"What's the punishment?"
But as soon as the words left her mouth, before Ning Yitao could react, a tremendous force sent her flying.
When Ning Yitao looked up again, she was back in that vibrant sea of flowers. The roses were still as delicate and charming as ever, their heads tilted slightly towards the sun, looking full of vitality.
The sun was hanging high in the sky, generously showering its rays on every corner. Everything seemed the same, yet somehow different. The birds were still chirping merrily in the branches.
However, Ning Yitao wasn't in a good mood at the moment.
"I've been tricked again," she thought with a frown.
The voice of Liu Qiaozhi's apology reached her ears. Liu Qiaozhi was filled with self - blame. She never expected that the black - clad man would launch a sudden attack. Caught off guard, all she could do at the last moment was to push Ning Yitao out of the illusion along with the force, sparing Ning Yitao the pain of the collapsing illusion.
"Taotao, I'm sorry. I couldn't withstand his pressure," Liu Qiaozhi said with a sob in her voice. She felt so useless, thinking that she couldn't do anything right. She was afraid of being abandoned, feeling so weak.
In the past, whenever Liu Qiaozhi did something wrong, her mother would lock her out of the house and leave her to fend for herself.
Panicked, Liu Qiaozhi said, "Taotao, you can punish me or beat me, but please don't abandon me."
Ning Yitao didn't blame her. She softened her voice to soothe Liu Qiaozhi's emotions. Liu Qiaozhi was too sensitive and lacked a sense of security.
"It's okay. I'll never abandon you," Ning Yitao said. Then she stood still and looked back at the place where they had been ejected.
The illusion had disappeared, and the crack on the lawn was gone too. When Ning Yitao tried to tear open the illusion again, she found that it had already been hidden by the black - clad man.
"Was it really that fast?" Ning Yitao thought in disbelief.
Such a large - scale illusion couldn't just disappear like that. The most likely explanation was that the black - clad man wasn't hiding all the time. He had probably started planning to move it as soon as Ning Yitao entered.
Having been ejected from the illusion, Ning Yitao had no choice but to give up. She still needed to make more preparations before facing the black - clad man.
But why was she ejected just when she asked about Ji Wangqiu? What was the connection between Ji Wangqiu's family and the black - clad man?
However, Ji Wangqiu and his father were very resistant to this topic. Before entering the illusion, Ning Yitao had tried to get answers from them, but both of them kept their mouths shut.
Ning Yitao let out a soft sigh.
"Why are there still so many troubles even after being reborn?"
Zhaocai chimed in, "This isn't a trouble. You got the truth about the past from Ji Yeran."
When it came to this so - called truth, Zhaocai fell silent. He didn't want to bring it up.
Even though Ning Yitao knew the truth now, time had changed, and so had her state of mind. If she had gotten the answer before her ascension, she would definitely have accepted Ji Wangqiu again, because it wasn't really Ji Wangqiu's fault.
But now, Ning Yitao felt that it didn't really matter whether Ji Wangqiu was right or wrong in this matter. No matter what choice he made, she could accept it. Even if Ji Wangqiu betrayed her again, Ning Yitao thought she could handle it.
Zhaocai, full of speculation and uneasiness, didn't know what Ning Yitao thought of his past actions, but he still felt inexplicably nervous.
Zhaocai regretted bringing up this matter. But the problem had to be faced. He swore loudly in his storage bag, "Taotao, I've always owed you a formal apology. But since I met you, I've always been too proud to say it."
"But now I think that as long as you're alive, I don't mind making a fool of myself."
Zhaocai closed his eyes and shouted out the words that had been hidden in his heart for a long time. He had made a lot of mental preparations to say this.
But after he said it, he was still afraid of Ning Yitao's answer. He had always been afraid to ask Ning Yitao what she thought of him back then. He was scared of hearing the answer he didn't want.
Now, Ning Yitao's silence made Zhaocai extremely nervous. He even began to regret saying those words. If Ning Yitao told him to leave right now, Zhaocai really wouldn't have the face to stay by her side.
Finally, Zhaocai heard a soft laugh. He looked up and confirmed that it was Ning Yitao. Seeing Ning Yitao smiling made the tension in Zhaocai's nerves disappear.
This was the first time Zhaocai had seen such a smile on Ning Yitao's face. It was a smile of relief, liberation, and happiness.
Ning Yitao joked, "So, it seems I'm not that annoying."
Zhaocai said full of apology, "Taotao, I'll never do such a thing again."
The two didn't say much more, but they understood each other's feelings. The barrier between their hearts disappeared in these few words.
Finally, they were reconciled.
Liu Qiaozhi felt that the contract line between Zhaocai and Ning Yitao had become stronger.
Was this the power of trust?
Ning Yitao originally planned to go back home after lunch. There was no point in staying here any longer. The trace of the black - clad man was already lost, and Ji Wangqiu and his father, who were obviously in cooperation with the black - clad man, refused to say a single extra word.
Even at the dinner table, even though Zhaocai tried to liven up the atmosphere, it was still eerily quiet.
When Ji Yeran saw that Ning Yitao was about to leave, he panicked and hurriedly asked, "Um, Ning Yitao, what's your decision about our Ji Wangqiu?"
Ji Yeran stood in front of Ning Yitao, nervously rubbing his hands. There was no doubt that he loved his son very much, but he wasn't sure if he could persuade Ning Yitao to help him.
He had never shown a good attitude towards Ning Yitao in the past. If Ning Yitao refused him now, it would be his own doing.
Ji Yeran just hoped that Ning Yitao could let bygones be bygones and help his son.
Ji Wangqiu had something to hide from Ning Yitao. He didn't want to put Ning Yitao in a difficult position. He pulled his elderly father away from in front of Ning Yitao and explained to Ning Yitao, "Don't take it to heart. You don't have to worry about me. I know my own body."
Ning Yitao felt that she had done nothing today but play the role of a villain. She could only stand there and wait for the father - son duo to talk to each other.
Ji Wangqiu pulled Ji Yeran aside and tried to persuade his father not to worry about him. Standing in front of this heart - warming scene of father - son affection, Ning Yitao felt uncomfortable.
"It seems I have nothing to do with this," she thought and stepped aside silently.
At this time, Liu Qiaozhi jumped off the chair, ran to Ning Yitao's side, and took her hand, trying to get her attention.
Liu Qiaozhi's clothes were different every day. Ning Yitao knew that Zhaocai had searched everywhere for these beautiful clothes for her.
Looking at the heavy - duty European - style dress on Liu Qiaozhi, it was extremely suitable for her. The layers of the skirt didn't look heavy at all. Her cute face paired with the doll - collar dress made her look extremely well - behaved.
Ning Yitao couldn't help but think of the clothes Chu Zhiyuan had chosen for Yun Lianmeng. The taste was really indescribable. In terms of taste, Ning Yitao thought Zhaocai was quite good.
Ning Yitao squatted down to look at Liu Qiaozhi at eye level. Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, she asked gently, "What's wrong?"
Liu Qiaozhi seemed a bit anxious. She leaned close to Ning Yitao's ear and whispered something.
When Ji Wangqiu finally remembered Ning Yitao and the others, he looked up and found that they were gone.
Ji Wangqiu called others over in confusion to ask about their whereabouts. The bodyguard who had been standing beside them seemed to be shocked. He stood there, stunned and speechless.
It was as if he had seen something he couldn't accept. Facing his young master's question, he forced himself to come to his senses and replied, "Young master, just now Miss Ning and the two kids, they, they seemed to tear open a crack in the air right there and then disappeared."
There was a lot of uncertainty in the bodyguard's words. He even suspected that he had misseen.
But Ji Wangqiu's face just changed. He didn't question the bodyguard about anything else.
Ji Wangqiu turned to discuss something with Ji Yeran. Ji Yeran's expression also turned gloomy. Instead of looking for Ning Yitao, they headed in another direction to plan something.