CH 77

TL: Moonlit

For a moment, no one said a word.

Father Ning and Mother Ning were exposed by Shen Ye and didn’t dare to look at Ning Shihua.

As for Mr. Shi and the manager, they were in a state of shock.

To force their daughter to get married sooner, they allowed her to rot all over.

Did they think that by making Ning Shihua look ugly, she would obediently quit the entertainment industry and go back to get married and have children?

Ning Shihua stared at her parents in a daze for a long time before asking in a low voice, “Did you really cause this to happen to us?”

She extended her arm and showed her parents the rotten skin.

If it was really her parents who harmed her… how could they bear it?

After all, she was their biological daughter!

The couple had originally lowered their heads to avoid Ning Shihua’s gaze, but when they saw Ning Shihua’s arm, their eyes widened in astonishment.

“What… happened to you?” Mother Ning immediately ran over and held her hand.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Shi and the manager were a bit confused, unsure if Mother Ning was just pretending or genuinely unaware of the injuries on Ning Shihua’s body caused by them.

Shen Ye, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised at all and said, “She really doesn’t know. She thought she was giving her daughter chicken soup.”

Mr. Shi looked puzzled.

But the manager suddenly remembered that the chicken soup Mother Ning gave Ning Shihua yesterday evening had indeed contained tea.

However, when he glanced at it at the time, there was nothing unusual, and it smelled quite good.

Moreover… even if Father Ning and Mother Ning wanted Ning Shihua to return, they wouldn’t poison her in her chicken soup, would they?

Shen Ye stared at Mother Ning and said, “You tell us. What did you put in your daughter’s chicken soup yesterday?”

Mother Ning looked bewilderedly at Ning Shihua’s arm and after a long time, she whispered, “I… I just added some pre-soaked tea…”

Mr. Shi and the manager frowned.

Mixing tea with chicken soup wouldn’t cause the skin to rot!

Shen Ye, annoyed by Mother Ning’s evasive response, said directly, “She must have obtained a piece of talisman paper and a small bag of tea leaves from somewhere. The other party probably told her to soak the talisman paper and tea leaves together and have her daughter drink them so that her daughter would obediently return to get married and have children. But if Ning Shihua had noticed drinking the water with the talisman paper and tea leaves separately, she would have become suspicious, so she poured it directly into the chicken soup and mixed it together.”

With each word he spoke, Mother Ning’s face grew paler, clearly indicating that he hit the mark.

Ning Shihua’s eyes widened, and tears streamed down her face.

So, it was really her parents who harmed her…

The manager, on the other hand, was furious to the point of exploding. “Auntie, are you crazy? You actually made Shihua drink talisman water?! It’s unclean, and who knows if there are bacteria in it! Are you afraid that your daughter will be healthy and not get sick?”

Even Master Shen would instruct people to wear talisman paper or place it under their pillows. It was impossible to make someone drink it!

The manager was born in a big city and had never seen such confused parents!

To say that Father Ning and Mother Ning were malicious, shouldn’t have escalated to that extent, but they truly and undeniably harmed Ning Shihua…

The manager was infuriated, pacing back and forth in the hospital room, not knowing where to direct her anger.

Mr. Shi was also angry.

Ning Shihua was currently the top star of Ba Jiao Entertainment. If something were to happen to her or if she were to retire, Ba Jiao Entertainment would lose a valuable asset.

And the most unbelievable thing was that Ning Shihua had ended up like this because her parents wanted her to come home and get married and have children… It was even more bizarre than the annual silly news.

Mother Ning’s face turned red as she said, “Many people in our village drink talisman water…”

Mr. Shi was taken aback, suddenly recalling instances from his childhood when talisman water was used to treat illnesses in his hometown.

But those were all things from many years ago. Could it still be the case now?

As if to prove Mother Ning’s words, Father Ning also spoke up, “Last time, your cousin’s child had a high fever and went to the hospital several times without improvement, but the fever subsided after drinking talisman water… It’s an inheritance from the older generation, and we can still trust it.”

…Giving talisman water to a child?!

Were they insane?

The manager didn’t know what to say. Father Ning and Mother Ning were both teachers, albeit in a small town, but they shouldn’t be so ignorant, right?

“Take a look at Shihua’s current condition. Do you think that talisman water is a good thing?” the manager asked, suppressing his anger.

Mother Ning stammered, “I… I don’t know what happened… The immortal aunt said it would be fine…”

Shen Ye stared at Mother Ning’s face for a moment and suddenly said, “At first, I thought Ning Shihua was under a spell, but now it seems she’s been poisoned. That immortal aunt poisoned the talisman paper and used spells to conceal it, so the doctors couldn’t detect it.”

“Poisoned?” Mother Ning raised her voice, “That’s impossible! The immortal aunt is our relative. How could she harm Shihua? Every Chinese New Year, Shihua even gives her several thousand red envelopes!”

In fact, after Ning Shihua became famous, she would give large red envelopes to the elderly and folks in her hometown every year. That immortal aunt is a relative of the Ning family, and she receives even more, sometimes several thousand, and occasionally even tens of thousands.

In reality, Ning Shihua didn’t want to give them, considering that she had little contact with those relatives in the past.

But her parents wanted to save face. They thought it was impressive to have a celebrity in the family, especially one who earned a lot of money. They wanted to show off in front of relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Once they started giving, it never stopped.

The second year when Ning Shihua didn’t give out red envelopes. The relatives and friends acted as if their noses were in the air, criticizing her for earning so much money and forgetting about her hometown folks.

Over the years, these relatives often nagged Father Ning and Mother Ning, saying that Ning Shihua was getting older and it was embarrassing for her not to get married. This was one of the important reasons why Father Ning and Mother Ning were anxious for Ning Shihua to get married. We all live in a society driven by social norms, and sometimes idle gossip can be deadly.

Shen Ye sneered, “That immortal aunt intentionally harmed your daughter. Her son and daughter didn’t even go to school and work in factories, right? Your daughter earns a lot and is a big star. It’s strange if she doesn’t feel jealous. They simply don’t want your daughter to live a good life! You are the ones who are foolish and fell into their trap, and it harmed Ning Shihua!”

Upon hearing this, Father Ning and Mother Ning’s faces turned pale and then green.

MotherNing suddenly burst into tears and sobbed, “I… I just wanted Shihua to get married!”

“But I told you, I don’t want to get married now.” Ning Shihua also cried.

The manager stepped forward and hugged Ning Shihua’s shoulders, silently comforting her.

Mother Ning wiped her tears and said, “But you’re already twenty-eight years old. If you don’t get married, your father and I are being talked about in our hometown every day… And your uncles and aunts say that the Ning family has only produced one unmarried girl like you, and they can’t afford such disgrace!”

Shen Ye had been calm all along, like a bystander. Although he sympathized with Ning Shihua’s situation, he never intended to get involved in the conflict of ideas between Ning Shihua and her parents.

However… upon hearing Mother Ning’s words, he was completely stunned.

Is it shameful to remain unmarried when you’re older?

What kind of logic is this?

He couldn’t help but think of his previous world where there were so many single people… Finding a partner was not an easy task, even for those in their thirties and forties!

Coming to this world and meeting Ye Ze, he felt exceptionally fortunate, as if he had used up all his luck.

But it turned out that people in this world actually believed that not getting married was a disgrace.

Shen Ye couldn’t understand.

After all, he didn’t have such people around him. It was the first time he had heard such remarks, and it felt like his values had been turned upside down.

Mr. Shi and the manager’s expressions were also grim.

Ning Shihua was an international actress with many fans abroad, but among her relatives and friends in her hometown, she was considered a shameful presence.

This… was too ridiculous…

Mother Ning continued crying, “If you get married and have children, you can still pursue your acting career! What’s the use of earning so much money without a family and descendants? In life, having enough money is sufficient, but children are your legacy, and a family is your support. When you grow old, someone will take care of you… Why are you so unwilling to get married…”?

In reality, Mother Ning also felt wronged. Wasn’t she just worried that her daughter would have no one to rely on in the future?

What’s the use of earning so much money? Women work so hard on their own, and she didn’t want her daughter to continue struggling.

She remembered when her daughter first entered the entertainment industry, facing various difficulties. She had coffee and milk tea thrown at her, filmed for two consecutive days and nights without sleep, fell off a horse and was hospitalized, and called her parents in tears in the middle of the night… As parents, of course, they were heartbroken.

“We just want you to be safe,” Mother Ning sat in a chair, sobbing, “This time you had an accident while doing aerial stunts, and your father and I felt it was too dangerous. We truly hope you can quit the entertainment industry.”

Originally, they had planned to discuss marriage with Ning Shihua after she returned home for the Chinese New Year and then ask the immortal aunt for a few lucky talismans to bring her good luck in finding love.

However, with Ning Shihua’s injury, they happened to come to Haicheng to take care of her, so they moved their plans forward.

This was also why Shen Ye didn’t initially realize that Ning Shihua was in danger, because Father Ning and Mother Ning made a last-minute decision to come to Haicheng, and they also asked the immortal aunt for the talismans at the last minute.

The past was unchangeable, and Shen Ye was quite accurate in his predictions. But the future would change based on each person’s actions, and he couldn’t accurately predict every change.

“Come back home with us, go back and see the immortal aunt. She will heal you…” Mother Ning still didn’t want to give up and cried as she spoke to Ning Shihua.

Ning Shi Hua took a deep breath but didn’t know what to say.

Indeed, she had suffered a lot in the past, and she had cried to her parents in the middle of the night. But that was because she willingly endured the hardships! And now that she had succeeded, she still didn’t want to pursue relationships. Was that also wrong?

“I’m not going back,” Ning Shihua shook her head.

Her mindset was different from her parents. She would never get married just because her family felt embarrassed.

Mother Ning cried even harder, “How… how can you be so selfish, only thinking about yourself…”

Father Ning sighed and held his head, echoing Ning Mu’s attitude.

The manager was furious and wanted to punch someone.

With parents like them, they still accused Ning Shihua of being selfish?

This was the pot calling the kettle black!

“Who’s selfish?” Shen Ye couldn’t help but retort, “Aren’t you the ones who think Ning Shihua not getting married is embarrassing for you? Is your face more important, or your daughter’s happiness and wishes? You’re forcing her to marry someone she doesn’t like and do things she doesn’t want to do. Aren’t you selfish?”

He hit the nail on the head with his words!

If the timing had been right, the manager would have wanted to applaud Shen Ye.

Father Ning and Mother Ning’s faces turned ugly. They didn’t argue with Shen Ye, but their attitude was clear: they hoped that Ning Shihua would take this opportunity to retire from the entertainment industry and return to their hometown with them, accepting the treatment from the immortal aunt while going on blind dates and getting married.

The atmosphere became tense.

For some reason, the manager suddenly remembered the hot topic he saw on Weibo yesterday about girls being forced into marriage. A few days ago, there was a girl who was killed by her boyfriend, and netizens were paying a lot of attention to such news. A marketing account started a discussion about experiences of being forced into marriage, asking netizens to share their stories.

There were many victims in the comments, including some stories from relatives. Overall, it was extremely horrifying.

The manager remembered two stories the most clearly.

One was about a wealthy rural area where girls were not allowed to study since childhood and were forced to marry early.

The other was from a relatively developed area. In order to force their daughters into marriage, parents would lock them in a room with a prospective partner for a night. After spending the night together, the daughters would be considered “defiled” and forced to marry the men.

At the time, she felt that her values were completely destroyed after reading those stories!

In this day and age, were there still such ignorant parents?

But there were tens of thousands of comments, and each person was recounting their experiences, emphasizing that it was indeed true.

This was the reality.

And in more remote areas, girls might be killed as soon as they were born, or they would work early on to earn money to support their younger brothers’ education.

After reading that Weibo thread, the manager felt depressed for a whole night.

She had forgotten about it when she woke up this morning since it was someone else’s story, and she didn’t have so much time to pay attention to it.

But now, she realized that such things were happening to the artist she represented!

Remember, Ning Shi Hua was a world-renowned international actress, and her parents were teachers, yet they were going through a forced marriage situation.

Ning Shihua was currently in a miserable state, with her skin ulcerated all over her body. She was neither alive nor dead.

And all of this was caused by her parents… Who would believe it if she told others?

Moreover, now many boys were being forced into marriage as well… as if not getting married made them inferior.

Wasn’t it pitiful?

It was truly pitiful.

But what could be done?

The manager thought of herself.

She’s also almost forty years old and divorced with a child. She is from Haicheng, and her parents are relatively open-minded, but there are still many relatives gossiping about her, saying that she’s been dazzled by the glamorous world of the entertainment industry because she’s getting divorced at such an old age. Moreover, because she’s a bit overweight, her relatives even openly tell her to lose weight, saying that as a divorced woman with a child, no man would want her if she’s so fat. In short, there are all kinds of hurtful words.

But she earns enough money to support herself and her child. Ning Shihua earns more money than all her relatives combined…

Ning Shihua was crying initially, but seeing her parents’ firm attitude, she became calm.

“Mom, Dad, I’m not going back, and I don’t want to get married for now. You should accept it sooner rather than later,” she said, biting her lip, her voice soft but resolute.

The manager firmly held her hand, silently encouraging her.

Father Ning and Mother Ning looked at each other, their faces showing dissatisfaction.

“We’re not forcing you to get married, but since you’ve been injured this time, you should go back and seek treatment from the immortal aunt… Why don’t you come back home with us for a while to rest and recover?” Father Ning considered for a moment and made a concession.

Shen Ye immediately exposed him without hesitation, “So you want to trick her into coming back and then lock her up, right?”

Father Ning’s eyes flickered with unease, “How is that possible… Why would we lock her up…”

But his attitude revealed everything, clearly indicating that Shen Ye’s words were correct.

The manager spoke directly, “No, Shihua cannot go back.”

At this moment, Mr. Shi also spoke up, “I am Ning Shihua’s boss. She has signed a twenty-year contract with the company, and if she breaches it, she will have to pay several billion in compensation. Moreover, she is currently filming and has many endorsements and activities. If she cancels them all, the losses will amount to several billion. If you want to take her away, you have to pay first! Add up the total, it’s over ten billion, and only then can you take her away!”

Of course, these words were meant to scare Father Ning and Mother Ning.

Ning Shihua was also part of the same group that entered the company with Xu Ce, and she also has a small percentage of shares in the company. Her contract is quite lenient, so there’s no way she would have to pay that much in compensation.

But Father Ning and Mother Ning were unaware of this.

They could only think that the company would surely exploit their employees, and if the contract stated that they had to pay over ten billion, then they had no choice.

But to them, several billion was an astronomical figure.

Although Ning Shihua earned a lot and gave money to her family, most of the money she earned over the years was kept by herself, and she frequently made investments. So Father Ning and Mother Ning had no idea how much money she actually had.

In their eyes, if they had to pay several billion, it meant that all the hard-earned money their daughter had accumulated throughout her life would have to be compensated, and they might even end up in debt…

Thinking of this, Father Ning and Mother Ning’s faces turned pale.

“We… We didn’t say we want her to breach the contract…” Mother Ning murmured.

Ning Shihua shook her head. She really didn’t want to communicate with her parents anymore today, otherwise, she was afraid she would be infuriated.

It wasn’t that her parents had ill intentions, but they were indeed selfish.

For the sake of the so-called face, they forced her to get married, and even in order for her to leave the entertainment industry and get married, they caused her skin to ulcerate. This was something she absolutely could not accept.

She said softly, “Mom, Dad, you should go back to the hotel and rest.”

Mother Ning also felt a bit uncomfortable. Clearly, she and her husband were the biological parents of their daughter, but in this room, everyone treated them as if they were outsiders.

“You’re still not healed, and you’ve taken the talisman water. I’ll stay here to take care of you,” Mother Ning said, holding back her anger.

Shen Ye remained silent for a while on the side. He was mainly thinking about the marriage matter.

Although he was eager to get married, if Xu Sisi hadn’t met Xu Ce and remained single for her whole life, he wouldn’t have forced Xu Sisi to get married.

“They are a bit foolish,” Shen Ye whispered to Ye Ze.

Ye Ze patted his head without saying anything.

Shen Ye continued, “Fortunately, Ning Shihua has her own abilities and can defy her parents.”

After a few seconds of contemplation, Ye Ze said, “What if her parents resort to desperate measures?”

Shen Ye widened his eyes, “…Are they that absurd?”

Ye Ze: “…”

Their voices weren’t low, and everyone in the room heard them.

The word “absurd” made Father Ning and Mother Ning’s expressions stiffen.

Shen Ye didn’t bother with them.

His respect was for those who deserved it, and he felt that parents like them didn’t deserve it!

The manager felt a sense of relief when she heard Shen Ye call Father Ning and Mother Ning absurd, but at the same time, she felt a sense of helplessness.

There were indeed parents who would resort to desperate measures.

She recalled a classmate from many years ago who liked girls. When her family found out, her mother resorted to desperate measures to force her into marriage. Within three months, she got married and became pregnant. Later, she had two children. During that time, her husband constantly cheated on her, mocked her, and even subjected her to domestic violence…

As the manager contemplated, Shen Ye turned to Ning Shihua’s parents and said, “I am a Taoist priest, much more powerful than the immortal aunt you mentioned in your hometown. You want to use the excuse of seeking treatment from the immortal aunt to trick Ning Shi Hua into going back. I won’t let you succeed!”

After saying that, he didn’t care about the expressions on Father Ning and Mother Ning’s faces and went directly to Ning Shihua and said, “Roll up your sleeve.”

Ning Shihua immediately complied.

Shen Ye pinched a hand gesture and performed a spell, causing the skin on Ning Shihua’s arm to visibly heal at a rapid speed. As for the skin on her body that others couldn’t see, Shen Ye also used his spell, so it would likely recover as well.

“The talisman paper is toxic, but I’ve neutralized it,” Shen Ye clapped his hands. “You can handle the rest yourselves.”

He wanted to go eat hot pot with Ye Ze and didn’t want to waste any more time here.

Ning Shihua gratefully said, “Thank you, Master Shen. I will transfer your compensation to your WeChat.”

Shen Ye nodded and held hands with Ye Ze, ready to leave.

As he passed by Father Ning and Mother Ning, he stopped and turned back to Ning Shihua. “Don’t ever compromise, or else I’ll look down on you.”

Ning Shihua was momentarily stunned, but then she smiled. “Hmm, I won’t.”

Her eyes were teary, but she smiled beautifully, her gaze filled with determination.

Shen Ye was very satisfied. After some thought, he used a piece of talisman paper on Father Ning and Mother Ning and said, “Don’t worry, your parents won’t die. With my talisman paper, even if they stab their hearts with a knife, they will survive.”

Father Ning and Mother Ning: “…”

They had just witnessed Shen Ye healing their daughter’s skin in a matter of seconds, naturally realizing that he had real skills.

Now that Shen Ye had placed talisman paper on them, they didn’t dare to make a sound.

Shen Ye glanced at them and snorted coldly. “Let me tell you, a true Taoist priest helps people and doesn’t harm them. That immortal aunt in your hometown definitely has a problem. When I have the time, I will go deal with her!”

Speaking of which, he suddenly remembered something and asked Ning Shihua, “Is your hometown near the Qi Lian Mountains?”

Ning Shihua was slightly surprised, then nodded. “We’re considered to be at the foot of the mountains, but the Qi Lian Mountain range is very long. I’m not sure which section you’re referring to.”

Shen Ye tilted his head and looked at Ye Ze. “Uncle, what’s the name of the place we’re going to?”

“Yutan City,” Ye Ze said.

“That’s the neighboring city, not far from my home!” Ning Shihua exclaimed.

Shen Ye laughed. “I plan to go to Yutan during the summer vacation. I’ll take the opportunity to tidy up that immortal aunt of yours.”

When this statement came out, Father Ning and Mother Ning didn’t know how to react.

They were certainly angry at the immortal aunt for harming Ning Shi Hua, but they were angry because the immortal aunt hadn’t explained things clearly in advance… In fact, if they hadn’t encountered Shen Ye, they might have used the immortal aunt’s talisman paper to deceive Ning Shi Hua and take her back… So deep down, they still trusted the immortal aunt and didn’t think she was malicious.

Besides, they were all from the same hometown, and if the immortal aunt ended up in trouble because of them, they would feel very guilty…

Seeing the expressions of Father Ning and Mother Ning, Shen Ye sneered. “You’re afraid of implicating the immortal aunt, but you’re not afraid of driving your daughter to her death?”

What kind of confused parents were they to value a stranger’s life more than their own daughter’s life?

That immortal aunt was clearly jealous of Ning Shihua, but Father Ning and Mother Ning still didn’t believe it!

Terrifying!

Shen Ye didn’t want to say another word. He pulled Ye Ze and left the hospital room.

Mr. Shi wanted to accompany them since he was also an outsider, and he followed them out.

The manager decided to stay behind and take care of Ning Shihua, fearing that she might be mistreated.

When Shen Ye saw Mr. Shi following them, he grumbled dissatisfiedly, “I’m going on a date with my man, don’t disturb us.”

Mr. Shi: “…” I should go home and find my wife too…

Author's note The 6,000-word update is complete~ the Movie Queen Ning’s parents are terrifying, but Master Shen is there~

Also, I’ve included a phrase that I often hear in the story. Guess which one it is~

Don’t get upset, everything in the story is fictional~ Everything will be fine~

Love you all~ Good night~

I’ll edit the text tomorrow (recently, I’ve been secretly editing~)~