Chapter 68: Chicken Soup's Here!

***

The discharge paperwork went through fast. After two days of being tormented by Jiang Xiyue in the hospital, this was the first time she ever felt like the scorching hot weather outside was actually welcoming.

"Get in, I'll drive you home."

Looking at Nan Zha in the driver's seat, ever since she had figured out Nan Zha's true nature, she found herself liking her more and more.

Clearly wanting to get along with her, yet still putting on that stubborn front, all awkward and stiff about it. So adorable.

"Sure! Thanks, Sister Nan~"

She answered cheerfully, Bai Ning settling into the passenger seat with a bright, beaming smile on her face.

Looking at Bai Ning's radiant smile, Nan Zha spaced out for a second. That pouty, spoiled tone and that smile of hers, the damage was just a little too high for her to handle.

She reached over and buckled Bai Ning's seatbelt for her, then started the car and headed off toward Bai Ning's place.

Even though her status as the female lead made her prone to getting into accidents, the ride home went smoothly this time. After saying goodbye to Nan Zha, Bai Ning finally made it back to her own home.

But the moment she pushed the door open, a loud, carefree voice bursting with excitement rang out.

"Young Lady!"

Aunt Li, broom in hand, came trotting over toward Bai Ning with a face full of excitement.

"You're all better now? I was worried sick about you!"

She ran right up to Bai Ning and started looking her up and down, talking nonstop in her excitement.

After hearing that something had happened to Bai Ning, she had rushed right over without a moment's delay. She had originally wanted to stay at the hospital and keep watch over Bai Ning the whole time, but Bai Ning told her it was fine to just take care of the house.

At first she hadn't wanted to go along with that at all. After all, she had watched Bai Ning grow up, she had long since treated her like family. How could she just leave?

But when she saw Bai Ning awkwardly hinting at it, and noticed Nan Zha and the others standing guard nearby, she finally understood what Bai Ning meant.

For Aunt Li, who was an avid short drama fan, one look at this kind of setup and she knew exactly what was going on.

So as not to get in the way of the domineering CEO and her little darling building their relationship, Aunt Li just came by every day to drop off food, chatted with Bai Ning for a bit, then snuck a peek at Bai Ning and Nan Zha's interactions from outside the door with a big "proud auntie" smile before heading home.

It had to be said, just like in the short dramas, the domineering CEO and her little darling had started out not being all that close, but after going through a crisis together, their feelings shot up at rocket speed. She had just seen Bai Ning saying goodbye to Nan Zha with a big happy smile on her face.

Short dramas never lie!

Aunt Li was now riding a wave of both happiness over Bai Ning's successful discharge, and a kind of thrilled excitement at seeing what she had always watched on screen actually play out in real life.

"You must be hungry. I made some chicken soup, I was planning to bring it over tonight, but it should be ready by now. Come have some, build up your strength."

The more Aunt Li thought about it, the happier she got. She got Bai Ning settled on the sofa, then hustled off into the kitchen with a spring in her step.

"Why is Aunt Li so happy?"

Watching Aunt Li, whose joy was practically written all over her face, Bai Ning was a little puzzled. She turned it over in her head but couldn't figure it out, so she chalked it up to just being happy about seeing her discharged.

It had to be said, even though every place she had stayed at recently hadn't been bad by any means, there was still nothing quite like being home. Leaning back on the sofa, she felt completely at ease. She had barely been lying there for a moment when she could already feel herself starting to drift off.

"Hahaha, chicken soup's here~!"

Somewhere between awake and asleep, Aunt Li's laughter and voice pulled her back to consciousness a little.

"Young Lady, drink your soup before you sleep, alright?"

Forcing herself to sit up, Bai Ning stretched and slowly made her way over to the dining table, step by step.

The chicken soup had been set on the table. The golden surface of the broth glistened with chicken fat that had congealed into translucent little pools, with goji berries floating inside, and Bai Ning even spotted what looked like quite a few ginseng whiskers, all of it steaming with rich, thick heat rising off the top.

The corner of her mouth twitched a little. This thing looked seriously way too nourishing.

"Have some while it's hot. I won't bother you, I'll go sweep the floor."

Watching Bai Ning sit down and start on the soup, Aunt Li smiled warmly, picked up her broom, and headed off to the side.

Maybe it was because she was finally home and in good spirits, but Bai Ning found her appetite wide open. She worked her way through a big bowl of soup, polishing off about 70 to 80 percent of it, and left just a little behind, all of it leaving her in a full sweat.

She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. Her whole body felt warm now. She had been wanting to sleep before she started drinking it, but now she wasn't sleepy anymore.

Since she couldn't sleep anyway, Bai Ning just sat on the sofa and started flipping through the TV.

She was just browsing casually at first, but then she froze when she caught a segment on the evening financial news.

The female anchor on screen read out the breaking news in a crisp, clear voice: "Assets under the name of Nan Ziyue, second daughter of the Nan Group, were frozen by court order this morning. It is reported that she is suspected of stock price manipulation, commercial fraud, and several other..."

The screen was showing footage of Nan Ziyue being swarmed by reporters. The once-impeccably-groomed young heiress had disheveled hair and coffee stains on her expensive suit, scrambling to shield herself from the cameras with her handbag.

"In the latest update, evidence of Miss Nan Ziyue's illicit dealings with overseas capital has been submitted to the regulatory authorities..."

Mouth slightly agape, Bai Ning stared blankly at the news playing in front of her, not quite processing what she was seeing. She hadn't even made a move yet, and Nan Ziyue was already done for?

Was this Nan Zha's doing?!

Snapping back to her senses, Bai Ning quickly called Nan Zha. The moment the call connected, Bai Ning said excitedly:

"Nan Zha, did you see the news? That was you, wasn't it? Nan Ziyue is finished!"

Sure, it was a little disappointing that she hadn't gotten to do it herself, but seeing Nan Ziyue go down still made her happy.

"No, it wasn't me."

But Nan Zha's words made Bai Ning go completely blank.

"I did have some evidence, but it wasn't enough to bring down the Nan Group. My plan was to move on this a few days from now." Nan Zha's voice was full of confusion too, she had been just as shocked when she saw the news.

And hearing Nan Zha say it wasn't her, Bai Ning's mind immediately flashed back to the conversation she'd had with Jiang Xiyue that afternoon.

She swallowed. Bai Ning felt like she probably knew the truth now.

"The Nan Group has no shortage of enemies, but very few who could pull something off at this level. The people who know the Nan Group's secrets are usually the ones sitting on dirt of their own, unless they're completely backed into a corner with no way out, they wouldn't choose to go down swinging and take everyone with them."

Nan Zha's tone was full of bewilderment, with a trace of wariness underneath it. She felt a little regret at not being the one to do it herself, and on top of that, the methods used by whoever had acted left her feeling a bit unsettled.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Nan Ziyue going down is a good thing no matter what. Whoever did it, they're a good person in my book. Let's not overthink it."

Sensing the confusion in Nan Zha's voice, but not having the time to comfort her right now, Bai Ning gave a quick reply, made up an excuse, and hung up the phone.

Scrolling through her contacts, she only now remembered that she still didn't have Jiang Xiyue's number. All she could do was send a message on the chat app.

Lemon King: [Was the whole Nan Ziyue thing your doing?]

As if she had known Bai Ning would ask, the reply came back almost instantly.

Jiang Xiyue: [Yeah.]