When Ning Wangshu heard his sister, he immediately turned around and smiled at her. "Don't worry about them. They've already gone where they belong."
After a pause, Ning Wangshu asked, "Ruoxuan, can you tell me what happened? Why did you run when you saw me? Why won't you acknowledge me as your brother?"
"Also, who were those two people? I thought I heard them asking you to sign some kind of Letter of Understanding?"
At that, Ning Ruoxuan's eyes instantly reddened again.
Her emotions flared, and she abruptly shoved Ning Wangshu away. Tears streaming down her face, she cried, "What kind of brother are you?!"
"I'd rather not have you as my brother! If it weren't for you, how would Mom have been killed in a car accident? You should've just died out there! Why did you come back?!"
"Waaah..."
As she spoke, Ning Ruoxuan crouched on the ground, overcome with grief, and covered her face as she sobbed.
"W-what!? Mom... Mom was killed in a car accident..."
Ning Wangshu's eyes widened in disbelief. The news struck him like a bolt from the blue!
His face went deathly pale. He staggered backward several steps, unable to accept what his sister had told him.
A long while passed.
Ning Wangshu still couldn't believe that his mother had died. He swallowed with difficulty and looked down at his sister, crouched before him and sobbing.
Taking a deep breath, he crouched in front of her too. His throat tightened, and he asked hoarsely, "Ruoxuan, what exactly happened?"
"Hasn't it only been a little over three months? Why? Why did Mom get into a car accident after only a little over three months?!"
Ning Wangshu could barely contain his grief and anger.
That last question sounded more like an anguished protest against fate's injustice!
At his words, Ning Ruoxuan seemed to find an outlet for her emotions. She abruptly raised her head, eyes bloodshot and brimming with tears, and glared at him through gritted teeth. "You still have the nerve to ask what happened?"
"Fine! You want to know? I'll tell you!"
"If you hadn't disappeared without a word, if we hadn't lost all contact with you, Mom wouldn't have gone looking for you and been hit by a drunk driver! This is your fault! You got Mom killed!"
"If it weren't for you, Mom wouldn't have died!"
"Do you understand now? Are you satisfied?!"
Ning Ruoxuan stared at him, hatred filling her eyes.
"W-what!?"
Ning Wangshu felt as if he'd been struck by lightning!
He never could have imagined that his mother had died because of him—that she'd been in the accident while searching for him.
At that moment, Ning Wangshu was overwhelmed with guilt and regret.
"I got Mom killed... I actually got Mom killed..."
Ning Wangshu murmured in a daze, his face blank with shock.
Seeing him like that, Ning Ruoxuan seemed to feel a little vindicated. She sneered, "Do you still think you deserve to be my brother?"
"Even as Mom was dying, she still thought about you. And what did you do? You got her killed, and you didn't even come back to see her one last time or give her a proper send-off!"
As she spoke, tears silently slipped down Ning Ruoxuan's cheeks again.
But she resolutely wiped them away, drew a deep breath, and said, "So I don't need you as my brother anymore. We have nothing to do with each other."
"Go wherever you want. Disappear again if you like. It doesn't matter—there's no one left who cares whether you live or die!"
Faced with his sister's accusations, Ning Wangshu had no answer.
In the end, all he could manage was, "That's right. I wasn't a good son, and I wasn't a good brother either. Sigh..."
He let out a long breath, trying to steady his turbulent emotions, then continued slowly, "But I'm still your brother. We're bound by blood, and that can never change!"
"I don't expect you to forgive me right now. But I promise you this: from now on, I won't let anyone bully you!"
"No matter who it is—even if the Jade Emperor himself came down—if he dared to bully you, I'd make him pay the most agonizing price!"
"I'll do everything I can to be a good brother. I promise!"
Ning Wangshu's voice was utterly resolute.
What had happened could not be undone. All he could do now was make amends!
Make up for what he owed his sister.
He would do everything in his power to take care of her, so their mother's spirit could rest in peace!
However, Ning Ruoxuan wasn't moved by his words.
She sneered. "Fine. If you're so powerful that you don't even care about the Jade Emperor, then why don't you make the murderer who killed Mom pay with his life?"
Then Ning Ruoxuan took another deep breath. "Weren't you asking what those two people wanted me to sign?"
"I'll tell you now. They wanted me to sign an agreement forgiving the murderer!"
"Those two were sent by the other side to force me to sign the Letter of Understanding so he could escape criminal liability. They've tried every kind of threat and bribe to make me give in."
"I had no choice but to move here from somewhere else, just to get away from them and make sure that bastard was sentenced and punished!"
At that, Ning Ruoxuan added bitterly, "But a prison sentence is still too lenient for him. He doesn't feel the slightest remorse. He hasn't shown even the tiniest bit of regret from start to finish."
"Right from the beginning, he sent his men to bring me money and get me to sign the Letter of Understanding."
"Heh... He thinks money can settle everything—that he can buy someone's life and get away with it? Well, I won't let him! I'd rather die than sign the Letter of Understanding for him!"
"So..."
Ning Ruoxuan looked at Ning Wangshu again. "If you really want me to acknowledge you as my brother, then make the murderer pay for Mom's death!"
"Otherwise, I'll never acknowledge you again!"
After hearing the whole story from his sister, Ning Wangshu answered without hesitation. "Fine! Do you know his name?"
"Also, where is he now? Or do you have a photo of him?"
Ning Ruoxuan was taken aback by how readily Ning Wangshu agreed. She hesitated, but then said, "His name is Xu Yiming. I don't have a photo."
"But I know he's the deputy general manager of Dingsheng Group, and the chairman's son. You can find some information about him online."
"As for where he is now... I don't know. I only know that he was released on bail pending trial."
Ning Wangshu nodded. "Then he shouldn't be hard to find."
Then Ning Wangshu turned to Ning Ruoxuan. "Ruoxuan, I'll be going now. I'll come back to see you after I've taken care of things!"
Seeing Ning Wangshu get up and leave, Ning Ruoxuan couldn't help calling after him. "Where are you going?"
Ning Wangshu glanced back with a smile. "Of course I'm going to make the murderer who killed Mom pay with his life!"
"You're crazy! I was just saying that out of anger. Are you seriously going to kill someone? This is a society governed by law. You'll be sentenced too if you kill someone!"
Ning Ruoxuan shouted urgently.
Although she had said she wouldn't acknowledge Ning Wangshu as her brother, he was still her brother. Just as he'd said, they were bound by blood. How could she really let him kill someone to avenge their mother?
But after hearing her, Ning Wangshu simply smiled again and said mildly, "I know this is a society governed by law, so I won't kill him directly."
"At least... I won't let anyone know, or leave any evidence proving that I killed him."
"Still, that man is going to die!"
"Three days! You'll hear that he's dead in three days..."
With that, Ning Wangshu turned and left.
Ning Ruoxuan stamped her foot in alarm and shouted angrily, "Ning Wangshu! Stop right there! Don't do anything stupid!"
But Ning Wangshu didn't turn around. He only waved at her over his shoulder and said, "Don't worry. Your brother didn't come away empty-handed from the months I was missing."
"I said he'd die in three days, so he'll die in three days! And no one will know his death had anything to do with me..."
Watching Ning Wangshu walk away, Ning Ruoxuan was furious.
She wanted to harden her heart and leave him alone, but after hesitating, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She stamped her foot angrily and hurried after him...
"Ning Wangshu! Ning Wangshu! Did you hear me?!"
But by the time she reached the corner, Ning Wangshu was nowhere to be seen...