Volume 1, Chapter 133: Ning Chengfeng

"I'm heading out now; it's time for my meeting with Ning Chengfeng," Mo De said, rising from the sofa and stretching. "Make sure to lock the door when you go out."

"Got it, got it," Mu Qing replied. Then, suddenly remembering something, she called out to Mo De as he walked toward the exit: "Wait, wait!"

"What is it? Do you need me to pick something up for you?" Mo De asked, glancing back as he put on his coat.

"Catch," Mu Qing said. She jumped off the bed barefoot, ran to the entryway, fished a room key out of the pocket of her hanging coat, and tossed it to him.

"What is this?" Mo De caught the key, staring in confusion at Mu Qing, who was already padding back to the bed with a soft "thump-thump-thump." He had no idea what she was playing at.

"That's the key to the room next door," Mu Qing said, curling back up on the bed with the giant bear plushie and turning on the TV. She gestured with her right hand toward the adjacent room.

"Why give it to me?" Who else would be in the next room but Mu Qing’s own quarters?

"Didn't you agree to help me tidy up my room?" Miss Mu had mastered the art of leveraging favors for her own gain perfectly.

"We'll talk about it tonight," Mo De sighed, sliding the key into his pocket. "If you gave me your card, what will you do when you want to go back to your room?"

"There are always two copies of the room key," Mu Qing replied casually, only to clap a hand over her mouth the moment the words slipped out.

Oh no, she’d given herself away.

"Oh? Two copies? Care to explain that to me?" Mo De turned back, staring with a wry smile at Mu Qing, who was now feigning ignorance and whistling on the bed.

"It's time, it's time! Hurry off to find little Ning, don't keep him waiting!" Slipping off the bed, she grabbed Mo De by the shoulders and pushed him toward the door. "A good boy must never be late, you know!"

Mo De rolled his eyes at her; he already knew what she was up to. Every room in the guest apartment came with two key cards—a primary and a backup. Mu Qing must have quietly abused her authority to swipe her spare. No wonder the receptionist had given him such a strange look when handing over his own key!

"I'll settle the score with you later!" He didn't have time to argue now. After putting on his shoes, he opened the door and headed toward the agreed-upon meeting spot.

After seeing Mo De off, Mu Qing poked her tongue out at his retreating back through the closed door. It was just a key card, right? Now that they had swapped, they were even.

***

Back in bed, Mu Qing burrowed under the covers and arranged the giant bear plushie neatly beside her. Patting the bear on the head, she yawned and murmured, "Good afternoon." Without even taking off her sunglasses, she drifted into a deep sleep.

Eat well, sleep well, and wake up ready to stir up more trouble!

In Mo De’s room, upon the wide bed, the woman in sunglasses lay in quiet slumber, accompanied by her large, furry bear pillow. The bear lay still beside her, like a knight guarding a sleeping princess.

In the peaceful stillness, the bear's eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, waiting for the princess to truly fall asleep so the demon could wake once more.

Kicking off the quilt, Mu Qing remained fast asleep, yet her body began to stir restlessly. Her slender fingers groped the air like a spirit snake searching for prey, and upon touching the bear, she dragged it back into her arms.

Then followed the routine: the chokehold, the grappling. Fortunately, Mo De had spared no expense when buying it, choosing a top-quality plushie that could barely withstand the ruthless thrashing of a sleeping Mu Qing.

The bear’s furry head remained pointed at the ceiling, though its neck was gripped tight in Mu Qing's embrace. The expression on the bear's face was squeezed into a distorted grimace, as if mourning the tragic life of a stuffed animal...

***

Mo De arrived at the meeting spot just in time to see a figure already sitting at a small round table.

"Sorry, I'm late." He pulled out a chair and sat down, addressing Ning Chengfeng across the table.

"I just arrived early," Ning Chengfeng replied with a smile. His chubby build combined with his gentle expression made him look incredibly endearing.

Mo De felt a bit more at ease. It seemed this younger brother of the Ning family was quite different from his sister—the kind of person one could actually communicate with.

"Excuse me! I’d like to order." Before starting the conversation, Mo De ordered two drinks and pushed one toward Ning Chengfeng.

"I asked to meet with you, Ning, mainly because I wanted to ask about your sister..." Mo De took a sip of his coffee, cleared his throat, and officially opened the discussion.

"You're wondering why my sister is targeting you, right?" Ning Chengfeng gave a bitter smile. "To be honest, you’re basically suffering collateral damage. You’ve been completely caught up in my sister's affairs."

As he sipped his milk tea, Ning Chengfeng recounted for the victim, Comrade Mo, the past experiences of his sister, Ning Muyu, and the circumstances surrounding her premature awakening.

***

The sweetness of the present was bitter with the memories of the past.

As a child, Ning Chengfeng didn't understand why his sister had suddenly changed into a different person. He could only follow silently by the side of an increasingly isolated Ning Muyu, watching as she wielded that radical, sharp-edged temperament, leaving both herself and those around her bleeding and scarred.

By the time he reached middle school, Ning Chengfeng had grown strong enough to gradually pull Ning Muyu back, returning her to the realm of a normal girl—or at least making her appear less like an iconoclast, no longer labeled a "monster" by classmates and teachers alike.

Ning Chengfeng could stop Ning Muyu when she fell into a state of radical rage, but he could never fully cure the root cause.

It was a sickness of the heart.

Her stubborn, set-in-stone way of thinking meant that once she decided on something, no amount of persuasion could change her mind, and her extremely volatile temperament often led her to commit excessive acts.

What were the consequences? What was restraint? What was compromise? Once the fire in her heart began to burn, Ning Muyu would abandon everything, gradually consumed by her own extremism.

To Ning Chengfeng, his sister seemed much more stable when she was infatuated, which was why he turned a blind eye to her string of "scumbag" boyfriends, silently keeping watch only to ensure she wasn't being swindled out of her money or dignity.

Ning Muyu was well aware of her own bizarre state and had tried various methods of self-control, but every attempt ended in failure.

Whenever the rage subsided, seeing Ning Chengfeng—battered and bruised—hugging her and gently asking, "Have you calmed down?" would drag Ning Muyu into an abyss of fear, regret, and lingering terror.

She became increasingly fragile, increasingly irritable, and increasingly extreme.

Like a hysterical beast trapped at a dead end.

It felt as though no matter how she struggled, she could not escape her fated destiny.

"This is her illness, but it will never be her destiny," Ning Chengfeng said, setting down his teacup. His tone was calm, yet undeniably firm.