Beg Me to Remarry
Chapter 635 - 636: Painful Night

Chapter 635: Chapter 636: Painful Night

Xia Family villa.

Since Xia Cheng was imprisoned, the villa had been as silent as a deserted island. No, to be accurate, even if Xia Cheng had not been arrested, the villa would always feel vacant like an abandoned castle since Xia Ning was usually the only one living there.

But don’t think for a moment that Xia Ning was fond of this home. Her daily return was merely to maintain a good reputation in upper-class society and to make it seem that she and He Xing were well-matched.

If it weren’t for getting close to He Xing, Xia Ning would probably spend every night playing in internet cafes until dawn before returning home to sleep during the day.

Xia Ning was displeased all day long today. The private detective she had hired didn’t uncover anything beyond confirming Qin Nuan and Qin Xiaonian’s sibling relationship.

It could be said that Xia Ning had no advantage in this standoff, but giving up was also out of the question. She knew all too well that once she gave up, she would never have another chance with He Xing for the rest of her life.

It was late into the night, and the vast villa seemed as if occupied by Xia Ning alone. The servants had already retreated to their rooms to rest, leaving only Xia Ning sitting on the living room sofa.

In the dining room adjacent to the living room, a full table of untouched dishes sat exactly as they were when served, not a morsel disturbed.

The cook routinely prepared dinner at six o’clock, but it was unfortunate that Xia Guoxiong hadn’t come back, and the only Xia Ning there ignored the cook’s summons.

The cook had even mustered the courage to call Xia Ning a few times, but seeing Xia Ning’s increasingly displeased expression, she eventually dared not disturb Xia Ning and silently withdrew.

As a result, it was now eleven or twelve o’clock, yet Xia Ning showed no intention of eating.

According to Xia Family rules, the cook had to wait until the family had finished eating before she could have her meal and clean the kitchen before she could rest.

But exuding an aura of ’keep away,’ Xia Ning discouraged the cook from approaching her. Hunger pangs finally getting the better of her, the cook stealthily ate her dinner at nine o’clock. At this moment, peeking out from the kitchen, the cook saw Xia Ning still looking furious and decided to silently leave.

If Xia Ning wanted to eat later, the cook could simply reheat the dishes. If no one called for her by night, she planned to get up early the next morning to clean up.

Catching a glimpse of the cook’s covert action from the corner of her eye, Xia Ning fumed but ultimately said nothing. She wasn’t without the desire to vent on the cook; she simply couldn’t be bothered to deal with her, considering she had more pressing matters on hand.

Just a few minutes ago, the private detective she had hired called her and talked about Qin Nuan, but it was all trivial matters of no help to Xia Ning.

Only now did Xia Ning learn about Qin Nuan’s life: Qin Nuan and Qin Xiaonian’s parents had died early, and their relatives, seeing their helplessness, had nearly stripped them of their parental inheritance. Their lives could be described as miserable, with no parents and only each other for support.

Xia Ning had initially thought of using Qin Nuan’s other relatives to threaten her, but this approach now seemed futile.

Glancing at her phone, it was almost midnight, and Xia Guoxiong still hadn’t returned or sent any message to Xia Ning.

It had been days since she had seen her father. Sometimes they would talk on the phone, but such calls never touched on anything significant.

Yesterday, Xia Guoxiong had mentioned on the phone that he would come home tonight, so Xia Ning hadn’t gone out, waiting at home instead. Now she felt terribly uncomfortable from sitting so long.

What’s worse, she didn’t know when her father would return, or even if he would return at all.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Xia Ning hastily grabbed it, but upon glancing at the screen, her expression darkened. The call wasn’t from Xia Guoxiong, but from Qin Nuan.

Xia Ning looked out through the floor-to-ceiling window at the Xia Family garden. At night, the lamps on the courtyard walls would light up, brightening the garden enough to compare to the soft glow of moonlight from a full moon above.

Describing the winter garden as ’beautiful’ would be a stretch—it was already decent if it wasn’t unsightly.

The Xia Family garden was at least decent looking, lush with various green plants, though Xia Ning couldn’t recognize any of them.

Along the courtyard wall grew Begonia flowers, Osmanthus, Pomegranate Trees, and other varieties, nearly all of which were bare in the winter unless adorned with artificial leaves and blossoms.

These bare trees stood there as if people were motionless, clandestinely watching Xia Ning.

A chilling sensation arose, compounded by the exceptionally loud ringtone, startling Xia Ning.

Every pore in her body resisted answering Qin Nuan’s call, but there was no choice, and she could only accept it. Ignoring the call would lead to consequences she couldn’t bear.

"Hello, Qin Nuan, what matter do you have with me?" Xia Ning’s voice was filled with impatience, yet she couldn’t conceal the fear lurking in her eyes.

Qin Nuan’s voice was as sweet as ever, but now that sweetness sounded like hell’s demons singing, "Xia Ning, I’m reminding you, Xia Cheng’s trial is approaching soon. Do you really have no intention of saving him?"

"I...," Xia Ning bit her lip hard, saying with resentment, "It’s not that I don’t want to save him. Haven’t I been trying to find a way? Can’t you wait a little longer?"

What Xia Ning truly wanted to say was she had little interest in whether Xia Cheng stayed in prison or continued to wreak havoc outside; her real fear was that Yi Lixing might turn her in, and then she would be the one to suffer.

That’s how people are: unless misfortune is at their doorstep, who can truly empathize with the pain of others? Even when disaster strikes, one would only care about themselves, so how could they possibly concern themselves with someone else?

If Xia Ning had no looming dangers behind her, she would surely hope earnestly for Xia Cheng’s safety and think of ways to help him. But there was no ’if,’ and her own welfare was always her primary concern.

"Wait?" Qin Nuan scoffed coldly, cutting to the heart of the matter, "Don’t try to fool me here. Do you think I don’t know what you’ve been up to these days? I gave you time to think of a solution, but you’ve been using a private detective to track and investigate me. Tell me, what are you trying to do?"

A shiver ran through Xia Ning, quickly spreading to her limbs, rooting her to the spot as if doused with a bucket of cold water, chilling her to the core—Qin Nuan knew everything.