Chapter 362: Conspirators in crime

Excitement could be sensed in the knocks on the door.

Xu Tingsheng opened the door.

Little Xiang Ning entered the office and closed the door. She stood there just like that, her two little hands behind her back as she looked up and smiled at Xu Tingsheng, not saying a word…

Her short skirt revealed her two long, supple legs.

This was the first time that Xu Tingsheng was seeing Little Xiang Ning in a short skirt ever since his rebirth. So the little, sixteen-year-old her was already this tall. She wouldn’t be growing much more over the next few years.

Xiang Ning had been 1.67m tall in his previous life.

Her legs were so beautiful.

Xu Tingsheng could not stop himself from sneaking a glance at them. He was apprehended in the act.

Xiang Ning shot him a look before immediately smiling, her smile being full of triumph.

Then, her hands behind her back, she snuck over quietly, putting her forehead on Xu Tingsheng’s chest and saying softly, “I miss you a bit. You must really miss me, right?”

She said that since she missed him a bit, he must really miss her a lot. She was the kind of person who was very certain of her feelings and happiness once she had confirmed the status of the relationship.

Xu Tingsheng had not been that much of a devoted, fully enamoured person in his previous life. In the end, however, he had still met utter defeat at the hands of this girl whose mind lived in an independent world of her own yet could somehow integrate and merge perfectly with reality too.

“Very much,” Xu Tingsheng admitted before continuing, “You looked very tired walking around downstairs. Here, take a seat.”

Xu Tingsheng let Xiang Ning sit on his office chair and conscientiously poured water for her, next coming to stand by the office table.

“You said you were watching me just now? How?” Little Xiang Ning asked.

“Surveillance monitors,” Xu Tingsheng switched to the surveillance feed on his computer screen.

Filled with curiosity, Xiang Ning looked at it for a while before pointing at one of the grids, exclaiming, “Hey, I can see my Mum and Dad.”

Xu Tingsheng magnified that grid for her as the images of Mr and Mrs Xiang as they stood in line in the inclination queue came clearly into focus.

“You were watching me like this just now?”

“Yeah.”

“All throughout?”

“Uhh...yes.”

“You dirty ruffian.”

“...Right, however did you manage to guess? I went to such great pains to hide it.”

“Ning Garden...Little Pert Waist...waist looks the best...first-tier senior high…” Little Xiang Ning slowly recited the key phrases which had given her that sudden realisation one by one before saying as she looked at him, “Is this a confession, Xu Tingsheng? Hmm, it’s a little romantic.”

To be precise, in the eyes of the little Xiang Ning, Xu Tingsheng’s gesture of building this Ning Garden for her was really not much different at all from him forming a heart shape and an ‘I love you’ with candles on her front lawn…

Xu Tingsheng rejoiced inwardly that she was still young, her soul still so bright and transparent.

Because of this, Xu Tingsheng had no reservations as he revealed the entirety of his plan to Xiang Ning before reiterating over and over that she was not to tell this to her parents. Afraid that she might not get this, he explained to her what Mr and Mrs Xiang might think of this and what that might result in.

“Are we going to team up to fool them now then?” This was Little Xiang Ning’s first thought as she asked Xu Tingsheng with shining eyes.

“Yeah, is that okay?” Xu Tingsheng smiled.

“Yep…” Xiang Ning smiled too, as if she was co-conspiring with Uncle to do something bad.

Since they had become conspirators in crime, Xu Tingsheng changed his original plan to one with a lower difficulty. He sent Lin Yixian a text. A short while later, a slip of paper was pushed through from beneath the door.

Xu Tingsheng picked it up and passed it to Xiang Ning, carefully instructing her on what to say and what to do afterwards.

Xiang Ning’s first thought was that this was fun. Perhaps she had found a bit of the feeling of being a spy or undercover agent as she was so excited that she was just chuckling out loud.

The next thing she did was kiss Xu Tingsheng gently on the face as he was poring over the computer screen.

Next, she smiled a bit shyly, explaining, “This isn’t for Big Xiang Ning. This is Little Xiang Ning’s...you really are good, Xu Tingsheng. Thank you. I, I actually really like you a lot.”

Xu Tingsheng zoned out momentarily, still reliving that earlier feeling.

And now Little Xiang Ning, perhaps channelling her embarrassment into rage, lightly kicked Xu Tingsheng, putting on an angry look, “Keeping this from me, you baddie. If I hadn’t guessed, you’d have kept this from me too, right? You’re even selling my house at such a high price, making my Mum and Dad all worried for so long, sighing everyday…”

Xu Tingsheng could only force a smile and patiently explain what had held him back.

He also made use of this chance to do a bit of indoctrination. Uncle still needed to earn some money off others for the lofty goal of upkeeping her in the future.

It was with much difficulty that Little Xiang Ning finally decided to forgive ‘Uncle Liar’.

“Must we really wait till my Mum and Dad agree?” Xiang Ning asked rather dismally.

“Yeah. They can’t be opposed to it, at least,” Xu Tingsheng answered.

“But I have classmates who date too, and they seldom tell their parents.”

“...It’s different for us.”

“Right, I know, because ours is a student-teacher relationship.”

“...”

……

Feeling restless, Mrs Xiang gave Xiang Ning a call while waiting in line to make sure that she was okay. Xiang Ning told her Mum that she was waiting obediently by the entrance.

After hanging up, Mrs Xiang filled the inclination form rather mindlessly with Mr Xiang.

Never would she have thought that Little Xiang Ning who was ‘waiting obediently by the entrance’ was currently watching their every move from behind a computer screen, being together with that ‘suspicious character’ Xu Tingsheng whom they were constantly vigilant against. The two of them were excitedly discussing how to execute their ‘grand conspiracy’.

They even simulated and rehearsed it a few times.

“Mr Xiang, I think that you should fill in at least 180 square metres. There are penthouse flats that are 180 square metres, and you can renovate a small loft. That space all comes for free,” Lin Yixian who had been following Mr and Mrs Xiang all throughout hurriedly advised as she saw Mr Xiang filling up 120 square metres on his inclination form.

Mr Xiang appeared rather hesitant.

“It’s just about your preferences anyway,” Lin Yixian said.

“Fill that in then,” Mrs Xiang said from beside him.

Thinking that it didn’t really matter anyway, merely being a survey of their preferences, Mr Xiang casually filled in a 180 square metres penthouse.

Mrs Xiang’s cousin felt like she had been slighted. How could this employee be so undiscerning that she had been following the ones who might not be able to afford it all throughout, meanwhile actually leaving ‘VIPs’ like her aside?

“Mum, let’s fill in 220 square metres. We can afford it anyway,” Li Meng who had had a displeased expression on her face the entire day glanced at Mr and Mrs Xiang, then said.

While this was just to show their preferences, mother and daughter were still able to find that sense of superiority.

Lin Yixian had already been thoroughly disgusted by this mother and daughter pair’s attitude by now. She forced a smile before turning towards Mr and Mrs Xiang who had already filled up the inclination form.

Smiling enthusiastically, she said, “Well, Mr Xiang, I’ll first take the two of you to view the 180 square metres flat…”

Mr and Mrs Xiang hesitated for a moment. They actually believed that this 180 square metres flat was completely unrelated to them. Still, facing Lin Yixian who had been attentive and enthusiastic and thinking highly of them all throughout, they found it difficult to refuse.

“We’ll be troubling you then. No harm in taking a look. We can also take a look at flats of other sizes along the way,” Mrs Xiang said.

“This way, please,” Lin Yixian led the way.

Li Meng and her mother had had it by now as they kicked up a huge fuss, “What? What about us?”

“The size of your preferred flats are different. You can wait a bit for other employees to guide you later,” Leading Mr and and Mrs Xiang away, Lin Yixian said without even so much as a backward glance.

Mr and Mrs Xiang exchanged looks, smiling relaxedly at each other as their grievances vanished into thin air.