Transmigrated as the Disabled Alpha Wife of the Black Moonlight and She Said She Loves Me - Chapter 18

As Ruan Nianning left, only Grandmother Huo and Huo Jianan remained at the table.

Huo Jianan sighed inwardly and paused before speaking. “Grandmother, I care deeply for my wife, but I haven’t forgotten you either.” She had always admired strong, independent women who carried the weight of their responsibilities on their shoulders, and Grandmother Huo, Xu Weiyi, was undoubtedly one of the most exceptional among them.

“You’re both my family—my wife and my grandmother—and I don’t want either of you to be harmed.”

Her tone was sincere. She genuinely wanted to help Ruan Nianning uncover the truth and rescue her from the abyss of hatred. She also deeply wished no harm would come to Grandmother Huo. Having already taken over her granddaughter’s body and identity, and enjoyed all the privileges of the Huo family, she felt indebted to this elderly woman who had lost her granddaughter without even knowing it.

“Grandmother, I truly admire you! You’re outstanding and dazzling, having built the Huo family’s business to such great success, achieving what few men could match. I know I could never do the same. That’s precisely why I respect and admire you so much.”

A crack appeared in Grandmother Huo’s icy demeanor. After a moment of surprise, she looked deeply at her granddaughter and said, “Nan Nan, I never imagined you would say such words to me one day.”

Huo Jianan’s face flushed. “I… I hadn’t thought about it either.”

“Grandmother, you have your own career—a remarkably successful one. I doubt anyone understands the significance of work better than you do. Acting is Nianning’s career too, and she’s worked tirelessly for it. Because she loves it, she perseveres, enduring setbacks, hardships, even humiliation. Such a person deserves our admiration. If we were to imprison someone so brilliant, suppress her talent, and break her wings, would she still be herself? No, I refuse to do that. If that happened, she wouldn’t be the Nianning I know and love.”

Grandmother Huo paused, her gaze unfocused for a moment, as if lost in distant memories.

After a long silence, she sighed. “Nan Nan, you’ve never spoken to me like this before. You remind me of your other grandmother.”

The other grandmother? That must be Grandmother’s Alpha companion.

“Your earnestness and determination are just like hers.” Grandmother Huo smiled warmly, gently stroking Huo Jianan’s hair and caressing her cheek with a nostalgic touch.

In those smiling eyes, Huo Jianan saw a profound regret and longing.

“Grandmother…”

“Since your wife is so eager to act, let her go. I’m getting old, and the Huo family will eventually be in your hands. You’ll be the ones in charge someday. Your mother was stubborn too, but she wasn’t good at judging people. Today, though, I believe you’ll handle this well.”

Huo Jianan paused, then smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Grandmother!”

“You thank me if I agree. What if I said no?”

“I wouldn’t hate you. I’d just keep trying and pester you until you give in.”

“You’re even more crafty than your mother.”

Huo Jianan stuck out her tongue, grinning. “Grandmother, try this dry-baked fish. It’s delicious, full of flavor. Who cares if it’s healthy? As long as it tastes good!”

“Alright, I’ll try it. We can worry about being healthy after we finish eating.”

Mission accomplished, Huo Jianan cheerfully hummed as she drove her wheelchair upstairs. With the lift, she ascended effortlessly.

The bedroom door stood half-open.

Inside, Ruan Nianning was on the phone, her voice strained with frustration. “I said I’m not going back, so why keep insisting we do… ‘return to the ancestral home’? Whose ancestral home?! My mother died over two months ago, and you were already happily remarried with a child by then! Do you still think I’m some naive child? You despicable scum!”

The man on the phone said something that further infuriated Ruan Nianning. “You still have the nerve to call me your daughter? You’re never home, and when you are, you just beat and curse me. What right do you have to be my father? Now that I’ve married into a wealthy family, you suddenly remember you have a daughter? How laughable! Do you really think there’s such a free ride in life? Don’t call me again!”

Ruan Nianning slammed down the phone and hurled it onto the bed. Her face was dark, radiating an aura that suggested she would cut down anyone in her path.

Huo Jianan didn’t dare enter. She silently wheeled her chair back into the study.

Leaning over her empty, pristine desk, Huo Jianan thought about having Housekeeper He buy her a top-of-the-line laptop tomorrow. She could use it to research online and create presentations. Then she shook her head. She wasn’t a corporate drone anymore, yet she was still thinking about analyzing data and writing reports.

Huo Jianan sighed inwardly, remembering Wolfie’s furious, murderous expression earlier. Her wife’s temper is quite ferocious, she thought. She’s been remarkably restrained toward me, her archenemy, these past few days in the hospital. She’s truly been an angel with me.

Just as Huo Jianan was lost in her wild thoughts, her phone rang, displaying “Zou” on the caller ID.

Zou? Could it be Zou Guohua? Ruan Nianning’s father?

When she answered, a middle-aged man’s voice came through, “Miss Huo, is that you?”

Huo Jianan replied in a professional tone, “Yes, it is.”

The man’s voice was ingratiating. “I’m sorry to bother you. I was wondering… is Nianning with you right now?”

“Is something wrong?” Huo Jianan asked, already knowing the answer. “Can’t you reach Nianning? Do you need me to call her?”

“No, no, that’s not it. I just wanted to ask… well, you two just got married, and according to tradition, you’re supposed to visit the bride’s family. Miss Huo, I heard you were hospitalized. Have you fully recovered?”

“Thank you. I’ve already been discharged and fully recovered.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m so relieved,” the man said, launching into a lengthy string of thanks to Grandmother Huo, Miss Huo, and the Huo Family. He finally asked, “So, Miss Huo, when would you be able to grace us with your presence for a visit? It would give me and my family time to prepare.”

In the end, it all came down to the hui men—the traditional post-marriage visit to the bride’s family.

Huo Jianan considered this. The hui men was necessary. She didn’t want people to say that the Huo Family, with their wealth and influence, were bullying Ruan Nianning’s family by refusing to perform this customary ritual.

Moreover, Ruan Nianning’s hatred for the Huo family stemmed from her mother’s death. Yet, judging by Zou Guohua’s attitude, after losing his wife, he not only harbored no resentment toward the Huo family but actively sought to curry favor with them. Huo Jianan found this puzzling. Why did the daughter and father have such diametrically opposed feelings toward the Huo family, despite their shared connection to Ruan Nianning’s mother?

Huo Jianan lowered her head in thought, suddenly realizing she might need to reach out to people on Ruan Nianning’s side of the family.

“Miss Huo, Miss Huo, are you still there?”

“…Yes, sorry about that. Let me discuss this with Nianning first, and we’ll figure out when to schedule the return visit.”

Zou Guohua’s voice suddenly rose on the other end, clearly delighted. “Wonderful! I knew you’d be reasonable, Miss Huo! Once the date is set, our entire family will eagerly await your arrival!”

After hanging up, Huo Jianan felt a sudden chill down her spine. Turning around, she saw Wolfie standing in the doorway.

With her arms crossed, Wolfie leaned casually against the doorframe, watching her with cold, piercing eyes.

Huo Jianan’s heart skipped a beat as she plastered a smile on her face. “Wife, when did you get here? Why are you just standing in the doorway? Come in!”

Ruan Nianning let out a cold snort, then sashayed forward with long, graceful strides.

“Zou Guohua wants to see you, doesn’t he?” Wolfie asked sharply, glaring at Huo Jianan. “Did you agree to it?”

“No, of course not. That’s why I’m asking you first,” Huo Jianan replied with an apologetic smile. “I wouldn’t agree to anything without your consent. But since it’s a traditional courtesy, and our Huo family has to maintain some dignity, how about this? You have plans with friends tomorrow, so we’ll go the day after. We’ll just stop by—your father’s, no, Zou Guohua’s place—and call it paying respects. That’s all.”

Huo Jianan added quickly, seeing Wolfie’s resistance, “You married me, and I don’t want anyone saying the Huo family mistreated you.”

Wolfie gritted her teeth, her face a mask of defiance.

“Wife, it’ll just be a quick visit. We’ll drop off the gifts and leave. You don’t even have to talk to Zou Guohua. I’ll handle the pleasantries.”

Wolfie reluctantly grumbled, “Fine. Drop off the gifts and leave. No more than five minutes.”

Huo Jianan smiled. “Deal. No more than five minutes.” Seeing Wolfie’s still-angry expression, she decided to share some good news. “Wife, Grandmother agreed to let you go filming.”

Ruan Nianning’s eyes lit up, her anger vanishing completely. “Really?!”

“Of course. I told you I’d make your wish come true. Wife, are you happy now? Don’t let something trivial like the return visit bother you. Focus on preparing for joining the production team.”

“Mm!” Ruan Nianning was both delighted and surprised. She wanted to go over and hug Huo Jianan, maybe even kiss her, but the impulse faded almost as soon as it arose.

Looking at Huo Jianan in the wheelchair, her gentle smile devoid of any resentment or bitterness—absent the lingering resentment and dissatisfaction so common in others—Ruan Nianning suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity. She even had the strange feeling that this wasn’t the Huo Jianan she’d known before marriage.

This Huo Jianan was gentler, more mature, and stronger.

Meeting those smiling eyes, Ruan Nianning suppressed her turbulent emotions and wheeled the chair forward. “Jianan, let’s go back to our room.”

“No rush. Let’s go downstairs.” Huo Jianan turned to look at Ruan Nianning’s puzzled expression and smiled. “I saw you didn’t eat much. I asked Housekeeper He to save some seafood congee for you. Have some. It’s not good to go hungry.”

Ruan Nianning’s heart stirred, her deepest, softest place touched. “Okay.”

*******

Huo Jianan: My wife is so fierce, but I love her so much. What’s going on?

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