712 Grounded

Nan Hua was not a saint. She also didn't want to pretend to be a kind sister towards Nan Xin. Such a reputation was totally unnecessary and would only bring too much problem for her. It would be better for her to make it clear that she's a willful young lady who didn't have any good relationship with Nan Xin.

That way, she would be able to draw the line between the two of them without too much farce.

There were some shows, but it wouldn't be necessary for her to act like a caring older sister.

"Nan Xin is being schemed at and you're siding with outsiders! Do you not think of yourself as part of Nan Family?" Nan Shu Cheng yelled angrily. "Do you know what the consequences of your action are? Do you know how much face I lost because of this incident?"

He's so angry.

After working for so long to maintain his reputation and clean up the mess because of Nan Hua's mother problem back then, Nan Shu Cheng was almost at his wits end. Recently, there has been a lot of dramas, but he also managed to obtain promotion.

This made him felt that it was somewhat worthwhile.

But this piece of news…

Was simply so bad!

"Am I really part of Nan Family?" Nan Hua asked back and looked at Nan Shu Cheng.

"You…"

"I have been taught to stand for myself because there's no one who want to stand for me in this household." Nan Hua continued unhurriedly. "It's her fault to bring the harmful substance on such event. For me to be able to stay away from the matter, are you not happy with this result, Father?"

Nan Shu Cheng's body trembled when he heard Nan Hua's words and see her gaze. It felt as if her words were directly slicing through the layer of fake affection he had put on the surface in the past. In the name of disciplining his daughter, he had already done so many things to punish Nan Hua.

His anger seemed to have been poured by a bucket of cold water.

Even though he cared for his reputation so much, he didn't lose his mind when he was being angry and couldn't see anything.

At this time, he realized that the gaze Nan Hua gave to him was indeed the gaze of someone who looked at a stranger. It was this realization that hit him hard.

Nan Hua never thought of herself as part of Nan Family.

And she's not the first one.

The image of his previous wife could be seen from Nan Hua's side. It gave him an illusion of the few last peaceful conversation he had with her when he didn't lose his temper to his wife.

Madam Nan was standing on the ground, staring back at him with clear indifferent gaze. Her pale blue robes fluttered along with the wind, giving the image of a beautiful yet pale beauty.

Her striking similarities in her appearance to Nan Hua made it hard to distinguish the two of them as long as their makeup was made similar.

And at this time, their images overlapped.

Nan Shu Cheng felt as if he could see her again, showing this gaze to him. It was the same gaze as the one Nan Hua gave to him, one that no longer with any expectation for him anymore.

At that time, he realized it clearly.

Madam Nan no longer treated him as her husband.

'You taught me that I have no one in this residence. That no matter what I do, no one will bother to stand for me. I have understood it deeply. I have already stay away from you because you're so happy with other women. Are you not happy with this result, Shu Cheng?'

The beautiful voice had floated to his ear back then, but the words were filled with bitterness.

Nan Shu Cheng could remember that it was that day he grabbed her shoulder and shouted to her that she should always wait for him. In his eyes, she's simply his and no matter how he treated her, it would never change that fact. She had to wait for him, serve him, and stayed by his side.

But the woman's eyes in front of him was simply filled with despair. As if she had seen the world and knew that there was no hope for the man in front of her. She don't have any expectation for him as she used to be anymore.

'With what you have given me, wouldn't you be happy if I'm gone?'

And it was what happened later on.

She died.

Leaving him alone.

Nan Shu Cheng took a deep breath as his mind played the memory of his time with his wife. The real reason why he didn't like Nan Hua was because she kept on reminding him of his wife. Their faces were very similar to each other and with her approaching adulthood, she reminded him of the days when Madam Nan first entered the residence.

The days that were filled with warmth and happiness.

But he was the one who destroyed them with his own hands.

He was the one who caused Madam Nan to pull away from him and distanced herself. In the end, he was the one who destroyed the happiness he had because of his arrogance and willfulness.

Nan Shu Cheng could never accept it.

He didn't want to remember these memories anymore.

However, Nan Hua's gaze was the same as the one he saw in the last days of his wife. The two conflicting images kept on emerging within his head, messing his mind from time to time.

"You're not allowed to leave your quarter for the next few days." Nan Shu Cheng said nothing else and turned around. He couldn't stand seeing that woman's image in Nan Hua anymore.

Part of him wanted to remember, but the pain would only make him wish that he would never remember it ever again.