Chapter 86: She’s Fine
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The two brothers were silent for a time. Eventually, He Sui went to He Jing’s side and said, “Can you show me your hand?”
He Jing refused. She mimicked Cheng Yi’s bashful countenance and looked away.
He Sui gently pulled her hand into his and said, “Let me have a look.”
He was shocked when he saw He Jing’s bruised arm. It looked terrible.
He Jing quickly snatched her hand away, saying, “Don’t worry about me. Go and take care of Sister Cheng Yi. She fell just now, and her butt must be hurting.”
“How painful can a fall be?” He Sui muttered. “She’s fallen plenty of times since she was young.”
Cheng Yi’s beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.
What was he saying?
Cheng Yi turned to He Ning, believing he was smart enough to see through He Jing’s cheap tricks and stand up for her. Unexpectedly, a slight frown overtook his features, and he asked her, “Xiao Yi, did you say what you did to He Jing?”
“I didn’t!”
Cheng Yi almost collapsed. They believed He Jing’s words and not hers.
He Ning showed no sign of siding with her. Instead, he released her hand and comforted He Jing, offering her his handkerchief to dry her tears. “Don’t cry; you don’t look pretty when you cry.”
He Jing accepted the handkerchief and cleaned herself up, sniffling every so often as she said, “Second Brother, you’re so nice.”
He Ning’s expression instantly softened. “Bring her back and get her hand seen to,” he told He Sui. “I need to talk to Xiao Yi.”
He Sui spared Cheng Yi a parting glance. He had wanted to tell his sibling about Zhang Man, Cheng Yi’s best friend, but stopped himself. Getting He Jing treated was more important.
After He Sui and He Jing left, He Ning solemnly said, “Xiao Yi, I have something to say to you.”
Cheng Yi’s heart skipped a beat.
He Ning rarely took that tone with her, and when he did, it meant he was being serious.
“Second Brother, what is it?” Cheng Yi asked, pushing down her panic with her head bowed.
He Ning eyed her with cool indifference. “No matter what you think He Jing has done to you, she is still your sister. I hope you’ll set aside your petty differences with her if for no one else but for the sake of Big Brother, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Brothers, Xiaoguo, and Mom and Dad. I know you’re upset about leaving the He family, but so is He Jing. You shouldn’t speak ill of her like that now and ever.”
Cheng Yi wanted to cry but had no tears.
It was all He Jing’s fault for dragging her name through the mud!
“The girl who posted those defamatory statements on the school forums is your friend, Zhang Man, right?”
Cheng Yi stiffened, color draining from her face. She hurriedly grabbed He Ning by the hem of his shirt and said, “I had nothing to do with it! Did He Jing say something to you about it?”
He Ning replied, “No, she didn’t. I looked into the matter myself. You shouldn’t associate yourself with such figures in the future.”
Cheng Yi could not even cry despite desperately wanting to. There was a hole in her heart, resembling a torn cloth bag leaking air. She had lived with the He family for over a decade and had never been questioned or taught such a humiliating lesson. She felt her relationship with her siblings rapidly crumbling like a web undone.
All because of He Jing!
What was so good about He Jing?
She was the He family’s esteemed daughter, having lived with them longer than He Jing, so why had things come to this? What was the cause of this sudden, inexplicable change?
Cheng Yi’s eyes turned red.
He Ning meant nothing else by his words, merely stating an observation after investigating the matter. He could not have known what was going through Cheng Yi’s mind. Just as he was about to explain, Cheng Yi stepped on his foot and ran away, her face covered, barely concealing the tears running down her face. In the blink of an eye, she was gone..