia persisted, and Ning Huaizhi, unable to refuse, nodded.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Zhou Jiajia immediately cheered, “Yay! I knew you were the best, Huaizhi!”

The countryside was an hour and a half away by bus, so to avoid oversleeping, they went to bed early.

Early the next morning, Zhou Jiajia got up and picked out clothes from the wardrobe.

“Huaizhi, how do you think I look in this?”

Ning Huaizhi glanced and nodded, “It’s nice, it suits your style.”

“Great, then I’ll wear this.”

Ning Huaizhi selected a light blue tracksuit and put on a cream-colored sun hat.

They headed out of the dorm.

When they reached downstairs, Ning Huaizhi stopped, and her smile faded.

“Huaizhi, what’s wrong?” Zhou Jiajia asked quickly, puzzled by her sudden halt.

He Mingyuan, waiting outside, heard the noise and hurried over.

“Huaizhi.”

His deliberately affectionate expression made Ning Huaizhi feel disgusted.

She immediately turned to leave but hadn’t gone two steps before He Mingyuan grabbed her hand.

“Let go,” Ning Huaizhi frowned.

Since this was at the dorm entrance, she didn’t want to make a scene.

“Huaizhi, don’t go. I just want to talk to you properly. Promise me, and I’ll let go.”

Zhou Jiajia approached anxiously. “Huaizhi, are you okay? Who is he?”

Ning Huaizhi sneered. “My ex-boyfriend.”

That seemed to affect He Mingyuan; his expression changed, and his voice grew pleading.

“Huaizhi, don’t be like this. What happened before was my fault. I know I was wrong. I’ll treat you better from now on. Can you give me one more chance? Just one, for the sake of growing up together.”

“He Mingyuan, when you hurt me before, didn’t you think about the fact we grew up together? Did we suddenly grow up together? Now you use that to morally blackmail me? I don’t want to say more. I broke up with you to give you some face and avoid making things ugly, but if you keep coming to disgust me, don’t blame me.”

“Huaizhi, I really know I was wrong. Please forgive me once.”

He Mingyuan moved closer, took her hand, and tried to press it against his face.

Ning Huaizhi nearly vomited from disgust.

Unable to hold back, she slapped him sharply.

The crisp sound drew many eyes.

He Mingyuan stood frozen, disbelief on his face.

Ning Huaizhi had never treated him like this before. How could she...

“He Mingyuan, I’ll say this one last time. We’re broken up. Stop looking for me. As for getting back together? Don’t even think about it.”

Leaving those words behind, Ning Huaizhi grabbed Zhou Jiajia’s arm and quickly left the scene.

He Mingyuan stood there, stiff, then turned away.

When he looked back, all he could see was Ning Huaizhi’s retreating figure.

He clenched his fists, then exhaled and relaxed his hands.

He went somewhere alone, took out his phone, and made a call.

“Lebao, Ning Huaizhi won’t accept my apology and even slapped me. My face really hurts now.”

“Loser, you can’t even handle this small matter. I don’t care how you do it, but you must win Ning Huaizhi’s heart back.”