Chapter 61: After sorting the antiques, I can at least sell them for twenty billion!

Duan Wu hesitated.

Xiao Qidi frowned. "Don't worry, I won't take the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army away."

"Not what I meant!" Duan Wu dropped to his knees. "Though the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army originally consisted of soldiers from Xi Tun Guan, it was personally trained by Your Majesty; I would never dare to keep such a fine elite force for myself!"

Xiao Qidi narrowed his eyes. "So you..."

Duan Wu took a deep breath. "I hope Your Majesty won't go back. The soldiers and civilians here are all reluctant to see you leave."

"Huh?" Xiao Qidi chuckled lightly. "As the king, if I don't return to the Capital Royal City, am I supposed to stay here forever? You must have some other meaning."

Duan Wu could only speak truthfully. "If Your Majesty returns to the Royal City, I fear… it won't be safe."

"How so?" Xiao Qidi showed an amused expression.

Duan Wu's expression turned grave. "Your Majesty, do you still remember when Ba Yong first invaded Xi Tun Guan? You immediately ordered a few soldiers to rush to the court and request reinforcements."

"Of course I remember."

"Your Majesty, it's already been over a month, yet there's not a word of reinforcements—even the soldiers you sent have had no news at all."

"General Duan, what do you make of this situation?"

"Those soldiers grew up with me; I know they'd lay down their lives rather than fail Your Majesty's trust. Given this situation, either they were intercepted, or the court turned a blind eye. Either way, it proves… someone wishes Your Majesty harm, and that person is quite capable."

Duan Wu forced himself to speak these thoughts, and cold sweat gradually beaded his forehead.

He was merely a border commander; to discuss the court's affairs before the king was already an offence.

"General Duan, you're really clever." Xiao Qidi said lightly.

Upon hearing that Your Majesty not only didn't rebuke him but even praised him, Duan Wu let out a relieved laugh: "Your Majesty flatters me; I'm not that smart. Actually, we junior officers figured this out in private—mainly because Li Yao is thoughtful…"

"Cough cough." Ning Jinli gave a soft cough to remind him.

She could tell Xiao Qidi's tone was off, yet this simpleton Duan Wu was still grinning foolishly.

Duan Wu scratched his head. "Jinli Fairy, what's wrong?"

Ning Jinli: ……

Xiao Qidi spoke gloomily: "Do you commanders think I'm an idiot?"

"Huh?" Duan Wu startled, then hurriedly said, "We dare not!"

Xiao Qidi's voice turned cold: "I never said I planned to return to the capital, yet you've been speculating in private. You also claim there are capable people in the court who wish me harm, implying you think I'm useless and unable to cope."

Duan Wu was terrified out of his wits, hurriedly kowtowing: "Your Majesty! We absolutely do not mean that! If… if you wish to punish us, please punish me alone!"

Seeing this, Ning Jinli even wanted to plead for Duan Wu.

They meant well, yet Xiao Qidi twisted it like this—this guy's paranoia is over the top!

Just as she was about to speak, she noticed a mischievous, prank‑like glint flash in Xiao Qidi's eyes.

Huh?

What does he mean…

Is he trying to scare us on purpose?

"In consideration of your service defending Xi Tun Guan, I won't punish you. Dismissed." Xiao Qidi said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Duan Wu, as if granted amnesty, kowtowed and then withdrew.

Ning Jinli glanced at Xiao Qidi, then quickly hurried out the door.

"General Duan, wait."

"Fairy, what are your orders?"

"I'm asking you—did you offend Xiao Qidi?"

Duan Wu looked bewildered, shook his head, and replied, "Reporting to Fairy, no."

Ning Jinli frowned. "Then that's strange."

From Xiao Qidi's reaction, she initially thought this guy's paranoia had flared up again.

But on second thought, given the character and intentions of the Xi Tun Guan commanders these past days, Xiao Qidi should have been able to tell.

Moreover, that sly smile he just showed.

"You… haven't you messed something up?" Ning Jinli thought this unlikely, but given Xiao Qidi's order, Duan Wu should have strived to complete it; still, she asked just to try.

Duan Wu scratched his head. "Not—"

Before he could finish the word, his face froze, he slapped his head, and clasped his fists: "Thank you for the reminder, Fairy!"

Ning Jinli was quite surprised. "Really? What is it?"

"Well…" Duan Wu's face showed embarrassment. "Um… Your Majesty once ordered me to fix the outhouse, I slacked off, and it's still not done."

"What?" Ning Jinli was even more surprised. "Just that? Could it really offend him? But why make you fix the outhouse?"

At that moment, Xiao Qidi's tall figure appeared behind Ning Jinli.

Duan Wu, sweat pouring down his forehead, said, "Fairy, you'd better not ask."

He didn't dare mention the time Your Majesty nearly fell into the outhouse again; last time he brought it up he was punished with outhouse repairs, and if he did so again he might end up being thrown into the pit.

"Your Majesty…" Duan Wu bowed his head and clasped his fists. "I'll keep fixing the outhouse… I promise I won't slack off again."

Ning Jinli turned back and saw Xiao Qidi's lips twitch upward slightly.

Fine… it really is just that matter.

Eh.

"Hurry up." Xiao Qidi spat out two words.

Duan Wu hurriedly withdrew.

Immediately, a soldier came to report that some drones and walkie‑talkies had run out of power; even after sending them to the Immortal Cave in Lin Xian Village to charge, there was no response, and they wanted to ask the Fairy why.

The soldiers had once heard the Jinli Fairy explain what it meant to be out of power and how to use the socket she placed in the cave to charge.

But they ultimately didn't grasp the exact principle, merely taking it as some kind of magic the Fairy possessed.

Ning Jinli sighed, "The power lines are all broken; they definitely can't be charged now."

The spacetime portal was moved to Yaowang Gu; closing this side cut off the power lines.

Thinking about this problem, she felt a bit overwhelmed.

Doesn't this mean that to return to the modern world, she still has to drive to Yaowang Gu?

Fifty-plus kilometers isn't far, but without a proper road, driving is exhausting…

"Ning lady, I heard the folks of Lin Xian Village have already built a shrine for you at the Immortal Cave entrance," Xiao Qidi suggested, "Let's go take a look."

Ning Jinli never wanted any temple, but since it was the villagers' goodwill, she agreed to go see it.

From Xi Tun Guan to Lin Xian Village there is some distance; she continued driving the Mercedes G-Class, taking Xiao Qidi along, heading to the Immortal Cave in Lin Xian Village.

Upon arriving at the site, she looked.

The cave entrance had been repaired to be exceptionally neat, made into an open archway.

Above the door, an eave was built against the mountain, and the four stone pillars supporting it were carved with simple patterns.

Although this simple shrine is entirely built of stacked stone, the workmanship is a bit rough, but one can see it was made with care.

Walking inside, one could see that Ning Jinli's walkie-talkie and socket placed here were treated as treasures, neatly arranged on a stone-made table.

Suddenly, Ning Jinli saw a fluorescence appearing on the inner side of the cave.

Xiao Qidi also saw it.

The two quickly strode over, delighted to discover that the spacetime portal opening here had reopened.

After crossing over, just like before, they arrived directly in the factory's small warehouse.

"I get it!" Ning Jinli slapped Xiao Qidi's arm, eyes shining, "It seems that on your side, the spacetime portal opening follows you! When you're in Yaowang Gu, it connects here to Yaowang Gu; when you're in Xi Tun Guan, it connects to the Immortal Cave!"

Xiao Qidi rubbed his arm, nodded, "Looks like that's indeed the case."

Ning Jinli mused and said, "So the question is, why did the spacetime portal appear in Yaowang Gu? When you were there, did anything special happen? Or did you do something special?"

Xiao Qidi thought back, "Seems not."

Ning Jinli muttered, "Could it be that a new entrance randomly forms where you stay?"

Xiao Qidi pulled out his phone, "It's out of power; I need to charge it."

Unintentionally, a flash crossed his mind of himself seriously wounded, in a daze as if he had opened his phone and stared at the joint photo Ning Jinli had sent him…

After passing out, it seemed he had also dreamed?

"Give it to me." Ning Jinli took the phone, found a socket in the warehouse to charge it, then said, "All right, I'll put a diesel generator in the Immortal Cave and send some diesel there to stockpile."

"That way I won't have to run power lines from the factory to charge your drones and walkie-talkies."

"Otherwise, if you later have something come up and leave Xi Tun Guan again, the wires would still get cut."

"First, use the diesel generator as a makeshift solution; it will surely be enough to power the drones and walkie-talkies. Later I'll try to build a power plant for you there—once Lin Xian Village gets electricity, many things will become easier!"

"How about that?"

Ning Jinli spoke rapidly, finishing a bunch, then turned to look at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi seemed to be pondering something, then came to, "Hmm… whatever you say."

At that moment, Ning Jinli's phone vibrated.

She picked it up; it was a call from the factory gate guard, saying someone had come to visit, claiming to be her uncle.

Ning Jinli frowned, Ning Hai?

What does he want now?

Originally Ning Jinli instinctively didn't want to see him, but then thought, rather than remain completely ignorant of his intentions, it's better to see what he's after.

"Take him to the office building conference room; I'll head over now."

Ning Jinli hung up, then casually picked up Xiao Qidi's phone that was charging.

While powering it on, she said, "I have something to do; you can just play with your phone here for a while."

Just as the boot screen was about to finish.

Xiao Qidi suddenly snatched it, "Um, go ahead and be busy."

Ning Jinli pursed her lips, "What, you're an ancient person, you've only just started using a phone—could you already have some secret?"

Xiao Qidi glanced at the wallpaper displayed on the screen, his expression unchanged as he quietly exhaled.

"Forget it, I'm not bothering with you." Ning Jinli didn't think further, turned and left.

By the time she arrived at the conference room, Ning Hai was already waiting.

"Xiao Li," Ning Hai greeted, puffing a cigar, "You're really a busy person these days, uncle wanted to see you, but still had to wait over ten minutes."

Ning Jinli crossed her arms, "Sorry, the factory is huge; what business do you have this time? Planning to steal something again?"

"Hehe," Ning Hai chuckled, "We're family, why speak so harshly? Last time, I explained it clearly to the police; it was purely He Kai's personal action, I was completely unaware."

Ning Jinli sneered, "In other words, there's no solid evidence; otherwise, the person serving a life sentence would be you."

Ning Hai's eyes flickered slightly, but he kept a superficial smile, "The Ning family now only has me and you as close kin; do you really want to lose family?"

Upon mentioning kin, Ning Jinli felt a sharp pang in her heart.

If not for her remembering her uncle's kindness from childhood, how could she have been expelled from the Ning family by him, still harboring familial fantasies, how could she have been tricked into inheriting the factory's debt?

But now, Ning Jinli will no longer harbor any affection for him.

Seeing Ning Jinli's gaze gradually turn cold, Ning Hai vaguely sensed that this once naive, worldly-inexperienced little girl seemed to have changed somewhat in a short time.

However, he didn't take it to heart, continuing to put on a pleasant facade: "I heard your factory has restarted some production lines—grains, oils, rice, flour, clothes, shoes, fertilizers, pesticides—these have begun production."

"Your information is still pretty well-informed," Ning Jinli said.

Ning Hai laughed, saying, "You're my niece; I ought to care. Xiao Li, I feel you haven't figured out how to sell your products and just dove headfirst into manufacturing."

Ning Jinli's face was cold: "You don't need to worry about that."

Ning Hai flicked ash, put his feet on the table edge, "You have no management experience, just messing around, you'll only lose money. Uncle has thought it over; before, I indeed owed you an apology; this time I truly want to compensate you."

"Oh?" Ning Jingli pretended to look very interested, "Tell me then?"

Ning Hai saw her reaction, thought the little girl was still young and could still be grabbed by the throat, showed a sincere expression and said, "I want to offer a high price to purchase your factory."

"How much?" Ning Jingli asked with a smiling expression.

Ning Hai raised a finger, "One hundred million."

"Wow, that much?" Ning Jingli widened her eyes, showing surprise.

Ning Hai smiled inwardly.

After the previous incident, he became even more certain that a large number of antiques were buried beneath the factory, but he hadn't expected the matter to go sour, nearly landing him in prison and drawing a police warning.

Therefore he could only change his strategy and could no longer be forceful.

One hundred million is nothing to him, especially since he has recently been pursuing a huge investment.

The investor is the Lu Family, one of the top elite clans in Xinghan City, wealthy and powerful.

During this period, through his efforts, the investment deal has basically not slipped away.

Thus pulling out one hundred million to purchase this factory is even simpler.

"Xiao Li," Ning Hai said earnestly, "One hundred million is enough for you to do nothing your whole life, to live a good life; you don't need to suffer and toil over the factory, right?"

"Hmm, that makes sense," Ning Jingli nodded in agreement.

Ning Hai added, "I know, you young people always want to achieve something, but building a career is not that easy."

"Yes, indeed," Ning Jingli continued to nod.

Ning Hai's face showed delight, "So, you agree?"

Ning Jingli grinned, "Ten billion, I'll consider."

"You..." Ning Hai's eyes flashed with a hint of anger, then immediately returned to a smile, "That's exaggerated, huh, young people shouldn't be so greedy."

Ning Jingli teased, "Do you mean you can only be greedy at your age?"

Ning Hai: …

"No kidding," Ning Hai said, trying to stay patient, "Two hundred million, no more than that."

Ning Jingli said, "What if I don't agree? Could you force me to move the factory? Don't forget, when you deceived me into inheriting the plant, you signed a contract that leased this land to me for fifty years."

Ning Hai's gaze turned slightly cold, "I'm doing this for your own good; don't pretend you don't appreciate it."

"I really thank you!" Ning Hai smiled brightly, "The first time you were good to me, you left me without a home; the second time you were good to me, you almost made me owe over seventy million. I truly can't bear it."

Ning Hai furrowed his brows, his eyes scanning her up and down, thinking to himself, Could it be that this little girl really isn't as easy to fool as before?

But this time, he was truly willing to put out real gold and silver to purchase it.

"Xiao Li, as soon as you sign the contract, I'll transfer the money immediately," Ning Hai tried to continue persuading, "If you have any objections to me, we can go our separate ways later; you take the two hundred million and live your good life, is that not fine?"

Ning Jingli gave a half‑smile, "Why are you suddenly interested in this factory? Didn't you previously despise its departments for being technologically backward and unpromising, using it only to pay off debts?"

Ning Hai sighed, putting on a sincere expression, "I only later realized that, after all, even the worst projects were started piece by piece by your grandfather. As the heir to the family business, I can't just discard the old man's hard work. Besides that, of course, there's also a sense of compensation toward you; you trust your uncle, after all."

Ning Jingli also sighed, "Alas, Uncle, your acting is still that good, but I've been fooled before; I won't be led into your trap again."

"Ning Jingli!" Ning Hai finally couldn't hold back, slamming the table hard.

Ning Jingli withdrew her smile, speaking seriously, "It seems you won't reveal your true purpose; we have nothing left to discuss. Goodbye, no escort!"

"You you you..." Ning Hai was so angry he was fuming.

He sprang up, threw the remaining half‑burned expensive cigar onto the floor and stomped it hard, "Ning Jingli! Business isn't child's play! You're definitely not cut out for this! I've already given you a chance; if you ruin the factory and end up with nothing left, don't regret it!"

"Do you want me to call security?" Ning Jingli picked up her phone.

Ning Hai's face turned ashen, stared at her eyes for a while, then finally clenched his teeth, turned and left.

Only after leaving the factory and getting into the car did Ning Hai close his eyes and calm himself for several minutes, his complexion gradually returning to normal.

"Ha, how laughable," he opened his eyes and muttered to himself, "Ning Jingli, Ning Jingli, you really think your wings are strong now? You insist on restarting the factory to produce goods and do business, right?"

"Fine, I'll let you experience how ruthless the business world is."

He immediately placed a call, instructing the person on the other end, "Ning Jingli's factory is resuming production and needs a lot of raw material supplies; keep a close watch on it for me."

"Understood, President Ning," the other replied, "Do you want to block a raw material supply channel?"

Previously, most of the factory's material suppliers and distributors were partners of the Ning Family; with just a word from Ning Hai, Ning Jingli would find it impossible to purchase any of the raw materials needed for production within Xinghan City.

Ning Hai said, "No, not only should you not block the materials, you should provide as much as possible. Whatever amount she needs, have the suppliers sell her that amount."

The person on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback, "What? What do you mean by this...?"

A cunning smile appeared on Ning Hai's face, "With the suppliers having this big dupe, they can earn more, and the favor will naturally belong to me later."

"And Ning Jingli will only focus on production without considering sales; once she has a huge stock of goods, you can then cut off the distributors' channels for her. Guess what her fate will be?"

The person on the other end clearly inhaled sharply.

That move was truly ruthless.

After hanging up, Ning Hai felt much more relaxed.

"Little brat, you refuse a toast and take a penalty drink! This is all on you! Hahaha!" He laughed loudly, started the sedan, and floored the accelerator.

Inside the factory.

Ning Jingli had just left the office building when she received another call.

This time it was Wu Sanye calling.

Third Uncle reported to her that the huge pile of antiques from last time had all been sorted out.

"Thanks for your hard work," Ning Jingli said with a smile, "What are they?"

Wu Sanye took a deep breath, "Miss Ning, listen carefully, okay."

"Eighteen items of cultural relic grade have already been donated to the relevant heritage authorities."

"Various jewelry and jade pieces, 2,703 items; gold bars, ingots, and nuggets, 862 jin and 4 liang; over 5,000 jin of silver; twenty‑five silk or leather paintings made on paper; 141 decorative art pieces; two hundred crafts..."

Hearing that, Ning Jingli's head instantly swelled with anxiety.

"Wait a moment, wait." She rubbed her temples and interrupted.

Wu Sanye chuckled and said: "I've made a spreadsheet here; Miss Ning, whenever you have time you can check it. I'll just highlight the key points: aside from cultural relics, everything else that can be put on the market for sale adds up to at least twenty billion yuan conservatively. Most are hot-selling antiques; Miss Ning, if you want to collect them yourself, go ahead and collect them; if you want to sell them, I'll take full responsibility."

"Hiss…… at least twenty billion?" Ning Jinli gasped.

This is another huge income!

She thought it over carefully and said: "Then let's sell them all."

As for collecting, she really doesn't understand and has no interest in it.

Making money to develop the factory is definitely the best.

"Good, good, good!" Wu Sanye on the other end of the phone was grinning so hard his mouth almost twisted.

"By the way, Miss Ning, there's also a huge pile of stuff that can only be considered junk—torn sacks, hair ties, stools missing legs, chipped ceramic jars, bowls, basins… and so on; I won't list them all, it gives me a headache just talking about them. These things have no research value, no trade or collection value… what do you think we should do with them?"

Ning Jinli quickly asked: "How many pieces are there?"

"How many pieces?" Wu Sanye exclaimed, "Let's put it this way: they weigh over two tons! And that's after they've been cleaned up!"

Ning Jinli's small mouth opened into an O shape.

She knew there were many, but she truly didn't expect there to be this many.

Wu Sanye said: "Although I don't know where you got these from, Miss Ning, I suggest the best way to handle them is to throw them away."

Ning Jinli didn't even think about it, immediately saying: "No, find a warehouse to store them properly."

In her mind, those over two tons were, to Wu Sanye, pure junk—nothing but the sentiments of ancient common folk.

They aren't worth money, but they are precious.

"Ah……" Wu Sanye fell silent for a few seconds, then said: "Alright, I'll go with whatever you say."

"Thank you." Ning Jinli's face broke into a smile: "Anything else?"

Wu Sanye said: "There is, there's one more thing—I don't know if Miss Ning would be interested……"

"Third Uncle, please go ahead."

"Well…… I want to transfer sixty percent of my antique company's shares to you for free; after that, Miss Ning, you'll be the big boss behind the company, and I'll be the second-in-command. I'll do what I need to do, and you can just sit back and collect the profits."

"What?" Ning Jinli felt astonished: "Isn't that a huge loss for you?"

Wu Sanye candidly replied: "No loss, no loss—even if I only end up with forty percent of the company, with Miss Ning I'll make more money than before. Of course, I won't screw you over; I've already sworn a poison oath on that."

Actually, Wu Sanye's reason for doing this isn't just what he said on the surface; more importantly, he's convinced that Miss Ning has a powerful backer behind her.

He wouldn't dare to cheat her; he just hopes to use this opportunity to indirectly get close to that big backer, securing his life for good.

After a while, Wu Sanye still hadn't heard a reply from Ning Jinli.

He simply gritted his teeth and said: "If Miss Ning still isn't at ease, then… then I'll sell the antique company to you; you can just toss in ten or eighty thousand as a token. But I must be the one to act as CEO, because I myself am the company's biggest golden sign… and after all, it's the lifework I've built over most of my life, Miss Ning, you see……"

Having said all that, Ning Jinli felt it would be embarrassing to refuse any further.

"How about this, Third Uncle?" Ning Jinli said: "I don't need that many shares; one or two percent will be enough."

Wu Sanye was overjoyed: "You agreed?"

"Yeah, I agreed."

"Good, good, good, thank you Miss Ning! But since I said I'd give you sixty percent, it has to be sixty percent! You can't refuse me—otherwise I'd be going back on my word!"

"Um…… alright."

In the end, Ning Jinli still agreed.

As the saying goes, good things come in pairs; right after Wu Sanye finished chatting with her, she received another call bringing good news.

This time, it was the director of Xinghan Central Hospital calling personally.

The director said, the pharmaceutical company has been registered and established, named Shennong Pharmaceutical, with 100% ownership belonging to Ning Jinli.

Moreover, they've purchased a ready-made traditional Chinese medicine processing plant; when to start production will be up to Ning Jinli as the boss.

Ning Jinli was still stunned; no wonder he's the director of a top-tier hospital—his work efficiency is truly astonishing, and he immediately put forward a suggestion.

"Miss Ning, the employees of the acquired processing plant have all been retained, but I still want to recommend someone for you to use, so you can manage the company effectively—what do you think?"

"Sure, Director, please go ahead."

"He's my friend's son, named Lu Jue Ming, twenty-seven years old. Don't let his young age fool you—he graduated from a prestigious university and already holds two doctorates, one in healthcare management and one in traditional Chinese medicine."

"Twenty-seven…… double doctorates?"

Ning Jinli almost bit her tongue.

She herself graduated from a key university, but compared to this Lu Jue Ming, she's practically a petty witch seeing a great sorcerer.

He's outright a super academic ace!

"Cough……" Ning Jinli cleared her throat: "Your friend's son is so outstanding; how can you bear to recommend him to me?"

The director laughed helplessly: "His parents want him to inherit the family business, while I wanted to train him to become the future director of Xinghan Central Hospital, but this kid prefers to deal with traditional Chinese medicine; otherwise I really wouldn't want to give him to you!"

"Family business…… surname Lu……" Ning Jinli mused while speaking: "He wouldn't happen to be from the Xinghan Lu family, would he?"

The director exclaimed in surprise: "Miss Ning, do you know him?"

Ning Jinli said: "We had some contact over ten years ago, but…… it doesn't really count as knowing each other."

She remembered that as a child, she followed her parents to some aristocratic gatherings; back then the Ning family could barely meet the threshold of Xinghan City's top-tier aristocratic clans.

But later, as her grandfather grew seriously ill and bedridden, her parents met with an accident.

Under her uncle's management, the Ning family has declined year by year; nowadays, although still considered a wealthy family, it has fallen to second- or third-rate status.

"Jueming has recently been attending research lectures at a medical school out of town; he'll be back in a few days," the director said with a chuckle. "When he returns, I'll have him meet you so he can get to know his future boss."

"All right, Director, I'll await your news."

After this call ended, Ning Jinli only then noticed that a few minutes earlier Xiao Qidi had sent her a WeChat message saying his phone was charged and he was heading back to Lin Xian Village first.

Ning Jinli instinctively prepared to reply, but then remembered that once he got there there'd be no phone signal, so she gave up and instead casually opened a shopping site, ordering two diesel generators.

"Mm……" Ning Jinli stretched, letting out a big yawn.

A strong sense of fatigue surged.

She only then realized she hadn't slept from yesterday until now.

Moreover, last night she drove Xiao Qidi back to Xi Tun Guan, then drove again to chase the Yu Guo Crown Prince, keeping her mind and body tense all night.

"Sleep, sleep…… if I don't sleep I'll die suddenly……" Ning Jinli didn't even bother with breakfast, yawning nonstop as she returned to her dorm, forced herself despite fatigue to take a shower, flopped onto the bed, pulled up the blanket, and fell asleep in under three seconds.

This time she slept especially deeply.

Until near noon the next day, she groggily regained consciousness, eyes closed, murmuring as she stretched a big yawn.

Suddenly, her hand bumped into something hard at the bedside.

Ning Jinli turned her head and opened her eyes, seeing a figure standing beside her.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, instantly awake; only then did she see clearly it was Xiao Qidi.

"Heavens… you scared me to death!" she clutched the blanket to her chest, still shaken, "When did you get here?"

Xiao Qidi, expressionless, "Just arrived."

Ning Jinli frowned, "Wasn't your phone charged? Why didn't you call me and just go straight into my dorm room?"

"I called, you didn't answer," Xiao Qidi's eyes flickered with a barely perceptible resentment, "so I had to come find you."

Ning Jinli hurriedly felt for her phone at her side and glanced at it.

Xiao Qidi's missed calls numbered over ten.

"Sorry sorry," Ning Jinli chuckled, "I slept too soundly… what do you need me for?"

Xiao Qidi said, "I had the soldiers and civilians hold a victory celebration banquet; I wanted to ask if you'll attend."

Ning Jinli's eyes lit up, "A victory celebration banquet? Great, great, great—this time we really need to throw a big one; of course I'll come! Wait a sec, I'll go book food at a restaurant."

"No need," Xiao Qidi shook his head, "We seized many supplies from the Yu Guo military camp this time; no trouble for Miss Ning, and the victory celebration banquet has already begun."

"Alright, let's go!" Ning Jinli threw off the blanket and got out of bed.

Xiao Qidi's pupils instantly constricted; his handsome, stern face visibly flushed red to the base of his neck, and then two streams of blood spurted from his nostrils……