Stolen by the First Love - Chapter 74

That fleeting thought surged again, electric and sudden, sparking like a flash of light. Ning Qingwan swallowed hard and lifted her gaze, meeting those clear almond-shaped eyes. She froze.

The thick fog dissipated, the iceberg melted, it was a lake in spring, shimmering with sunlight, warm and brimming with affection.

It was a familiar expression, a familiar gaze.

Was it the girl she loved.

Meng Xia bit her lip and tentatively reached out. She didn’t dare touch Ning Qingwan’s left hand, only grasping her right hand to steady herself. Her eyes lingered on Ning Qingwan’s left arm. “Other than here, where else are you hurt? Does it hurt? How did the accident happen?”

Ah, it was her beloved girl.

Ning Qingwan’s lips parted, but it was as if her throat had been strangled, no sound came out. The heartbeat resonating from her chest declared with every thump that she had come back to life.

She was back.

From her palms to her fingertips, everything trembled. Ning Qingwan shivered as she wrapped her arms around the girl’s body, holding her tighter and tighter, as if trying to press her into her own flesh, to merge her into her bones and blood.

Even in such an embrace, Ning Qingwan carefully avoided the injuries on her back. Meng Xia’s eyes shimmered with tenderness, her voice trembling yet soothing enough to calm the soul.

“Jiejie, I’m back.”

Meng Xia gently patted Ning Qingwan’s back in reassurance. It had only been a few days, yet Ning Qingwan had visibly lost weight. Meng Xia’s heart ached unbearably, her voice choked with emotion. “You haven’t been eating properly, have you? You’ve gotten so thin. If I’m not around, you just won’t take care of your, mmph.”

The rest of her words were swallowed between their lips.

Caught off guard, Meng Xia’s eyes widened in surprise, her lashes fluttering twice before slowly lowering.

Ning Qingwan was cautious, as if afraid she might disappear again, savoring her warmth and scent with utmost tenderness and longing.

Amidst the fresh, cool minty fragrance, Meng Xia faintly tasted a hint of saltiness.

The frantic rhythm of her heartbeat gradually slowed, growing heavy and deliberate, each pulse laced with a twinge of pain.

“Jiejie, don’t cry.”

This was the first time Meng Xia had seen Ning Qingwan like this. She wiped the tears from the corners of Ning Qingwan’s eyes with her fingertips. Those peach-blossom eyes, still glistening with unshed tears, burned her heart with their saltiness.

Even now, Ning Qingwan hadn’t responded to her.

Ning Qingwan pressed her hand down, turning her face away awkwardly. Meng Xia hooked her thumb playfully and gave it a light shake, her voice soft and coquettish. “Jiejie, you’re ignoring me.”

Meng Xia tilted her face up to look at her, deliberately brushing her fingertips against Ning Qingwan’s palm. Ning Qingwan’s thick, long lashes fluttered slightly at the teasing touch.

Ning Qingwan clasped her restless hand and turned to gaze at her. Their eyes met as she murmured softly, “Jumping over like that, didn’t the wound on your back hurt?”

As she spoke, she helped Meng Xia sit back on the bed, propping a pillow behind her and carefully tucking the blanket around her.

Meng Xia blinked, belatedly furrowing her brows. “It did. The jolt hurt so much, but I was too focused on you to notice.”

“Silly girl, next time you can’t!” Her words abruptly halted. Her eyes dimmed slightly as she whispered, “There won’t be a next time.”

A warm current flowed through her heart, and Meng Xia curved the corners of her lips, her eyes brimming with amusement as she looked at her. Yet, the dense self-reproach in those words sent a tremor through her heart. In an instant, she caught sight of the unguarded pain and sorrow in Ning Qingwan’s eyes before they could be concealed.

Meng Xia teased lightly, without a trace of change in her expression, “If there’s a next time, sister might turn into a little crybaby too.”

Ning Qingwan remained silent, her deep gaze fixed on Meng Xia, instantly extinguishing the latter’s bravado like a deflated balloon.

Meng Xia quickly admitted her mistake, “I was wrong, sister isn’t a little crybaby.” Seeing Ning Qingwan’s expression darken further at the mention of “little crybaby,” she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Who’s the little crybaby? Hmm?” Ning Qingwan, both embarrassed and annoyed, reached out to caress the back of Meng Xia’s neck, teasingly kneading her small, fair earlobes.

The deliberate yet subtle touches on her sensitive spots made Meng Xia shiver uncontrollably. She lifted her glistening eyes, meeting Ning Qingwan’s gaze, and pleaded, “It’s me, it’s me.”

The hand that had teased her into trembling withdrew, and Ning Qingwan’s expression was no longer as grave as before. Meng Xia steadied her breathing, and her heart gradually calmed.

The two ceased their playful banter, and Ning Qingwan sat on the edge of her bed, recounting the events of the past two days.

Learning that Ning Qingwan’s injuries were from shielding Xia Nianzhi in a car accident, Meng Xia felt both gratitude and heartache. “I don’t want anything to happen to Mom, but I don’t want anything to happen to you either,” she said, looking at Ning Qingwan’s left hand wrapped in bandages. “What would I do if something happened to you?”

Ning Qingwan leaned her forehead against Meng Xia’s and sighed softly, “When I found out you’d been taken, I thought the same. When I couldn’t find you, I thought the same too.” Her voice strained as she continued, “I didn’t know what you were going through, and I was powerless, forced to wait. Every minute was agony. I never want to feel that way again…”

“I truly wish no harm would come to you. Let all the pain fall on me instead.”

Meng Xia’s heart twisted into knots. She suddenly understood the meaning behind Ning Qingwan’s words, “no next time” and the depth of her self-reproach.

“Sister, it’s not your fault. Life is unpredictable. You’re not some immortal who can foresee everything.” Meng Xia affectionately nuzzled her nose against Ning Qingwan’s and lifted the necklace around her neck with one hand. “If not for this, they might not have arrived so soon, and I might have really.”

Ning Qingwan leaned in abruptly, sealing her lips and swallowing her words. The kiss carried a hint of punishment, more forceful than before, sucking so fiercely that Meng Xia’s tongue went numb.

“Don’t say such things.”

Blushing, Meng Xia nodded, her eyes clear and shimmering, her demeanor pure, obedient, and alluring. Ning Qingwan’s thoughts wandered, distracted. She picked up an apple from the table to divert her attention.

“Let me peel it,” Meng Xia offered, assuming she wanted to eat it.

Ning Qingwan set up the small table, and Meng Xia leaned over it, peeling the apple. Watching her, Ning Qingwan suddenly felt a peculiar sensation.

“Every time we’re alone like this, it feels like an old married couple going about their day.”

Meng Xia chuckled. “Can’t it be a young married couple instead?”

Ning Qingwan’s eyes curved into crescents as she affectionately pecked her cheek. “Then when will you marry me?”

The apple peel snapped, landing damp and cool in her hand. Meng Xia pouted, “Now I can’t peel it in one go.”

Ning Qingwan picked up another apple and handed it to her, “Then peel another one. You still haven’t answered my question.”

Meng Xia glanced at the apple being offered and felt both exasperated and amused, “Sister, are you proposing? So unromantic. Can I refuse?”

Ning Qingwan responded with a threatening look, but Meng Xia just giggled and cut a piece of apple to feed her.

“Too late,” Ning Qingwan said after chewing the apple slowly, teasing, “Your mother is already setting the date with me.”

?! Meng Xia’s eyes widened in disbelief. But recalling how Xia Nianzhi’s life had been saved by Ning Qingwan and how drastically her attitude had changed, it didn’t seem impossible.

Suddenly, she remembered the gift she had prepared for Ning Qingwan’s birthday, the one she had worked on all afternoon before being kidnapped. It must have fallen to the ground when she fainted. She wondered if someone had picked it up. She’d probably have to prepare another gift.

“What are you thinking about?” Ning Qingwan asked softly, noticing her distant gaze.

Meng Xia snapped out of her thoughts and carefully asked, “When the people my brother sent found the underground parking lot, did they pick up a box?”

Ning Qingwan lowered her lashes slightly, keeping her expression neutral. “Probably given to your mom. You can ask her tonight?”

Huh? Meng Xia blinked. “Sister, you haven’t seen it?”

Ning Qingwan replied calmly, “No.”

So it had been found, and Ning Qingwan hadn’t seen it! Meng Xia’s eyes sparkled with delight, failing to notice the faint curve at the corner of Ning Qingwan’s lips.

Ning Qingwan pinched her cheek playfully. “The apple peel broke again. Want to peel another one?”

Meng Xia sighed. “Who’s going to eat all these peeled apples?”

Ning Qingwan answered matter-of-factly, “For Mom.”

Meng Xia paused, then laughed. “Sister, you just called her ‘Auntie’ earlier. Now ‘Mom’ rolls off your tongue so easily.”

Ning Qingwan smirked and countered lightly, “You call ‘Brother’ pretty smoothly too.”

“……” Meng Xia decided to change the subject. “With your hand injured, will the final concert be postponed?”

The date of THE ONE’s last concert happened to be Ning Qingwan’s birthday.

“No. A statement’s already been made.”

Hearing this, Meng Xia fumbled for her phone and checked Weibo. Ning Qingwan, who rarely updated her account, had been unusually active these past two months explaining the car accident and posting behind-the-scenes photos from Fortunate to Meet You, most of which were of Meng Xia.

“When did you take these?” Meng Xia asked.

“When you weren’t paying attention,” Ning Qingwan replied.

Their casual chatter made time fly.

At six in the evening, Xia Nianzhi arrived at the hospital carrying two thermal pots. Meng Xia watched in astonishment as Ning Qingwan and Xia Nianzhi interacted more like mother and daughter than she and her own mother did.

One of the pots was specially for Ning Qingwan even the bone broth in her bowl had more meat than Meng Xia’s. She couldn’t help but believe that Xia Nianzhi might have really started discussing wedding dates with Ning Qingwan.

As Meng Xia and Ning Qingwan sat across from each other, eating and drinking the soup, Xia Nianzhi watched them fondly and smiled. “I knew you couldn’t keep up the act. Before, you always stuck with me during meals and avoided Wanwan. I thought you two were fighting.”

Back then, it had been the original host in this body. Meng Xia chuckled awkwardly to brush it off and glanced at Ning Qingwan.

Her head slightly bowed, long hair casually tied up with a stray strand slipping down her forehead, Ning Qingwan drank her soup quietly and unhurriedly, as if she were filming a cozy home advertisement, the scene was warm and beautiful.

Noticing her gaze, Ning Qingwan lifted her eyes and met them.

Meng Xia had originally wanted to ask how Ning Qingwan had recognized whether it was her or the female lead inside the body. But the moment their eyes locked, she felt there was no need to ask.

After finishing the soup, Ning Qingwan accompanied Xia Nianzhi to wash the thermos. When they returned to the ward, only Xia Nianzhi came back alone.

“Where’s sister?” Meng Xia craned her neck to look around but didn’t see Ning Qingwan.

Xia Nianzhi explained, “She said to let us spend more time together and went back to the ward first.”

“Oh…”

Seeing Meng Xia unable to hide her disappointment, Xia Nianzhi snorted and teased her, “Got a partner and forgot about your mom.”

“No, no.” Meng Xia quickly soothed her.

Before Xia Nianzhi left, Meng Xia asked about the box. Xia Nianzhi took out a red velvet box from her pocket. “This one?”

Meng Xia took the box and opened it. Inside were two rings she had made herself, engraved with their English names. She let out a sigh of relief and pressed the rings to her chest.

Remembering how Xia Nianzhi had just pulled it straight from her pocket, Meng Xia asked curiously, “Mom, have you been carrying this with you all along?”

Xia Nianzhi turned her back to her while packing her bag and replied, “It’s always been in this pocket. Coincidentally, I wore this coat today.”

Meng Xia didn’t question it further.

The following days were spent in the hospital. She and Ning Qingwan moved into the same ward, taking advantage of their recovery to enjoy a leisurely and comfortable life.

Until their discharge, Xia Nianzhi unfailingly brought two servings of bone soup every day.

Both of them visibly plumped up, to the point where Ning Qingwan began worrying that she wouldn’t fit into her concert dress. Fortunately, they weren’t hospitalized for too long before being discharged.

In those short ten-plus days, quite a few things happened.

Shengshi Group removed Ji Tong from its ranks, pinning all the previously uncovered brothels and drug trafficking operations on him. At first, some netizens thought Ji Tong was just a scapegoat.

Until a forum post surfaced, its authenticity uncertain, yet presented with such conviction.

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