Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 28

“She is not my Mammy! You aren’t allowed to call her that!”

Ji Ci spoke in incoherent, rambling sentences, her footsteps unsteady. Ming Nuo pulled her away, and she stumbled back against a tree.

Ning Xueqing crossed her arms and retreated a few steps, watching Ji Ci for a moment before walking toward her with a furrowed brow.

Ming Nuo shielded her: “Xueqing, let’s go. We’ll call security; this person is clearly not stable.”

Ning Xueqing didn’t step further. She stopped a distance away from Ji Ci and whispered to Ming Nuo: “I need to say a few words to her.”

Ming Nuo didn’t stop her outwardly, but she felt quite displeased in her heart. A few words? This person is like a rabid dog—disrupting the dinner, exposing family scandals, stalking and harassing. What is there to talk about? Her behavior is bad enough to justify calling the police.

Standing behind Ming Nuo, Ning Xueqing rested her fingertips lightly on Ming Nuo’s shoulder and asked Ji Ci, who was panting while hugging the tree trunk: “Have you taken your medicine?”

Ji Ci raised her eyelids weakly, turning her face away impatiently. “I’m not sick.”

“Ning Xueqing, everything I said is true.”

“Why does no one believe me?”

“My Mammy and Mommy are both dead. The two people living in my house right now are devils in disguise.”

“Devils have many clones—my secretary, my bodyguards, the driver, Manager Li, the businessmen at the auction… they are all devils in disguise.”

“They want to take me back, chop me up, and send me to the old witch in Houjiang to be stewed into soup.”

Ji Ci suddenly looked up, her eyes wide as she stared at Ning Xueqing. She reached out her hand toward her: “You are my only blood relative. I only have you. In this world, I only trust you. Come with me. Before Mammy died, she promised me that the Ji family industries would all be mine. I’ll give them all to you. I’ll take back everything she owed you and return it all.”

Devils? Dead? Blood relative? Ming Nuo was stunned; Ji Ci was truly insane. She looked back at Ning Xueqing with concern, finding her face filled with guardedness and worry.

Ning Xueqing said helplessly, “You’ve gotten worse. When I left Peru, your condition was gradually improving. I don’t know what you’ve been through these past years. Ji Ci, you need to go back to the hospital right now…”

Ji Ci roared in a violent rage: “I told you I’m not sick!”

“Everything I say is true!”

“Why won’t anyone believe me! Believe me! BELIEVE ME!!!”

Ji Ci suddenly pointed at Ming Nuo, the whites of her eyes streaked with blood: “Is it because of this woman? What did she say to you? Did she enchant you so you wouldn’t recognize me as your sister?”

“I see now. You’re a devil too. You want to use Ning Xueqing to catch me.” Ji Ci let out a cold laugh, slowly approaching Ming Nuo, her clouded eyes fixed on her. “I warn you, don’t get close to Ning Xueqing! I will protect her! None of you devils will ever hurt her!”

Ming Nuo’s back stiffened. She watched her every move warily, her arm shielding Ning Xueqing behind her. Afraid that a sudden movement would trigger a reaction, she could only lead Ning Xueqing backward slowly.

“Ning Xueqing.”

Ji Ci looked at Ning Xueqing, her violent expression instantly becoming submissive, like a puppy with its ears and tail down. “Sister, will you let me call you Sister? I’ve wanted a sister since I was little. I want to be with you, wear pretty dresses with you, comb the dolls’ hair together… that way, when I’m sleeping in the black box, I can hold you, and it won’t be so cold…”

“Ning Xueqing, the world is full of devils, it’s dangerous. Just tell everyone that Mengmeng is the child of you and me! I will protect you both!”

“Ning Xueqing—”

Ji Ci lunged forward with her hands outstretched. Ning Xueqing cried out and ran back.

Ming Nuo was quick. She grabbed Ji Ci’s wrists and twisted her arms behind her back. Ji Ci’s frail body was no match for Ming Nuo; she was subdued in a single move, her face pressed down into the grass.

Since they had surrendered their phones for the show, Ming Nuo couldn’t contact anyone immediately. She said to Ning Xueqing: “Xueqing, go get security and call an ambulance.”

“Okay…” Ning Xueqing looked around for the fastest path. Just as she turned, a black Alphard braked on the main road. Five or six bodyguards jumped out. Manager Li hurried over, leading a secretary in a suit and a woman carrying a medical kit.

Manager Li pointed at Ming Nuo and Ji Ci on the ground: “Over there!”

The secretary and the woman ran over. The secretary pulled out a phone and aimed it at Ming Nuo: “Release the Young Lady! Otherwise, I will record your violence as evidence of intentional assault and sue you.”

A bodyguard stepped forward to grab Ming Nuo’s arm. Ming Nuo shoved him away, released Ji Ci, and pointed at the secretary: “You’ve come at a good time. Are you her companions? She is mentally unstable and has caused harm to me and my friend. You will be held responsible.”

The secretary didn’t speak but signaled to the woman beside him. The woman helped Ji Ci up. The moment her hand touched Ji Ci’s pulse, Ji Ci pushed her away maniacally: “Get away! GET AWAY—”

The woman decisively administered an intravenous injection into her forearm. Ji Ci’s screaming stopped. Her pupils slowly dilated, her breathing slowed, and she eventually closed her eyes, falling asleep in the woman’s arms.

Ning Xueqing covered her mouth in shock, asking the woman: “What did you inject her with? Even if she has a condition, you can’t administer medication without a diagnosis.”

The woman looked at her with a faint smile: “I am Miss Ji’s private doctor. She occasionally has agitated states; I am simply sedating her.”

The private doctor’s smile made Ning Xueqing very uncomfortable. She saw no concern for the patient on the doctor’s face; it was as if she were merely a piece of meat to be processed.

Ning Xueqing wanted to say more, but the secretary walked over, reprimanding her with a cold, harsh expression: “Miss Ning, the Madam made it clear to you long ago—your paths are separate. Please, you and the elder Madam Ning, stop harassing her, and especially stop harassing our Young Lady!”

Ning Xueqing, usually known for her good temper, barked back: “Who is harassing whom?”

Secretary: “Our Young Lady has a quiet personality and delicate mind. She was recovering well while living in South America, but since meeting you a few years ago, her temperament suddenly became violent. If that isn’t you causing her harm, then what is?”

The secretary looked Ning Xueqing up and down with a scoff: “I understand. You want to scheme for something through our Young Lady. If it weren’t for having no other choice back then, the elder Madam Ning wouldn’t have sent you into the entertainment industry. Everyone knows what kind of place that is. After all, besides your looks, what else do you mother and daughter have to exchange for money to support your lives?”

The secretary held her head high: “The Madam said that since her blood still flows in your veins, she won’t settle accounts with you too much. But if you keep trying to flatter our Young Lady over and over, I will have no choice but to have the bodyguards remove you. That wouldn’t be very dignified. If footage of you were to hit the internet, it wouldn’t be good, would it?”

“Ouch!” The secretary shrieked as a glob of mud hit her face. “Ah!”

Immediately, several more clumps of mud flew and hit her body.

Ming Nuo picked up some stones, kneaded them with mud, and hurled them at the secretary with all her might: “I’ll make you ‘undignified’ right now!”

The secretary wiped the mud off her face, only to find it was mixed with yellow-green bird droppings and slimy slugs!

“AHHH!!!” The secretary screamed in terror, jumping around. “Get it off me! Get it off!”

“What are you waiting for? Does the Madam pay you to eat for free? Go and deal with her!” the secretary roared, pointing at Ming Nuo.

Several bodyguards surrounded Ming Nuo with electric batons. Ning Xueqing shouted anxiously from the outside: “What are you doing! This behavior is illegal! We are recording a show, the whole crew are witnesses! Aren’t you afraid of being detained?”

The secretary, covered in foul mud, gave a contemptuous laugh: “Afraid? Miss Ning, you’ve stayed in your ‘golden brothel’ for too long and don’t know the rules outside, do you? In this territory of Shenjiang, who are my boss and the Madam afraid of?!”

Ning Xueqing’s expression panicked, her face turning pale instantly. Whatever she thought of, fear appeared in her eyes, and her lips gradually lost their color.

The secretary gave the order in a fit of rage: “Do it!”

“Ming Nuo!” Ning Xueqing rushed into the circle of bodyguards. A bodyguard pushed her back with his hand. Seeing the electric baton about to strike Ning Xueqing’s waist, Ming Nuo stepped forward, grabbed Ning Xueqing, and dodged. The bodyguard pursued, and the baton grazed a few strands of Ming Nuo’s hair.

Ning Xueqing held Ming Nuo’s shoulders tightly. Smelling a burnt scent, she asked nervously: “Ming Nuo, are you okay?”

Ming Nuo shook her head, stroked her back soothingly, and held her with one arm. With her right hand, she gripped a wooden stick she had picked up, holding it across her chest.

“No wonder Ji Lang is unwilling to help persuade Ji Yinqi to give you the outsourcing rights,” Ming Nuo said, her face cold and her tone mocking.

The secretary’s face turned ashen. She immediately called the bodyguards off: “Back down.”

Ming Nuo’s palm holding Ning Xueqing was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Her chest was pressed against Ning Xueqing’s, their heartbeats connected by the slight tremors. Ming Nuo suppressed her heavy breathing and held Ning Xueqing a little tighter.

She knew her gamble had paid off. The sickly Ji Ci wasn’t as important as the secretary’s constant “our Young Lady” made her out to be; what the entire Ji family truly valued from top to bottom were resources and power.

The secretary asked Ming Nuo angrily: “Were you eavesdropping on my lady’s private conversation?”

Ming Nuo was speechless. Your lady’s ‘private conversation’? She practically wanted to broadcast it nationwide.

Ming Nuo recalled what Ji Ci had said at the table and said cryptically: “Eavesdrop? The Fourth Young Lady and I are friends. You should know she is also participating in this show. I was the one who invited her.”

The secretary looked shocked, her expression shifting. Soon, she replaced it with a fawning smile: “I see! Miss Ming is so fearless and resourceful; you’re a friend of the Fourth Young Lady. Ah, it’s all a misunderstanding. Our Young Lady is frail, and the Madam worries about her being bullied… look at my lack of judgment, I was simply over-worried.”

“You lot, come here and kneel to apologize to Miss Ming!”

The bodyguards lined up and apologized to Ming Nuo in unison. Ming Nuo didn’t even look at them. She pointed at the secretary and said coldly: “You. Kneel to Teacher Ning. Bow ten times. With every bow, say that you have stayed in the brothel for too long and don’t know the rules, and apologize to her!”

Whatever insults this scum had hurled at Ning Xueqing, Ming Nuo was going to make her pay back in kind!

The secretary was full of resistance: “This… Miss Ming, I will apologize to Miss Ning right now, but those words are unnecessary—”

Ming Nuo’s face turned grim: “If your apology isn’t sincere, I’ll just have to talk to the Fourth Young Lady when I visit her home in Houjiang. Oh, I remember CEO Ji Yinqi likes pink cherry-blossom sugilite?”

How would Ming Nuo know what Ji Yinqi liked? But she saw a string of sugilite wrapped around Ji Lang’s left arm. Ji Ci had said her mother mentioned Ji Yinqi doted on Ji Lang. To get some scraps from the Ji family table, the Ji family must have studied every detail of the Ji sisters’ preferences. The thing Ji Lang wore constantly couldn’t be wrong.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the secretary bit her lip and knelt at Ning Xueqing’s feet.

“I am sorry, Miss Ning. I… I have stayed in the bro…thel too long and don’t know the rules. Please forgive me.”

The secretary spoke haltingly, her face turning a deep shade of purple from shame and anger.

Ning Xueqing stood there coldly, her eyes shimmering with tears, remaining silent.

Ming Nuo said to the secretary coldly: “It seems you know how foul your words are. There are many ways to be malicious, but you chose the basest. You are also a woman, yet you use such misogynistic insults to hurt another woman. You are disgusting.”

The secretary lay on the ground, her features scrunched up. Her nails dug into the turf, her whole body trembling with rage.

Ming Nuo turned back, her eyes asking Ning Xueqing gently how she was. Ning Xueqing wiped the corner of her eye with her ring finger and whispered she was fine. Ming Nuo lightly draped an arm over her shoulder and led her away from the messy grass.

As their silhouettes faded, the private doctor walked over and helped the secretary up.

“Are you all right?”

The secretary’s teeth chattered with rage: “A mere singer… how dare she be so arrogant? Once the Madam gets the Ji family equity, we’ll see how long they can stay arrogant. On that day, I’ll have her and Ning Xueqing lick my high heels with their tongues.”

The doctor smiled, then answered a call, instantly putting on a serious expression: “Madam.”

“Yes, the Young Lady is very unstable right now, with manic manifestations. I suggest sending her to the hospital for treatment first, and bringing her home after she improves…”

“No need.” The voice on the phone was deep and low, like a stone falling into a deep pool of melted ice. “She is not sick. The hospital would create a medical record, which would make Chairman Ji misunderstand that Xiao Ci is unfit, affecting her promotion within the Ji system.”

A chill ran through the doctor. She remained silent for a moment, then gripped the phone: “Yes, Madam.”

She turned around. Security was carrying the unconscious Ji Ci into the car. The doctor sat inside, took out a sedative, and pushed back Ji Ci’s long sleeve. The inside of her pale wrist was crowded with scar after scar.

—Have a good dream, Xiao Ci. I hope in that dream world, you can become a butterfly and fly out of the black box.

Fregoli Delusion.

It was the first time Ming Nuo had heard of this rare psychiatric condition.

“So, the clinical manifestation of Ji Ci’s illness is that she believes people around her are the same person in disguise, and that this person is a persecutor out to harm her?” Ming Nuo asked, sitting in a small gazebo by a mountain spring.

“In her consciousness, the only real person she can confirm is you, so she has a fixation on you, believing that only being by your side is safe.” Ning Xueqing nodded. “Six years ago, I went to South America for an international mental health event and met her there. At that time, she only had mild schizophrenia; it wasn’t this severe.”

“Seeing Ji Ci working today, I thought she had recovered… Actually, I hated Ji Ci when I was little, because she was the child my Mammy had with another woman after abandoning me and my mother. For a time, I believed she was the one who stole Mammy’s love from me. But seeing Ji Ci’s condition now, I actually feel a trace of relief…” Ning Xueqing propped her forehead helplessly, her gaze vacant, her mental state appearing very poor.

Ming Nuo also felt Ning Xueqing’s mood was terrible. She hadn’t taken her straight back to the campsite for fear of affecting Mengmeng, leading her instead to a relatively quiet place to recover her composure. Ming Nuo gently patted Ning Xueqing’s back and bought her a sweet drink from a vending machine.

“Ming Nuo, thank you for today.” Ning Xueqing took the bottle and gave her a shy smile.

Ming Nuo lowered her head and interlaced her fingers. “Sister, you don’t have to be so polite with me.”

Ning Xueqing’s eyes curved as she saw Ming Nuo’s palms, still stained with the mud she’d used to teach the villain a lesson. Ming Nuo noticed her gaze and shyly curled her fingers. “Sorry, I got your clothes dirty.”

“No,” Ning Xueqing said. She opened her hands and gently cupped them over Ming Nuo’s curled fingers, their skin touching, feeling each other’s warmth.

“Ming Nuo…” Ning Xueqing turned her palms inward, fully enveloping Ming Nuo’s hands. Her peach-blossom eyes were tinged with a pink flush as she looked at her tenderly.

Reflected in Ning Xueqing’s affectionate gaze, Ming Nuo unconsciously moistened the inside of her dry lips with the tip of her tongue.

Ning Xueqing’s lashes fluttered as she murmured: “Those things you said to Ji Ci…”

“Ming Nuo, do you care a lot about who I had Mengmeng with?”