This was a middle-aged couple of very distinguished appearance.
They were dressed decently and were sitting at Lin Cheng and Luo Zixuan’s desks.
The middle-aged man had a high nose, deep eyes, and a tall and slim figure. His face was furrowed because he was rather emaciated in his old age, and his expression looked slightly gloomy. However, his temperament was excellent, and even in his old age, he looked like a gentleman with poise. It was not difficult to imagine how handsome he was in his youth.
The middle-aged lady, on the other hand, had delicate, three-dimensional features. Although she looked a little haggard, she was elegant and slender, and rather than becoming withered, age had made her more attractive.
The two were dressed in neat, plain suits, and looked elegant from head toe. They look like upper class people of society with a good life.
The boys’ dormitory was a simple environment, and this was expected for a group of university students, but this couple made it look like they had strayed into the slums. They sat in the tiny dormitory and looked out of place with everything around them.
When Ji Mingxia looked at their faces, the mockery that he had wanted to blurt out could not be uttered.
There was no other reason other than the fact that this couple looked so much like Yu Ning.
From their faces, many traces of Yu Ning could be found, even down to their pale complexions, all three were nearly identical.
The difference was that Yu Ning inherited all of the duo’s strengths, so his looks were more refined and perfect.
No wonder only the netizens questioned their identities, none of the students at school threw them out.
Just by looking at these two faces, most people were 70 to 80% convinced of their identities.
Seeing Ji Mingxia looking over, the middle-aged couple also shifted their gaze to Ji Mingxia.
The two had haggard, flat faces, and their eyes were somehow cloudy. The whites of their eyes were not quite white, and their pupils were not quite black When they looked at him, their gaze seemed unfocused, but it was as if they had scanned his entire body carefully.
This weird and eerie feeling made Ji Mingxia puzzled, and almost immediately, he recalled the situation when he first saw Yu Ning.
It was really too… similar.
Of course, this couple’s gaze was even more eerie than Yu Ning’s.
Fortunately, Ji Mingxia had experienced so many storms and had an extremely strong mental capacity, otherwise, he would have been scared into taking a step back with this one glance.
At this moment, Ye Chen suddenly took a step forward and stood between the Ding family couple and Ji Mingxia.
He turned his back to the Ding family couple and faced Ji Mingxia, blocking the meeting of eyes between the two sides.
With Ye Chen blocking the middle, the Ding couple’s terrifying gaze disappeared all of a sudden, and when Ji Mingxia looked up, he found that Ye Chen was giving him a wink.
“Mingxia, I know you and Yu Ning are very close, but something big is happening at Yu Ning’s house right now. Let the family finish resolving it, then you and Yu Ning can go on with your plans.” Ye Chen looked at Ji Mingxia and said meaningfully, the hints in his eyes all urging Ji Mingxia to leave.
When Ji Mingxia saw this expression on Ye Chen’s face, he instantly understood why Ye Chen was here.
After the previous experience, Ye Chen was now aware of mysterious items.
This situation between the Ding couple and Yu Ning was not simple at first glance, so he followed them over, probably with the intention of being a mediator.
At this moment, he was winking at Ji Mingxia, probably for his own good. He wanted an ordinary person like him not to get involved in this matter.
Ji Mingxia appreciated his good intentions, but it was impossible for him to just walk away and let Yu Ning be bullied.
Not only did Ji Mingxia not step back, but instead took a step forward, shielding Yu Ning behind him, and said to Ye Chen, “My relationship with Yu Ning is indeed very good, I don’t know what happened for you to make such an uproar and come to school together. Looking for him once is not enough, but you also waited for his return the whole night and in his dormitory?”
Ye Chen didn’t expect Ji Mingxia, who was always easy to talk to, to be like a different person today. Not only did he not have any of his previous softness, but was also full of thorns, and every word was full of aggression.
He looked at the large group of students gathered at the entrance and realized that this matter could not be concealed.
Since Ji Mingxia had asked, and there were so many people staring, Ye Chen had no choice but to answer. “Do you remember the childhood friend I mentioned before?”
“I remember.” Ji Mingxia said with an expressionless face.
“I haven’t seen him for a long time, and I only got in touch with him recently. I found out that he has a strange disease, and I’m afraid he won’t live long.” Ye Chen suddenly thought of Ding Jialin’s horrible appearance after the onset of the disease and could not help but look sad as he sighed, “Although this disease is difficult to cure, as long as there are bloodline relatives who are willing to help, there is still hope for survival. Both Uncle Ding and Auntie Ding have already tried but they are too old and neither is suitable, they had to find a relative of comparable age.”
Ye Chen said, “Yu Ning is Ding Jialin’s brother. Ding Jialin is now in critical condition and may die at any time. Uncle Ding and Auntie Ding were so anxious that they stayed here to wait for Yu Ning to return. I am really sorry for any disturbance. They just want Yu Ning to do this favor and save Ding Jialin’s life.”
When Ye Chen finished, he seemed to feel that something was not quite right, and hastily added: “Uncle Ding and Aunt Ding have very special professions, as long as they can save Ding Jialin, they will definitely repay you. The Ye and Ding families are family friends, so the Ye family will also contribute to the compensation afterwards. Not only Yu Ning, all the people in the dormitory who were disturbed, including the teachers and students of the whole school will be given compensation.”
At Ye Chen’s words, the students outside the door first gasped in awe.
Everyone had seen the Ye family’s generosity before.
When Ye Tian suddenly went crazy in the classroom, the Ye family offered a large sum of hush money, and until now, this matter was still being talked about by the students.
Unexpectedly, the Ye family would actually bleed money once again after only a few months.
Ye Chen’s words were subtle, but everyone was an adult, no one was stupid. They naturally understood what Ye Chen meant. It meant that those who saw this would get a share, and as long as they kept their mouths shut, they would always get the benefit.
Ji Mingxia saw everyone’s reactions and the anger that was originally suppressed almost couldn’t be restrained from gushing out.
This was not the first time the Ye family threw money at people, but this time, it was the most disgusting thing Ji Mingxia had ever seen.
“The Ye family is really generous, worthy of being a wealthy family.” Ji Mingxia sneered, “There are times when I really envy you, Ye Chen. How come I, Ji Mingxia, don’t have a sister who can make me rich, then maybe it would be me standing here, throwing money and gagging people.”
At the mention of the Ye family’s dirty and sordid past, Ye Chen’s face turned pale.
This was a scar that Ye Chen had hidden in his heart, and for a long time, the Ye family’s past had become a nightmare for him.
During those darkest hours, he had relied on Ji Mingxia’s warmth to be strong enough to carry through.
Ye Chen never thought that one day, Ji Mingxia would personally rip open these scars for Yu Ning and expose them in front of everyone in such a bloody manner.
“Mingxia.” Ye Chen’s face suddenly turned pale as he looked at Ji Mingxia with hurt and whispered, “You know I didn’t mean that ……”
Ji Mingxia looked at Ye Chen indifferently, completely unmoved by his sadness and grief.
In this matter of the Ye family, Ye Chen was indeed innocent, but the most tragic victim was not him.
That dead baby girl’s flesh and blood was used to make the Ye family glorious, and although Ye Chen was innocent, he was still using this money and doing things for the Ding family.
He was helping the Ding family and hurting Yu Ning in the process.
This had completely touched Ji Mingxia’s bottom line.
“Ye Chen, have you never had a conversation with Master Zheng? Master Zheng told me that he didn’t even know what was happening back then, by the time he got involved, the deed was almost done.” Ji Mingxia didn’t have the patience to slowly manoeuvre with Ye Chen and directly enlightened him, “If it wasn’t Master Zheng, who else was able to guide your parents back then?”
There were many students watching so Ji Mingxia was very subtle in every word he said.
The uninformed listener was in a cloud of confusion, and only Ye Chen’s eyes widened as he listened.
He was not a fool and understood what Ji Mingxia meant almost instantly.
He had turned his back on the Ding family couple and stopped in front of Ji Mingxia, but after hearing Ji Mingxia’s words, he felt a cold chill down his spine.
Ever since he could understand, the Ding couple and his parents had been best friends.
He had grown up under the watchful eye of Uncle and Aunt Ding, and to Ye Chen, the three Ding family members were like his family.
After Ye Tian’s accident, his parents were hospitalized, and when they talked to Ye Chen about the past, they only blamed Master Zheng for being unreliable. They never brought up Uncle Ding and Aunt Ding.
Ye Chen naturally thought that this matter had nothing to do with the Ding family.
But now that Ji Mingxia had mentioned it, many past events surfaced.
Was there really no connection with the Ding family?
It was true that they had no further contact with the Ding family in recent years, and it was also true that the Ding family had not shown up before and after Ye Tian’s accident.
But what about the years further back?
Back then, the Ding family was everywhere in the Ye family’s old mansion.
The night of Ye Tian’s accident, the entire dormitory was decorated to look like the Ye family’s old mansion, and even the group photo of them and the Ding family was restored ……
All kinds of neglected details kept flashing, and when he thought of Ding Jialin, who had appeared like a rotting corpse after Ye Tian’s recovery, the expression on Ye Chen’s face kept changing.
He couldn’t help but slowly turn around and look at the Ding couple in disbelief.
The Ding couple obviously did not expect that Ji Mingxia knew so much about the inside story either.
In their view, Ji Mingxia was just an ordinary person who was an eyesore, not even qualified to make them talk.
Matters that Ye Chen could resolve were naturally left to Ye Chen, the junior, their target was only Yu Ning.
But surprisingly, Ji Mingxia, who seemed to have an ordinary and sheepish personality, hit Ye Chen’s soft spot in just a few words.
Feeling Ye Chen’s gaze gradually change from shock to fear and suspicion, the Ding couple finally gave Ji Mingxia a proper look.
Father Ding straightened the collar of his shirt and spoke casually, “Ji Mingxia, your surname is Ji and you are from Banana Leaf Village in Furnan County, right?”
When facing the Ding couple, Ji Mingxia had long been on high alert and fully prepared mentally.
But unexpectedly, the moment the Ding family couple opened their mouths, they directly pointed out the location of his hometown?
He was born in Banana Leaf Village and Grandma Ji was still living in Banana Leaf Village.
To Ji Mingxia, that was his last haven.
When Father Ding spoke, he attacked the last barrier within Ji Mingxia’s heart, causing his heart to jump suddenly and creating a sense of unspeakable panic.
Yu Ning noticed Ji Mingxia’s abnormality and took hold of his hand, intending to pull Ji Mingxia to his side. Unexpectedly, Ji Mingxia rejected him immediately.
Ji Mingxia blocked his hand. Not only did he not accept Yu Ning’s protection, but he even held Yu Ning’s hand and stood in front of him, continuing to act like a protector.
Father Ding’s mention of his hometown really made Ji Mingxia panic for a few seconds.
But after calming down, Ji Mingxia instantly realised that there was nothing to be afraid of.
In modern society, even mysterious items were afraid of crowds, ghosts didn’t even come out in the daytime, and no matter how capable the Ding couple were, they were still subject to the moral and legal controls of modern society.
Under the government’s nose, there were surveillance cameras everywhere, and there was also Pei Yuan’s group roaming around to monitor the situation. Even if this couple was powerful, could they defy the law and kill everyone in Banana Leaf Village?
They would not dare to do anything explicit.
If they wanted to kill people, they would not dare to do so; and even if they wanted to, Ji Mingxia would not be afraid.
Banana Leaf village was not an inexperienced village, the incidents over the past years had given the villagers a wake-up call.
The whole village was now in the process of recovery and construction, but if there was so much as a breeze, everyone would become vigilant and wouldn’t give anyone a chance to exploit the situation.
On the contrary, if Yu Ning was really related to them by blood, it was highly likely that they would try moral abduction on him.
At such a time, it was necessary for him to rely on Ji Mingxia, an outsider, to stand up for him.
It was always Yu Ning who stood in front of Ji Mingxia, defeating the ghosts for him, shielding him from the wind and rain, and arranging everything for him.
This was the first time that Ji Mingxia would protect Yu Ning.
Thinking of this, an unspeakable strength surged through Ji Mingxia’s body.
He did not want Yu Ning to be harmed by such people, and this time, he would be the one protecting Yu Ning behind him.
I really like the character development of Mingxia. He has always been protective of Yu Ning since the beginning and now he’s even more confident in himself to protect and defend Yu Ning against these scum people.
Ye Chen really does disgust me so much. The fact he’s still taking care of/listening to his parents and not willing to give up that literal blood money just makes him trash imo. In his position I wouldn’t be able to spend it anymore without vomiting!