Sober and beautiful, my husband and son begged for my forgiveness on their knees.

"Damn it... How dare you speak to Jingmo like that! Even though you're divorced, you still have your son Mingjin, and you're telling him to contact you less? Don't you feel ashamed saying such self-righteous things? You may be shameless, but we still have our dignity!"

Li Lifen spoke at length with great conviction, making Ning Yao's ears ring.

She asked casually, "Mrs. Ning, are you a dog?"

Li Lifen was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Ning Yao sneered, "You're clearly a human being, not a dog, so why do you like meddling in other people's business so much?"

Li Lifen realized she was being mocked as a dog, and gritted her teeth in anger, "You—"

But the next second her expression changed, and she pounded her chest, saying, "How could I have given birth to a daughter like you who is so ill-mannered and disrespectful to her elders!"

Ning Yan quickly chimed in, "Mom, don't get agitated. You had angina yesterday, you can't afford to get upset right now."

After helping Li Lifen to sit down on the sofa, she looked at Ning Yao helplessly, "Yaoyao, I know you're still angry with us for going to 'Shattered Star' to find you last time, but your parents are just worried about you and afraid you're suffering. Don't be angry with your mother anymore, okay?"

Lu Jingmo originally didn't intend to interrupt, but he also felt that Ning Yao's words had gone too far, so he said in a deep voice, "Ning Yao, what you said just now went too far. Your aunt is, after all, your mother, and you shouldn't have humiliated her like that."

Lu Mingjin looked at her disapprovingly, "It's Mom's fault, Mom shouldn't have scolded Grandma!"

Seeing that Lu Jingmo and Lu Mingjin were both on her side, Ning Yan was initially worried that they would get closer to Ning Yao, but now it seems that Ning Yao's efforts were in vain.

A smug smile played on her lips.

Ning Yao didn't want to pay attention to them, but they were so blind, treating her like an easy target.

She abruptly stopped, glanced at everyone present, and then let out a cold sneer.

“Lu Jingmo, don’t try to morally blackmail me. I have no connection with the Ning family now. If they try to provoke me, of course I will fight back.”

"Also, we have nothing to do with each other anymore. You'd better not meddle in my affairs, and don't try to shift your responsibilities onto me."

Lu Jingmo's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

He kindly advised Ning Yao not to be so aggressive, but Ning Yao not only didn't appreciate it, but also humiliated him.

"Ning Yao, if it weren't for Ming Jin, do you think I would care about what others think of you? Let me remind you one last time: don't embarrass Ming Jin in public. He is the future heir of the Lu Group. If you tarnish his reputation, I will never let you off the hook!"

"Fine, then I'll hold a press conference right now and announce our divorce. That way, your son's situation won't be my fault."

Ning Yan's eyes flashed with joy upon hearing her words.

If the divorce is made public, she can rightfully take over.

Li Lifen is also waiting for Ning Yao to make it public. Yan Yan cares about them even more than she does. If Yan Yan marries into the Lu family, the Ning family will definitely rise in status!

Lu Jingmo stared at her intently, his tone cold and hard: "If you dare to release this information on your own initiative, you will bear all the losses of the Lu Group!"

Ning Yao simply smiled faintly at his threat and then left without looking back.

As soon as she left, the tense atmosphere in the ward dissipated.

Li Lifen stopped pretending to be upset and quickly took Lu Mingjin from her, coaxing him as her "good grandson."

Just as the nurse was about to examine Lu Mingjin, she immediately spoke up, "Jingmo, you've had a long night too, let me accompany Mingjin during the examination."

Lu Jingmo was indeed tired. The smoky atmosphere all morning had made his dizziness worse.

"Jingmo, you don't look well. Are you feeling dizzy? Should I massage you?"

Ning Yan noticed that he was rubbing his temples and asked him with concern.

Lu Jingmo paused, staring intently at her.

Ning Yan's heart tightened, and she quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand. I often massage acupoints for my parents at home, and I was afraid that you would hurt yourself by pressing them randomly, so I wanted to help you."

"No need," Lu Jingmo declined calmly, then asked, "Isn't Ning Yao's relationship with your uncle and aunt good?"

Ning Yan's eyes flickered slightly. He had never asked these questions before, so why had he changed this time?

"It's not that it's bad. Yaoyao didn't grow up under her parents' care, so she doesn't know them well enough. That's why her parents don't know how to ease the tension between them."

Lu Jingmo's eyes were dark and unreadable, revealing no change in his emotions.

If they really wanted to ease tensions, how could they not see the injury on Ning Yao's hand?

Ning Yan didn't want his attention to be focused on Ning Yao, so she took the initiative to ask about the bidding meeting.

"Jingmo, I heard the bidding ended yesterday, but I was busy taking care of Mom and didn't know the results yet. But I know you attended, congratulations! In the entire Whale City, besides the Lu Group, no other company should have won the bid. It's just..."

She paused for a moment, looking somewhat troubled.

This time, however, Lu Jingmo did not ask her as usual, but directly told her that Lu's Group had not won the bid.

Ning Yan was stunned. "How could that be? The Lu family is the most powerful company in Whale City. Why wouldn't the organizers choose you?"

As Lu Jingmo listened to her words, the image of Ning Yao standing calmly on the stage involuntarily appeared in his mind.

Although they are sisters, Yanyan is not as good as Ningyao in terms of the big picture.

"If I had to pinpoint a reason, it would be that Lu's designers were simply less skilled."

Ning Yan was even more shocked. Who was Lu Jingmo? He actually admitted that the other person was better than him!

How powerful must a company be to win the bidding qualification?

Aren't you curious about who won the bid?

Lu Jingmo asked in a low voice, and Ning Yan quickly nodded; of course she was curious!

"It's Ning Yao's company, 'Shattered Star'."

Ning Yan was stunned; it was actually Ning Yao!

How can this be?

No matter how talented Ning Yao is, she can't compare to the designers carefully selected by the Lu family!

"I need to see a doctor. You and your aunt can do as you please."

After Lu Jingmo left, she quickly took out her phone to search and confirmed that Suixing Company had won the bidding qualification. Her heart sank.

doctor's office.

Lu Jingmo consulted a doctor about the reason for his son's worsening condition. Upon learning that his son had swapped meals with other children, he frowned and asked, "Doctor, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"

"I have already confirmed with the child who asked for the meal exchange. It was the young master who asked him to exchange meals, saying that he really wanted to try the chili peppers."

Lu Jingmo found it even more suspicious.

He had learned from Ning Yao's incessant chatter that his son's stomach was weaker than that of other children, so Ning Yao carefully prepared all the food he ate.

Even now, the food her son eats is improved from the recipes compiled by Ning Yao.

In addition, her son had vomited and had diarrhea from eating spicy chili peppers.

Therefore, there's no reason for the son to voluntarily exchange meals with others.

Back in the ward, his first question to his son was why he had swapped meals with someone else.

Lu Mingjin was surprised that he found out about this so quickly, and she started picking at her fingers nervously.