Chapter 57

After a moment of thought, Ning Yuxuan replied to Ning Shiyue: [It's alright. As a spectator, I think it's quite nice.]

Ning Shiyue: [……What do you mean?]

Ning Yuxuan: [I mean if I weren't the person involved, I'd really enjoy watching it.]

Previously, Ning Yuxuan had witnessed such public confessions or proposals in public places, and every time she would sincerely sigh, "Love is truly wonderful," and genuinely applaud the couple involved.

However, if it were her own turn, she was not particularly fond of this format.

Perhaps it was because too many people had confessed to her publicly growing up, and she had rejected too many different people within crowds of onlookers, so such methods failed to move her deeply.

Ning Shiyue: [You mean you don't like it yourself?]

Ning Yuxuan stared at her chat history with Ning Shiyue.

Clearly, Ning Shiyue would never share such content with her under normal circumstances, let alone have the leisure to debate whether the video was romantic or not.

Therefore, there were only two possibilities: either Ning Shiyue wanted to use this exact setup to confess to someone, or else...

Ning Yuxuan: [Why are you asking so much? Did Xie Zhiyan ask you to help him scout out the enemy's intelligence?]

The person on the other end remained silent for a long while without replying.

Ning Yuxuan went to brush her teeth, and upon returning, she finally received a reply.

Ning Shiyue: [How is that possible?]

Ning Shiyue: [I have some things to take care of tomorrow morning, I need to get to sleep right away, I'm not chatting with you anymore!]

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

She knew her guess was right.

Ning Shiyue's guilty conscience was simply too obvious.

It had been like this since they were kids; Ning Shiyue didn't know how to lie, and every time she saw right through him and he refused to admit it, he would awkwardly change the subject.

Ning Yuxuan ignored him, took a shower, and went to bed to rest.

Early the next morning, Ning Yuxuan woke up and washed up while yawning.

Her mother had already packed the luggage and handed Ning Yuxuan a piece of toast with an egg as she walked downstairs: "We still have some time, eat while you think about whether you forgot to bring anything."

Ning Yuxuan took it and took a bite: "Thanks, Mom."

At 7:50, the doorbell rang.

Ning Fei went to open the door, and it was Liang Jihuai.

"A-Fei," Liang Jihuai said standing at the doorway, "Are the bags packed? I'll help you carry the luggage to the car."

Ning Fei indicated the few suitcases by her hand: "They're packed, the luggage is just these few here. Sorry to trouble you, Jihuai."

There were three suitcases in total: one twenty-four-inch suitcase and two twenty-inch carry-on luggage bags.

The two of them were going to Jiangcheng to stay for two full days, plus two half-days for travel, so they didn't originally need to bring that many things.

However, Ning Fei always brought gifts whenever she went to visit a film set, intended for Ning Shiyue's colleagues and crew members.

Coupled with the fact that it was Ning Shiyue's birthday this time, Ning Fei had also prepared a birthday gift for her son, and the gifts alone filled up a large suitcase.

The remaining two suitcases held changes of clothes, toiletries, and other necessities for the two of them.

Ning Yuxuan was eating her breakfast in the living room and happened to cross paths with Liang Jihuai at the entryway.

She sized up this fifty-five-year-old Best Actor.

Liang Jihuai was standing in the foyer, roughly estimated to be around one meter eight in height, which was quite rare for men of his generation.

Moreover, when ordinary people reached his age and lived in comfort, their figures inevitably tended to lose their shape.

Yet Liang Jihuai's posture still looked extremely straight, showing no signs of gaining weight whatsoever, easily rivaling the young men in the entertainment industry.

As for his appearance, he was also among the best of his peers, and one could tell he must have been an absolute looker in his youth.

Ning Yuxuan thought to herself that for all these years her mother's standard for lovers had been to hold out for the right person rather than settle, having only been in one relationship over the past twenty years, yet now she was willing to give Liang Jihuai a chance—that was certainly understandable.

At least in terms of appearance, this Best Actor Liang was quite presentable.

He looked very well-matched with her mother.

Liang Jihuai also noticed Ning Yuxuan: "Is this A-Fei's daughter?"

Ning Fei smiled and nodded: "Yes, Ning Yuxuan."

Ning Yuxuan held up her piece of toast and greeted Liang Jihuai: "Hello, Teacher Liang."

Liang Jihuai nodded: "Hello. May I call you Yuxuan?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Of course, Teacher Liang."

The two did not chat further; Liang Jihuai helped Ning Fei carry the suitcases outside and put them into the trunk of the car, while Ning Yuxuan continued eating her breakfast.

At eight o'clock sharp, Ning Yuxuan threw a thin jacket over her shoulders and got into the car with Ning Fei.

Liang Jihuai drove from the driver's seat and turned on the navigation: driving from home to the airport would take twenty-something minutes in total.

Ning Yuxuan and her mother sat in the back.

Liang Jihuai first asked if the two of them wanted to drink anything: "There is pure water in the car, and also tea beverages."

Ning Fei took a bottle of pure water to drink, and also grabbed a boxed pack of black tea for her daughter.

Then Liang Jihuai exchanged a few casual remarks with Ning Fei, mentioning that the weather in Jiangcheng was even more muggy than in Beicheng, so they needed to pay attention to preventing heatstroke.

"I happen to have some cooling patches for heatstroke at home, so I brought a few packs and put them in the car," Liang Jihuai said. "If you and Yuxuan need them, you can take them. I've brought them on airplanes before, it's fine."

Thinking that her daughter indeed feared the heat, Ning Fei did not decline: "Then thank you so much."

Liang Jihuai smiled: "No need to be so polite, it's just a small effort."

Ning Yuxuan took a sip of the black tea in her hand, thinking that Liang Jihuai was quite considerate after all.

Although it was because he had designs on her mother, she had to admit that many men couldn't muster this level of attentiveness even during the courting process.

Ning Fei brought the cooling patches over and put them into her everyday bag.

The interior of the car fell quiet for a moment, perhaps because the two adults were mindful of Ning Yuxuan's presence and weren't fully letting loose.

There was still some time before reaching their destination, and sitting in silence like this would inevitably be awkward.

Ning Yuxuan broke the silence: "Teacher Liang."

Liang Jihuai: "What is it, Yuxuan?"

Ning Yuxuan: "I heard that the very work with which my mother first won the Best Actress award was a collaboration with you."

Liang Jihuai: "That's right, what you heard is correct, Yuxuan. That was the first movie your mother filmed after her debut, and my fourth movie."

Ning Yuxuan: "Then that must have been your first collaboration? What kind of scene was it when you first saw my mother?"

Ning Fei glanced at her daughter and said helplessly, "Xuanxuan, that was from how many years ago? Why ask about this?"

Ning Yuxuan: "I'm just curious!"

Liang Jihuai chuckled a few times: "It's fine, it's fine. A-Fei, don't blame her. As it happens, I'm quite happy to reminisce about the glorious years of my youth. The scenario when I first saw your mother, let me think..."

With Ning Yuxuan taking the lead, Liang Jihuai shared quite a few stories from back when he filmed together with Ning Fei.

In the past, Liang Jihuai had been afraid that Ning Fei wouldn't like it and didn't dare keep reminiscing about the past, but now with Ning Yuxuan taking the initiative to bring it up and occasionally asking follow-up questions to play along, he naturally and smoothly recounted quite a few past events.

Ning Fei felt a similar sense of nostalgia listening to it.

Back then she was only twenty-three years old, right in the prime of her youth.

Naïve, passionate, and full of expectations for the future.

At that time she had not yet stepped into marriage.

The car ride was less than half an hour, and laughter occasionally rang out inside the vehicle.

Ning Fei hadn't failed to mention past events to her children before, but when the person involved told the stories, it always felt vastly different from the perspective of a bystander.

Hearing Liang Jihuai recount her mother's past, Ning Yuxuan gained a deeper understanding of what Ning Fei was like back then—

Turns out her mother hadn't always possessed her current gentle temperament; she used to be a lively young girl who would pull pranks on colleagues on set, and even secretly eat potato chips behind the director's back, only to be heavily scolded by the director when her actions were exposed.

Hearing Liang Jihuai mention this incident, Ning Yuxuan looked at Ning Fei in surprise: "Mom! Turns out when you were young you also liked eating junk food, and you even ate it in secret!"

Ning Fei found it somewhat amusing yet entirely helpless: "Sigh, I didn't expect having Jihuai drive us today would result in all my old secrets being exposed."

Liang Jihuai also smiled: "Yuxuan, I won't dare tell you these things anymore in the future, otherwise your mother is going to be angry with me."

...

When they arrived at the airport, Ning Yuxuan still felt somewhat unsatisfied.

After completing check-in, Liang Jihuai escorted the two of them to the security checkpoint entrance.

Ning Fei thanked him once more: "Thank you so much, Jihuai."

Liang Jihuai: "You're too kind. Have a safe trip both of you, send me a message once you land."

Ning Yuxuan also said: "Thank you, Teacher Liang. I hope I'll have the chance to hear you talk more about my mother's past another time."

Hearing this, Liang Jihuai's eyes showed a trace of surprise, and his tone sounded as if he were pleasantly flattered: "Of course, no problem."

Before coming this time, he had been extremely nervous, worried that Ning Fei's daughter would harbor resistance toward him.

He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, and that the other party would even take the initiative to extend an olive branch at the end.

Liang Jihuai waved goodbye to the mother and daughter, watching them enter the security check entrance.

Left alone with just her daughter, Ning Fei spoke up: "You, how come I never saw you be so curious about my past affairs on film sets before?"

Ning Yuxuan maintained a serious expression: "It's all because you never told me about the time you secretly ate potato chips!"

Ning Fei was amused by her daughter.

After laughing, she asked her daughter: "It seems your impression of Jihuai is not bad?"

Ning Yuxuan nodded in acknowledgment: "It's alright."

Ning Fei asked half-jokingly: "Why? Just because he told you about the potato chips?"

Ning Yuxuan spoke her mind: "That's only a secondary reason. The primary reason is—"

She said with a straight face: "This Teacher Liang maintains a pretty good figure, and his face is well-kept too. Standing next to Mom, you two look quite well-matched."

Ning Fei froze slightly, then patted her daughter's back: "What nonsense are you talking about? There's no way you should evaluate an elder like that!"

Ning Yuxuan smiled brightly: "Didn't you ask me?"

The mother and daughter joked around while standing in line for security screening.

After passing security it was just nine o'clock, leaving some time before boarding.

Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei went to the VIP lounge to rest.

After replying to a few messages, Ning Fei leaned against the sofa and closed her eyes to rest.

Ning Yuxuan also handled a few work-related messages; Chen Jun and Zhou Lin were already at work by this hour.

Wu Shangdong's side was extremely efficient; having reached a verbal agreement at the dinner banquet last night, they had already sent someone to contact Chen Jun this morning.

Barring any accidents, the contract could be finalized within these two days.

She wondered if the process was moving forward so quickly because of Xie Zhiyan's face.

After all, Xie Zhiyan personally picking her up at the banquet that night had sparked quite a bit of discussion, and Ning Yuxuan had caught wind of it.

Having finished dealing with her work messages, Ning Yuxuan stood up to browse the food section of the VIP lounge.

Xie Zhiyan sent a message asking if her trip was going smoothly.