<h4>Chapter 379: Chapter 379: Pitiful Self-Esteem</h4><h4></h4>


    Liang Tao had always looked down on Xia Ning from the bottom of his heart, feeling that every word and deed of hers oozed a very deliberate attempt to ingratiate herself, which made people feel particrly ufortable.


    How to describe the impression Xia Ning used to give to Liang Tao? She always seemed to be doing things that she thought were clever, always appearing wherever He Xing was.


    Liang Tao onceined that if it wouldn’t affect her beauty, Xia Ning would probably carve a few words on her face: "I like He Xing!"


    But at this moment, Liang Tao felt that Xia Ning was not as noisy as before; at least at this moment, her sycophantic behavior protected He Xing from being at a disadvantage in front of another mad dog.


    As soon as Xia Guoxiong saw He Xing, his expression became veryplicated; he had done many excessive things to He Xing, and he was certain He Xing couldn’t be kept in the dark aboutst night’s events. But looking at He Xing now, he didn’t seem to havee to gloat.


    Thinking of this, Xia Guoxiong revealed a smile that was more a grimace than anything genuine. "He Xing, have youe to visit Xia Cheng?" After receiving an affirmative response, his smile deepened, "Thank you for visiting Xia Cheng; he’s fine and will recover in a few days."


    He Xing shot Liang Tao a sideways nce; thetter immediately set the flowers and fruit on the coffee table, "Young Master Xia, these were personally picked by President He for you, wishing you a speedy recovery."


    Although the Xia Family were originally He Xing’s lifesavers, over the years, they have always regarded He Xing as a life-saving straw and a cash cow, their ttery towards He Xing is etched into their very bones.


    Upon hearing Liang Tao’s words, Xia Cheng immediately showed a face full of gratitude, "He Xing, thank you foring to see me; after a few days when I’m well, let’s go out and sing together."


    "We’ll see," said He Xing indifferently, neither agreeing nor refusing. His gaze fell unintentionally or otherwise onto Qin Nuan, asking meaningfully, "Who is thisdy?"


    With just those three words, the faces of both father and son—Xia Guoxiong and Xia Cheng—changed. Should they tell him Qin Nuan was Xia Guoxiong’s assistant, or say she was his mistress? Or tell the truth about her "love triangle" with Xia Guoxiong and Xia Cheng?


    As the father and son were struggling with what to say, Xia Ning urately seized the opportunity to please He Xing, hurriedly saying, "He Xing, you don’t know this, but this Qin Nuan is really terrible. First, she seduced my father, then my brother, and now she’s using the child in her belly to ckmail my father."


    "Xiaoning!" Both father and son, Xia Cheng and Xia Guoxiong, cried out in unison, their faces showing unmasked dissatisfaction—obviously, neither agreed with Xia Ning airing out this dirtyundry. Perhaps because they didn’t trust He Xing enough, or maybe because of that pitiful andughable male pride.


    Xia Ning shrugged nonchntly, "What’s the big deal? Brother He Xing isn’t a stranger, and he’s obviously here to help us solve our problems, right, Brother He Xing?"


    However, before He Xing could speak, Qin Nuan red up. She patted her stomach and snorted coldly, "Let me tell you, don’t think we mother and child are easy to bully. If you really provoke me, I’ll go to the media and ruin the Xia Family’s reputation."


    After her deration, the atmosphere in the ward turned significantly tenser, and the animosity between the father and son, Xia Guoxiong and Xia Cheng, towards He Xing also lessened significantly.


    Xia Ning tugged at He Xing’s sleeve, using her characteristic coquettish voice, "Brother He Xing, you see what kind of person she is, she even wants to be our stepmother—I’ll never agree to that..."


    "Xiaoning, what nonsense are you spouting!" Xia Guoxiong’s face turned ashen with anger. He mmed his hand on the bedside table, pointing at Xia Ning with unrestrained fury, "If you keep talking nonsense, you won’t get a penny for your allowance next month."


    "I..." Xia Ning pursed her lips, wanting to say something, but in the end, she couldn’t speak at all. Money isn’t everything, but without money, nothing is possible.


    Think about the two most important things in Xia Ning’s life: one is chasing after He Xing, and the other is going shopping. Her favorite activity was to invite a group of girls to sweep through luxury stores and buy all the clothes she liked—nearly ny percent of her monthly allowance was spent this way.


    Now that Xia Guoxiong was threatening her with her allowance, it was quite like hitting a snake right in its vital spot. No matter how reluctant Xia Ning was, she could only shut up.


    He Xing’s gaze swept over the remaining three individuals, looking meaningfully at Qin Nuan, "Miss Qin’s well-thought-out schemes—if you marry Xia Cheng, by the time the money is in hand you’d be past your prime and it’d be toote to enjoy life, but marrying Uncle Xia, you could eventually inherit the estate as a spouse and your child would be a legitimate heir. All things considered, of course, thetter is more profitable."


    Qin Nuan’s face turned red and then white, white and then red again. She looked anxiously at Xia Guoxiong across from her, trying to exin, "It’s not like that, President Xia, my heart only has you, Xia Cheng forced me, of course, I’d only be willing to marry you."


    "It’s hrious, you want to marry my father simply because as our stepmother, you’ll get much more money than a daughter-inw," Xia Ning said with a bitterugh, forgetting Xia Guoxiong’s threat and oblivious to Xia Guoxiong’s livid face.


    Liang Tao, who stood by, looked at Xia Ning with surprise. He truly had not expected Xia Ning toe out with such insightfulments, since she usually acted cute and innocent in various princess dresses.


    Perhaps Liang Tao’s gaze was overly "enthusiastic," as Xia Ning, even in such circumstances, turned to look back at him. Liang Tao’s look of approval was too slow to hide, which added a touch of smugness to Xia Ning’s face.


    "Is what they’re saying true?" Xia Guoxiong’s face looked as ugly as it could get.


    While the unsavory rtionship between Qin Nuan and Xia Cheng was a source of shame for Xia Guoxiong, under the unfortunate and pathetic shield of male pride, he actually felt that Qin Nuan’s request to marry him meant she preferred him, that his charm was greater than that of his son, Xia Cheng.


    So-called father-son affection is just pretty talk that doesn’t get sliced up by the knife. When it’s their turn, human selfishness still prevails, making them think of themselves first.


    At this moment, Xia Guoxiong was a joke in and of himself—he fancied himself charming, when in reality it was the money that followed him that enticed Qin Nuan.


    Some rejoice while othersment; Xia Cheng was the one who had been depressed for an hour but was now extremely delighted.


    With the same male pride, on one hand, he saw Qin Nuan as a big problem and was eager to get rid of her; on the other, he couldn’t bear the thought that she preferred his father over him. But now, his self-negation was gone, and he believed that in a fairpetition, Qin Nuan would surely choose him.


    In the midst of these extremelyplex emotions, the disdain Xia Guoxiong and Xia Cheng father and son felt towards Qin Nuan lessened quite a bit. They were desperate to prove their charm in Qin Nuan’s eyes.