Chapter 144: No One Is Better Than You  

Ning Xi sighed. "But that time, I was in love with a man, and needed a status to match his."

A light flashed in Lu Tingxiao’s eyes. "Su Yan?"

Ning Xi nodded, then smiled."Do you think it’s strange how a country girl like me back then could have met a young master like Su Yan?"

Before Lu Tingxiao guessed the situation again, Ning Xi also didn’t keep him in suspense, and directly answered her own question. "Su Yan’s lungs weren’t very good when he was little, so for seven years, he stayed in the countryside in the house next to mine.

"The first time I met him was when I found him collapsed on the road, so I carried him on my back and took him home.

"So we got to know each other after that, and we fell in love. Childhood friends and innocent playmates, how beautiful! Heh, but in the end, reality showed me it wasn’t a Cinderella story, but the story of Mister Guo and the wolf!"

"No need to be sad, he's not good enough for you." Lu Tingxiao comforted her.

She never expected to somehow end up talking about her ex-boyfriend with Lu Tingxiao. Ning Xi scratched her head, and felt a little awkward. "That was off-topic, back to the Ning family… Ning Yaohua and Zhuang Lingyu hated to let go of Ning Xueluo, whom they had raised for eighteen years, so when I went back, they didn't give Ning Xueluo back to the Tang family, and to the Ning family, Ning Xueluo was still the apple of their eye.

"Then you can probably guess the rest. You can’t make up for an eighteen-year gap overnight. In front of Ning Xuoluo, who grew up in a wealthy and powerful family, and who had received eighteen years of an elite education, I was an uncultured country bumpkin.

"I was too na?ve back then, and at first I actually thought she was my friend. But she abused my trust, and tricked me into believing that I could drink the lemon water for washing hands, and gave me an imitation dress to wear for a banquet. One by one, she used these tricks to drive me out of the Ning family’s social circle…

"The people in the circle were all already familiar with Ning Xueluo, and were all on her side. They treated me well on the surface, but in private laughed at me for being a hick. Even my own biological parents hated my existence, and felt that I was a stain on their name… then it was Su Yan…

"After Su Yan, my reputation, my innocence, my dignity — the things most important to a girl, they were all ruined and destroyed."

Ning Xi slowly hugged her knees. "Today on set, there was a problem with a prop, I accidentally used my sword to injure Ning Xueluo. At the hospital, my mother, my biological mother, didn't ask me a single thing before she slapped me, and my biological father had nothing but blame and threats for me…

Ning Xi stared blankly outside the window at a night that was black as ink, and her voice sounded far away. "For some reason earlier, everything I had been holding in for five years suddenly broke. I suddenly felt that everything was meaningless, that I was such a failure. Was it because I was so terrible that everyone hated me? Trying hard for so long, was it worth it?"

As soon as she finished, Lu Tingxiao suddenly grabbed onto her shoulders tightly. "Ning Xi, look at me. Not everybody hates you, they are the ones who are terrible. Understand?"

Ning Xi’s eyes reddened slightly.

No matter how hard she tried to pretend she was fine, she was still only a girl just over twenty years old.

Lu Tingxiao pulled her into his arms and gently kissed the top of her head…

Ning Xi only felt a slight weight on her head, and didn't know what it was.

Lu Tingxiao gave her a deep stare and said seriously, "Ning Xi, if you doubt yourself, then try believing in me. You are more than good enough."

In this world, no one is better than you.

Ning Xi broke into laughter. "Of course I believe Big Boss Lu’s words!"

Lu Tingxiao breathed a sigh of relief; that earlier moment had alarmed him immensely, to see her lose all hope.

After a short silence, Lu Tingxiao spoke up. "Ning Xi, can I ask you something?"

‘Mister Guo and the wolf’ is from the Chinese fairytale The Wolf of Zhongsan, which tells the story of a wolf’s ingratitude after being saved by a scholar.