Chapter 42

Ruan Dahong was startled by his daughter's call. "Ningning, what's wrong? Have you seen a doctor?"

Watching the RQ opening match was an important annual event for the Ruan family. Ever since Ruan Ning could walk, she had never missed a single one, rain or shine. Hearing the strange tone in his daughter's voice, Ruan Dahong immediately had a bad feeling.

"Ningning, did something happen at school? Tell Dad."

"Can you stop treating me like a child? I already said nothing's wrong. I'm going to sleep." Ruan Ning shouted angrily, then hung up.

She had just narrowly escaped death on the yacht, and Bu Chen's inexplicable confession had unsettled her. With Jiang Yihao to deal with on Saturday, Ruan Ning felt as limp as cotton. All she wanted was a quiet place to rest, far away from those high-and-mighty male leads.

Her computer was on the desk, but when she saw the Certain Death icon, she lacked the strength to open it.

She desperately needed to go somewhere empty to repair her shaken nerves and rethink her next steps.

Her eyelids felt like magnets drawn together, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.

Some time later, Ruan Ning was jolted awake by a frantic phone ring.

She muttered, wondering who would call at midnight. She picked it up and saw it was her father. He had called several times since 10:30, and the list of missed calls showed how worried Ruan Dahong, as a parent, must have been.

Ruan Ning sighed and answered. Before she could say a word, her father's panicked voice burst through the receiver.

"Ningning, come downstairs now," Ruan Dahong panted. "I'm right outside your dorm building. Come out and let me see you."

Ruan Ning shuddered and jumped out of bed barefoot, rushing to the window.

The night was cold, typical of late autumn. A burly middle-aged man held a phone to his ear, pacing with a furrowed brow and hands on his hips. His hair was windblown, showing he'd rushed over in a hurry.

A few late-returning students passed by, glancing curiously at the anxious man before whispering among themselves and leaving.

Ruan Ning waved her arms frantically and shouted into the phone, "Dad, what are you doing here? It's already midnight! Why are you here?"

The Iya University dorms had a curfew, so Ruan Dahong couldn't enter and had to wait by the gate. Without even putting on a jacket, Ruan Ning slipped on her slippers and ran through the dark, quiet hallway to find her father.

"Dad!" Ruan Ning was too shocked to speak, but she didn't dare shout and wake up the other students. She just wanted to send him home. "Why did you drive all the way here in the middle of the night?"

When Ruan Dahong saw his daughter, he grabbed her arm and inspected her from head to toe, ignoring the empty campus road, afraid she'd lost a single hair. "Ningning, tell me the truth. Has someone at school been bullying you? Dad's here. Whatever it is, just say it."

His wife and he had been terrified after receiving her call. Since the semester started, every time their daughter came home, she'd been downcast. When they asked, she always said everything was fine and told them not to worry.

The couple had long suspected something was off, but since Ruan Ning insisted on keeping quiet, as parents, they didn't press.

But tonight's call truly frightened Ruan Dahong and Qiu Yan. They heard their daughter's faint, weak voice and feared that if they were even a moment late, something terrible might happen to her.

After hanging up, Ruan Dahong drove an hour and a half straight from Talun City to the school, just to see Ruan Ning and confirm she was safe.

"Ningning, you're our only precious child. Don't be afraid. If you're wronged, tell your mom and dad. We'll take care of it."

His gaze held reproach, and his words rang out in the quiet campus, loud and reckless. But seeing her father's face, Ruan Ning was too moved to speak. She hugged him and burst into tears.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying again?" Ruan Dahong clumsily wiped her tears. "Don't cry, don't cry. Let's go home."